Deputy Premier Yigal Allon, joined by leaders of Histadrut, Israel’s labor federation, spent the day digging security trenches at Kiryat Shemona in Upper Galilee along with hundreds of other volunteers from all walks of life. The scene was repeated in border settlements in the Golan Heights, the Beisan and Jordan Valleys on the occasion of May Day, the traditional labor holiday which is usually observed in Israel as a day without toil.
But this year May Day was declared a day of solidarity with the border settlers who come under constant gunfire from Arab guerrillas. Hundreds of Israelis, white and blue collar workers alike, volunteered to help build and extend the settlements’ fortifications and bomb shelters. Virtually every Israeli wage earner worked a half day and donated his pay to a security fund for the border villages. The decision was taken by Histadrut and there were few dissenters.
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