JERUSALEM – Israeli diplomacy, which is already engaged in an uphill battle to defend the Jewish state from international criticism, is facing a new threat: a strike by diplomats who say they are penniless. Foreign ministry employees began protesting a year ago, but have recently toughened their stance, launching a staff strike which has seriously hampered operations at both the ministry and at Israeli embassies around the world.
“Since December 27, we are no longer helping with any official visits, whether it be by Israeli officials going overseas or foreign dignitaries in Israel,” said Hanan Goder, head of the workers’ union at the foreign ministry. One of the most high profile casualties of the strike has been Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who was forced to delay a visit to Israel in January, which would have had great significance for the Jewish state.
Medvedev, who was to come with a large delegation of businessmen, abruptly called off the trip while pressing ahead with plans to visit the Palestinian territories in what was a huge embarrassment to Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who was born in the former Soviet Union. Such a thing has never happened before in Israel’s 63-year history. An upcoming visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, scheduled for the end of January, looks set to befall the same fate.
“Our overseas diplomats have been told not to send diplomatic messages to the ministry, nor to wear their traditional diplomatic attire while attending official functions, nor to issue any entry visas to Israel,” Goder told AFP. The strike is also affecting marriages, with embassies unable to register the nuptials of Israelis who tie the knot overseas. Diplomats said the strike had also affected a number of other sensitive issues, relating to discussions with senior figures in the military and at other institutions.
In June last year, Israeli diplomats had protested over their low salaries by going to work in jeans and sandals. And in August, the union asked the Washington embassy to boycott any dealings with the Israeli delegation which was heading to the White House to officially launch peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
That same month, employees at the embassy in Athens refused to provide logistical support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s first official visit to Greece, forcing him to rely on the Mossad spy agency — to the disgust of union officials. Earlier this month, hundreds of ministry employees held a demonstration in Jerusalem, all wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan: “I am a penniless diplomat.” Because of the strike, which is being backed by the Histadrut trade union, foreign dignitaries have been left high-and-dry by ministry drivers in the middle of a visit, forcing them to rely on their own embassies for help.
Union officials say that of the 830 people working for the ministry — 280 of whom are are located overseas — 12 percent are living below the poverty line of 5,800 shekels per month (1,600 dollars, 1,200 euros) for a family of four. Junior diplomat start on a salary of 4,800 shekels and only after 10 years does their salary rise to 5,800 shekels. They receive no extra stipends for their marital partners.
