Israeli businesses call unprecedented strike

In response to the legislation to abolish the reasonableness standard in judicial review of decisions by elected officials, the Israel Business Forum has said that it will close businesses today. Who is striking today?

The membership of the Israel Business Forum consists of 150 businesses in Israel, among them leading retailers, banks, and law firms. Several of them have already announced that they will be shut today. Big Shopping Centers, for example, has announced that its malls will be shut today and stores will not open. Azrieli Group says its commercial centers and offices throughout Israel will be closed, except for vital services. Amot Investments has similarly announced that its commercial centers, apart from vital services, will be closed, and that there will be no work at its construction sites.

A precise list of striking companies has not yet been issued, but the identities of the companies can be deduced from the identities of the leading figures in the forum: Liora Ofer, Harel Wiesel, Danna Azrieli, and others.

Bank CEOs are also members of the forum, and some of them spoke out at the weekend, but it is doubtful whether regulations permit them to close the banks. Bank Hapoalim has announced that “the bank will allow employees to exercise the right to demonstrate during the working day and as apart of it, each according to his or her conscience; pay will not be affected.”

The managements of Bank Leumi and Israel Discount Bank have also said that they will allow employees to be absent from work today (Monday) to take part in protests. The day will be deducted from the employees’ vacation allowances.

Among companies that will close today are hotel companies Isrotel, Fattal, and Dan, construction companies Tidhar, Ashtrom, Shikun & Binui, and Gindi, finance sector companies Isracard, Harel, Cal, More Provident and Pension Funds, The Phoenix Holdings, Direct Insurance, and IBI, law firms Herzog, Fox & Neeman, Gornitzky & Co., Meitar, Naschitz Brandes, Amir, Shibolet, and Firon, and accounting firms and consultants PwC, Ernst & Young, BDO, and KPMG.

The forum of high tech companies has also announced that it will join the strike.

Is this a general strike

At this stage, no. This is not a strike initiated by the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) but a voluntary strike by business leaders. The chairperson of the Histadrut, Arnon Bar-David, has been asked several times by business leaders to call a general strike, but he has so far refused, on the grounds that abolition of the reasonableness standard is not a sufficient cause for a strike. In the past twenty-four hours, the Histadrut has changed its tone, and has called for compromise on the legislation, threatened industrial action, and held a series of “emergency meetings”, but it has not officially announced a strike.

The Histadrut can call a general strike only after declaring a labor dispute and a cooling off period. There is, however, also the track of a “political strike”, such as the Histadrut imposed last March when the prime minister announced the dismissal of Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. The Supreme Court has ruled in the past that such a strike must be limited in time.

Is this an exceptional event, and what about the airport and public sector workers?

An organized strike such as this by so many business owners without the Histadrut is an extraordinary event. Since the Histadrut is not involved, Ben Gurion Airport should work as normal, as should government ministries.

Can the government prevent the strike?

Had it been a case of an official strike by the Histadrut, it would have been possible to try to obtain an injunction to stop it, something the minister of finance has threatened to do. But as long as it is a voluntary strike by business owners, the chances of stopping it by legal means are slim.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on July 24, 2023.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2023.