Israelis protested in major cities across the country Sunday night, Sep 2, to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu close a Gaza deal, after the bodies of six hostages who were murdered in captivity were recovered on Saturday night, and against the far-right government. In Tel-Aviv, hundreds of thousands take the streets and organizers estimate that about 300,000 people are gathered at the protest. Protesters also blocked the entrance to Jerusalem Sunday evening as others and thousands gathered to protest outside the security cabinet meeting.
In Tel-Aviv police clashed with protesters on the Ayalon Highway, as they attempt to clear the road. Cops throwed stun grenades at demonstrators and according to media reports dozens of people have been arrested. Labor MK Naama Lazimi was hurt by a stun grenade, outlets report. Protesters were seen chanting: “Bibi [Netanyahu’s nickname] is murdering the hostages,” “Why soldiers are they still in Gaza?” and “Where were you in Sde Teiman?.”
A view of protests in Tel Aviv gathering against far-right government and demanding the return of hostages in Gaza, September 1, 2024 (Photo: Zo Haderech)
Earlier Arnon Bar-David, chairman of the Histadrut labor federation announced that the union is calling for a general strike across Israel today, Monday. The action started at 6 a.m. and is currently planned as a one-day strike, with Bar-David saying decisions beyond Monday will be made later.
Bar-David said in the evening at the mass protest in Tel Aviv: “This afternoon, I made the decision to halt the Israeli economy from tomorrow morning onward.” He added: “We refuse to remain indifferent to the fact that our country has become one of abandonment! The economy has also been abandoned. As head of the Histadrut, the country is on its way to political ruin. We must stop this… coalition money is still going to unneeded ministries. Tomorrow morning, all of Israel will not go to work…including ports, factories, and offices.”
As a result of the nation-wide general strike, Israel’s international airport will suspend operations starting 8 A.M. on Monday. Restaurants, movie theaters and other venues will close early on Sunday evening to support a mass rally planned in Tel Aviv
Hostages’ Families Forum welcomes the decision of the Histadrut labor federation to declare a general strike “The social, economic and local leadership is proving itself, in contrast to the state leadership,” the announcement said. “The economy and the country will stop tomorrow, to apply pressure on the cabinet and the prime minister to end the abandonment, save the living hostages, and return the 101 hostages in a deal.” In addition, several local authorities, among them Tel Aviv, Kfar Saba and Givatayim municipalities have all announced that they will join a nationwide strike in support of hostage families tomorrow.
The White Coats – Healthcare Professionals for Democracy called on doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers from all fields to join the planned strikes tomorrow to demand the return of hostage and in support of their families.
In addition, the Israel Medical Association and the teachers’ union joined the labor union’s strike, saying schools will operate only until 11:45 Monday. In response, the Education Ministry said that “all teaching staff must work as normal.” The head of the Bar Association, Amit Becher, welcomed Histadrut’s decision and said that the association would join the strike. “I call on all lawyers to strike tomorrow and join the protest, and the public to demand to bring home all the hostages,” said Becher.
In response, racist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demands that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara seek immediate injunctions to prevent the general strike. In a letter to Baharav-Miara, he says the strike “is clearly political and lacks any legal basis.” Smotrich directed the treasury’s salary department not to pay anyone who strikes on Monday, saying: “The strike is fulfilling Sinwar’s dreams. Instead of representing Israel’s work force, the Histadrut chooses to represent Hamas’ interests.” “I call on workers to go to work tomorrow,” said Smotrich.
On Sunday morning, over two million children began a new school year while another half a million stayed at home, their classrooms shuttered due to a teachers’ strike. Intense, last-minute negotiations between the Education Ministry and the Secondary Schools Teachers Association on Saturday night failed to reach a breakthrough in a long-running dispute over wages and work contracts, leading the union to go ahead with a promised strike that was officially announced on Thursday.
The union has been engaged in ongoing yet deadlocked negotiations with the education and finance ministries, with instructors demanding retroactive wage increases and other benefits that were agreed upon before the last school year began, but which were deferred due to Hamas’s October 7 attack and the outbreak of the still ongoing war. The union is also seeking a collective salary agreement, a major sticking point in the negotiations, while the government has pushed for individual contracts for teachers amid a budgetary shortfall.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has vowed to not pay striking teachers, while the union has millions of shekels in a compensation fund that it could use to pay the strikers. Strikes over salary disputes delaying the start of school studies have become commonplace in Israel. Last year, with mere hours to go before the start of the school year, high school teachers and government officials reached a deal to bump up salaries, avoiding a threatened strike that would have delayed classes.
But the government failed to honor those agreements, citing the cuts brought on by the war. In 2022, the teacher’s union that represents elementary and middle school teachers nearly delayed the start of the school year before the treasury agreed to raise their salaries.
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=32096
