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Histadrut joins housing protests
Ofer Eini, Chairman of the Histadrut, the main trade union in Israel, met with leaders of Israel’s housing protests in Tel Aviv Wednesday, and told them that the Histadrut would be joining their struggle starting Sunday and intends on taking part in the protesters’ discussions with the government. In a press conference convened yesterday, Eini demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convene a meeting with him and other relevant officials at which solutions will be agreed upon for a range of social issues facing Israelis. Eini said that if this meeting was not convened before Saturday, the Histadrut would use all means available to it to pressure the government.
Eini noted in the press conference that housing prices were only one of a range of issues facing Israel today. He stressed that rising food costs was also a major concern. The Union of Local Authorities also announced yesterday that it was joining the housing protest. The union is scheduled to meet today to discuss the possibility of a one-day general strike on 1 August. Eini also revealed that in the past number of days he had met with the finance minister, the industry, trade and labor minister and the prime minister to discuss possible agreements to solve the problems that have come to the fore, namely housing, rising prices and average wages in Israel. He noted that despite the talks, he had not encountered any attentiveness to his proposals.
Eini’s announcement that the Histadrut would be joining protests in Israel has raised profound concern among Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his close associates. A senior Likud minister close to the PM, quoted in Maariv today, noted that ‘Eini holds the keys to extinguishing the protest or to toppling the government.” The Likud official also said that, ‘if Eini puts his people in the streets, this will be in order to pour fuel on the protest, and he will set the country ablaze until elections are held…he [Eini] knows that he can have impressive achievements in social matters and even become the leader of the protest.’