Two leading American investors have cabled Israeli Cabinet ministers to learn if the current surge of labor strife in Israel is politically motivated. Victor Carter and Lou Barnett, members of the Economic Conference Presidium, expressed their concern to Finance Minister Pinhas Sapir, Labor Minister Yosef Almogi and Commerce and Industry Minister Haim Bar-Lev. The Economic Conference members were described by one Israeli businessman as apprehensive over accusations against private enterprises in Israel by Histadrut, the labor federation.
Moshe Zanbar, governor of the Bank of Israel, said in response to the cables: “The strikes that exist or are threatened today are part of the workers’ struggle to improve their wage level at a time when biennial collective agreements are up for negotiation. There is no sign of any political purpose in the wage bargaining.”
Meanwhile, 31 Knesset members called for a special session to debate what they called the “incitement” of workers by Histadrut secretary general Yitzhak Ben-Aharon. The Knesset has been in recess since July 27. The 31 Knesseters–one more than the minimum required to request a special session during recess–represent Gahal (26), the State List (three) and the Free Center (two). A spokesman for Gahal, the largest opposition party, said Ben-Aharon was aiming to sow seeds of dissension between workers and employers, not to attain better working conditions.
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.
