200 Israeli companies permit employees to protest against Netanyahu

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
31 Mar 2024 11:13
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A forum of 200 major Israeli companies announce that their employees would be able to either be absent or leave work early to partake in the anti-government demonstrations.

Israeli Police assaulted settlers during an anti-government protest on July 24, 2023. (AP)

A forum of 200 major Israeli companies has granted employees permission to take a one-week leave to engage in protests against the government and advocate for a deal, Israeli media reported.

In further detail, the companies announced that their employees would be able to either be absent or leave work early to partake in the anti-government demonstrations without any deduction from their accrued leave.

According to Israeli news website Israel Hayom, the CEOs of several companies warned that "Israel" is currently experiencing a "state of emergency."

The forum encompasses major private enterprises in "Israel", which collectively employ the majority of the workforce in the private sector, as reported by the Israeli news website.

It is worth noting that "Israel's" funding of the war on Gaza has resulted in its first-ever credit downgrade back in February.

At the time, Moody's cut "Israel's" credit rating one notch, from A1 to A2, and noted the entity's poor finances, as well as the ongoing war on Gaza's potential to "weaken its executive and legislative institutions."

The ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza led to a significant decline in private consumption and investment, accompanied by a surge in government expenditure due to extensive mobilization of reservists and widespread displacement of the population.

Israeli police crackdown on protesters

Concurrently, large-scale protests erupted in "Tel Aviv" on Saturday evening, drawing tens of thousands of Israeli settlers, who gathered to apply pressure on the government.

The protesters aimed to compel the government to expedite the negotiation of a deal with Hamas and to advocate for the scheduling of early elections.

#بالفيديو | مستوطنون وعائلات أسرى الاحتلال يتظاهرون أمام مقر وزارة الأمن في "تل أبيب"، للمطالبة بعقد صفقة تبادل ورحيل حكومة نتنياهو.#الميادين pic.twitter.com/h10HSSotkX
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) March 30, 2024

Israeli police violently cracked down on the protesters, arresting more than a dozen. They also deployed water cannons to disperse demonstrators.

Similar clashes were observed in occupied al-Quds, where approximately 200 protesters rallied near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence. The protests were considered one of the largest since October 7.

Netanyahu in a pickle

At "Hostages Square", the atmosphere shifted as the families of the Israeli captives lashed out at Israeli occupation's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership. This marked a departure from the usual tone of rallies organized by the "Hostages and Missing Families Forum", where speakers had previously refrained from openly condemning the government.

One of the relatives of an Israeli captive said, as reported by The Times of Israel, “Prime Minister Netanyahu, after you abandoned our families on October 7, and after 176 days when you didn’t bring a deal [for their return], and because you are continually engaged in torpedoing a deal, we have realized that you are the obstacle to the deal. You are the obstacle. You are the one who stands between us and the return home of our loved ones.”

“From now,” she vowed, “we will work to immediately replace you. We have concluded that that is the fastest way to bring a deal… We will demonstrate and demand your ouster. We will publicly hound you.”