Israel Embassy Staff on Strike to Protest PM’s Plan to Overhaul Justice System
NEW DELHI, Mar 27: Israel’s embassy in India is participating in a strike called by its biggest labour union in protest against the hard-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial push to overhaul the justice system.
“The Histadrut, Israel’s largest labour union, instructed all government employees to go on strike, including Israel’s diplomatic missions around the world. The embassy of Israel will be closed today until further notice and no consular services will be provided,” Israel’s embassy in India said in a statement on Monday evening.
Officials of all Israeli missions in India and around the world will remain on strike until it is called off, official sources said. Netanyahu was due to address the nation later on Monday evening, a day after sacking his defence minister who had broken ranks over the divisive issue, and after President Isaac Herzog again urged an immediate stop to the reform push.
Israel’s top trade union chief called a general strike over the package, which would weaken the powers of the judiciary and which demonstrators have for months decried as a threat to Israel’s democracy. “I am calling a general strike,” Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David said in a televised address. “We have a mission to stop this legislative process and we will do it,” he added, vowing to “continue to fight.”
The Israel Medical Association quickly followed suit, announcing “a full strike in the health system” that will impact all public hospitals. The stoppage also affected flights at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Liza Dvir, a spokeswoman for the Israel Airports Authority, said.
The nationwide walkout was called hours after Herzog pressed for an immediate halt to the judicial programme, following demonstrations in Tel Aviv overnight. “For the sake of the unity of the people of Israel… I call on you to halt the legislative process immediately,” Herzog said in a statement.
The plan to hand more control to politicians and diminish the role of the Supreme Court has ignited months of protests and sparked concern from Israel’s top allies including the US. The White House noted that President Joe Biden recently told Netanyahu that “democratic values have always been, and must remain, a hallmark of the US-Israel relationship.”
Mr Netanyahu’s government, a coalition between his Likud party and extreme-right and ultra-orthodox allies, has argued the changes are needed to rebalance powers between lawmakers and the judiciary.
(Manas Dasgupta)
