Israeli court strikes down labor union’s ‘political’ general strike after several hours

The Tel Aviv Labor Court on Monday determined that the general strike declared by Israel’s national labor union federation, the Histadrut, was illegal, agreeing with the government's argument that the strike was politically motivated.

On Sunday evening, Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David declared a general strike in Israel the following day to protest the government’s "delaying a deal for the return of the hostages for political reasons.”

The announcement followed the recovery of the bodies of six murdered hostages from the southern town of Rafah in Gaza on Saturday evening.

The court gave the union until 2:30 p.m. to end the strike that had shut down several government offices, municipalities, clinics, banks, public transportation and restaurants, among other services.

“The court accepted our position and determined that the Histadrut's strike was political and illegal,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who had urged workers to disregard the strike call, warning they would not be paid if they participated.

“The Israeli workers who showed up for work today in droves proved that the days of the red register enslaving the workers for political ends – are over. We won’t allow damage to the Israeli economy and thereby serve the interests of Sinwar and Hamas!” Smotrich added.

The right-wing government and the Tikvah Forum, a group representing more hawkish hostage families, argued that the strike was politically motivated, with a goal to change the government's policy.

The Histadrut, however, argued that the strike was aimed at government policies that would harm the nation's economy in the long run, which they claimed justified their right to strike.

Bar-David said he would respect the court’s ruling but doubled down on his stance that “the solidarity strike was an important move and I stand behind it.”

“The Labor Court made the right decision,” commented Gideon Sa’ar, chairman of the opposition party New Hope.

“Whoever encouraged the chairman of the Histadrut to declare an illegal strike while exceeding his authority gave him bad advice that also harms the Histadrut itself,” Sa’ar wrote on 𝕏.

According to leaks from a government meeting on Monday that were reported by Israeli media, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allegedly said the strike “is a disgrace. It’s telling [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar – you murdered six people. Here, we support you.”

Netanyahu reportedly reiterated his conviction that Israel could not withdraw IDF troops from the Philadelphi Corridor on the Egypt-Gaza border, which his critics see as an unnecessary condition imposed by the prime minister to prevent a hostage release deal.

In response to the Histadrut's politically motivated strike, several Likud party Knesset members, led by MK Dan Illouz, called for legislation to limit the power of the union federation.

They specifically called to advance two bills previously submitted by Illouz. The first bill seeks to ensure that essential services continue operating under any circumstances, regardless of strikes.

The second bill seeks to cancel the existing “Law of the Third,” which permits a third of a company's workforce to impose union membership on the majority.

“At the end of the difficult war we are in, we will need all these tools to rebuild Israel's economy and ensure that it grows and becomes a leading economy,” the Knesset members stated.