Israeli companies permit employees to strike for one hour in anti-government protest
Following another weekend protest against proposed judicial reforms in Israel, which drew over 110,000 protestors, several high-tech companies made announcements giving employees permission to strike on Tuesday.
Several companies near Tel Aviv’s Sarona Market announced that they will allow workers to participate in a general strike on Tuesday afternoon. The strike will last for one hour.
The move comes after several high-profile start-up companies called for a “high-tech protest” last week.
While some in the anti-government protest movement said the companies organized the strike, these employers deny responsibility for arranging the demonstration.
Tomer Avital first pitched the high-tech strike on his Facebook page before it was picked up by the broader protest movement.
Some protestors say the government’s proposed reforms will lead to a decline in foreign investment in Israel, but worldwide economic conditions have already caused an investment slump.
While the protests have captured the Israeli news cycle, they have not been of record-breaking size.
Furthermore, in Israel, protests are quite common. In 2005, some 120,000 people gathered to protest Ariel Sharon’s decision to withdraw from Gaza. About 250,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered in 2014 to protest conscription of Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] men into the military.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
