After weeks of indecision, Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David and economic leaders have announced a general strike in Israel to protest the coup d’état. The strike will include hospitals, government agencies, banks, airports, local governments, and the services of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality. Private businesses and companies are expected to join as well. Dizengoff Center and Ramat Aviv shopping mall are among the first to close their doors and Azrieli Mall will also shut down its entire network of malls. Yuval Ben Naria and the Taizo&Co group have also joined the strike, as well as McDonald’s Israel, the Aroma chain, and movie theater chains. The Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality is also on strike, resulting in the closure of community centers, libraries, and canteens. Educational institutions will continue for the day, but may shut down tomorrow if the strike continues.
After many weeks of sitting on the fence, this morning Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David along with the heads of the economy announced a general strike in Israel in protest against the coup d’état. The Histadrut announced that the strike goes into effect immediately and will continue indefinitely. The strike includes the hospitals The government agencies, the banks, the airport that is closed to outgoing and incoming flights and also the local government, which means that all the services of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality are also disabled (And that includes your garbage so it’s a good time for the CMBZ). Many private businesses and companies are also expected to join the general strike, and we will try to follow the developments in the area of closed places here.
Dizengoff Center joins
The most loved place in Tel Aviv was one of the first to join the general strike this morning. The management of Dizengoff Center, which is always prone to activism, announced its joining the strike immediately and called on the owners and shopkeepers in the center to close their businesses. Starting at 12:00 noon today (Monday) Dizengoff Center will operate in a Shabbat format (that is, most of the entrances will be closed, there will be no music and most of the stores are expected to close their doors).
Ok so this week we will be hungry. The food market at Dizengoff Center (photo by Ran Biran)
Ramat Aviv shopping mall strike
The second most popular mall in the city is also closing its doors, like all the Ofer Group malls in Israel, and also calls on the tenants of the stores to close their businesses there immediately. Forget sushi at Grand Cafe today.
Okay, so we won’t do luxury shopping today. Ramat Aviv Mall (Photo: Shutterstock)
Azrieli Mall is closed
The Azrieli Group will also shut down its entire network of malls, including of course the Azrieli Mall, which is at the center of the main demonstration scene against the coup d’état, and the new Azrieli Mall, which is next to the government building across the street. And the strictly condescending Tel Avivians will say “Oh, is there a mall there?”.
They are also on strike here. Migdal Azrieli Sharona (Photo: ColorMaker/Shutterstock)
Yuval Ben Naria and the Taizo group are on strike
This may not be the most important strike in the city, but it is important to us: Chef Yuval Ben Naria and the Taizo&Co group were the first to announce their joining the strike, shortly after it was announced. In a statement to the media, Ben Naria said that in direct continuation of the line that the taizu&co group led in recent weeks, when it closed its restaurants on Mochashim to allow the staff to demonstrate, it will also join the general strike.
no lunch Yuval Ben Naria Mataizou at the restaurateurs’ demonstration in September 2020 (Photo: Getty Images)
“These are critical moments in our country when it is impossible to continue as usual, and therefore we are joining the general strike and immediately closing the group’s restaurants for lunch service. Our strength is being part of a huge industry that has tens of thousands of employees. After a night in which we all took to the streets to express our protest and in light of the concern Ruling in our hearts, the order of the hour has arrived and we are proud to take part in the fight for the status of the State of Israel. If the legislation is stopped and there is a reason for celebration – we will be the first to welcome the guests with open arms. I call on my friends from the restaurant industry to join me. This is not a protest, this is citizenship.”
A strike at McDonald’s as well
McDonald’s Israel is part of the Histadrut’s business forum, and with the announcement in the Histadrut House about joining the protest, the fast food chain also announced that they would shut down all of the chain’s branches in Israel. “McDonald’s Israel will begin closing all its branches starting at 12:00 noon until a total shutdown from 2:00 p.m.,” the press release stated. The strike is for an indefinite period.
Admit that now it’s all you want. McDonald’s meal (Photo: Nimrod Ganisher)
The Aroma chain is also striking
The largest chain of coffee shops in Israel announced that “we also feel that we cannot stand by when our country is being torn apart, therefore we will allow any franchisee who decides to close the branch and join the protest calling for the legislation to be stopped.”
The cinemas are darkened
Our favorite movie theater chain “Lev” has announced that it will join the strike starting at 1:00 p.m. and its movie theaters will be shut down. “We join and sympathize with the effort and fight for democracy,” said the chain’s CEO Guy Shani, “and we will close the cinemas. We will not be able to stand by.” A little later, the Planet and Rav-Chen cinema chains also announced that they were joining the strike.
It is not so pleasant to see a closed cinema. Lev Cinema (Photo: Public Relations)
Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality is on strike
As mentioned, the municipality joins the strike immediately as part of the local government strike. Garbage removal and supervision services will not be provided, telephones will not be answered and there will be no audience reception. The 106+ hotline will operate in a reduced emergency format for urgent calls only. Studies in educational institutions will continue until the end of the day (Monday) as usual. If the strike continues, tomorrow the educational institutions will not operate at all, as well as the camps in the kindergartens and elementary schools, except for special education, including small classes in the regular schools. The community centers, libraries and canteens are closing. There will be no public reception at the milk drop stations. City events will be canceled, including digital events. As for the cultural institutions, a decision will be made at a later stage.
The city hall is lit up with the Israeli flag. Photo: Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality Spokesperson