Jerusalem city kindergartens strike
Public kindergartens and daycare centers join the strike in Jerusalem to protest the severe delay in government funding, calling for an immediate solution to the problem.
In a statement, the Jerusalem Municipality said, "In light of the announcement by the Histadrut (Israel's organization of trade unions) and the Organization of Jerusalem City Workers on informational gatherings of kindergarten helpers, Jerusalem public kindergartens will not be running. The special education system will continue as usual. Municipal services across the city will continue to be disabled."
Director General of the Ministry of Finance Shai Babad met with representatives of the organizations of parents, teachers, daycare providers and community centers in the city in an attempt to prevent the continuation of daycare strikes.
During the course of the meeting, Babad proposed the same budgetary offer his office previously made: an additional five percent to the Jerusalem Municipality's current budget. The meeting ended without results and the strike entered its third day.
Babad harshly attacked Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and claimed that there had never been an agreement on the transfer of NIS 800 million to the city's budget as Barkat claimed. "The Mayor of Jerusalem is lying. Disgraceful. This is a bald-faced lie," said Babad.
Senior officials from the treasury added, "It is time the state comptroller investigated the waste of public funds in Jerusalem, which are partly due to a variety of political appointments for senior positions made by Nir Barkat. This strike is part of his cynical political campaign and the residents of Jerusalem are being used as the set.”
The Jerusalem District Court announced that it was issuing a temporary ban on the strike of elementary educational institutions after studying reasons posited justifying its implementation, saying that it required time to make a decision.
Residents of the capital vented over having to endure, not for the first time, the filth and waste which has spilled over onto their streets as disputes have simmered in the political establishment.
