Almost total chaos prevailed today in Israel trade and commerce and many other areas because of a spreading strike by Israel mailmen in which post office workers joined.
Temporary arrangements to distribute mail from emergency stations proved a total failure as people waited in long lines for hours but none managed to reach the clerks who were to distribute the mail. An arrangement to employ temporary mailmen also failed.
With the walk-out of the postoffice workers, all postal services except telephones and telegraph, ground to a halt. There were fears that telegraph and teleprinter services would be interrupted if post office technicians joined the walk-out.
Many letters were feared lost and the strike caused the cancelation of many events because of unreceived invitations and notices. Banknotes and vouchers also were undelivered. Some banks operated messenger service today to deliver urgent mail.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
