Editor’s Note: The following communication was received from the Consulate-General of Israel in New York:
NEW YORK (Press Release)–As of Tuesday, March 4, 2014, due to the Finance Ministry’s refusal to resolve the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ labor dispute, consular services are unavailable and diplomats worldwide have taken a series of measures in response.
During this labor dispute, Israel’s diplomats will no longer engage with foreign representatives, take care of official visits of any kind (either in Israel or overseas), issue visas or provide any consular services. This is just part of an extended list of organizational measures which will take effect immediately.
Therefore regretfully we will not be sending our weekly newsletter or any other materials until further notice. In addition, we will not be engaged in any form of public diplomacy at this time nor organizing or taking meetings on the various matters in which the Consulate usually engages.
Due to these work sanctions, there will be no consular services until further notice except life threatening situations and burials in Israel. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
Following is a more comprehensive overview of the reasons behind the labor sanctions Israel’s diplomats are currently undertaking:
Israel’s diplomatic corps was left with no other choice but to ratchet up its year-long labor dispute with the Ministry of Finance, after the latter caused the failure of a seven-month mediation process led by the former Chief Justice of the Labor Court.
The diplomats were willing to give a real chance to the mediation process and find pragmatic solutions to all outstanding issues; however, the finance bureaucrats lacked sincerity and did not reciprocate with the same approach.
The bold measures mentioned above will hopefully raise awareness, both domestically and internationally, of the dire situation of Israel’s hard working diplomats.
Why have the Israeli diplomats decided to take these measures?
It may seem unusual for the diplomatic service of a country to become engaged in such a difficult labor dispute. This is especially true in relation to Israel’s diplomats, who are well-known around the globe for their commitment and their excellent ability to represent Israel with the many different challenges it faces.
Precisely because of their deep commitment to Israel’s international standing and national security, Israel’s diplomats insist that their reasonable demands be met.
Among them are a long-overdue adjustment of their salaries to increases in the cost of living, an end to a discriminatory tax policy, consideration of the high price paid by “trailing” spouses and children in terms of loss of income, career and pension, and a decent compensation for extra hours.
It is unfortunate that the same dedicated civil servants, who receive praise wherever they are stationed in the world as representatives of Israel, were met with nothing but scorn by the Finance Ministry bureaucrats, who know little about the importance of diplomacy to national security. This is true always, but more so in a country like Israel, which is faced with an unparalleled range of challenges in the international arena.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused and we are hopeful that we will soon be able to resume our work in its fullest capacity.
Thank you,
The Consulate General of Israel in New York