Security Heads in Towns Begin Work Action

Heads of security in towns throughout Israel (ravshatzim) began work late on Sunday, as part of a work action over their employment conditions. In addition, they will no longer coordinate their activities with the IDF, officials representing the workers said. The security heads are demanding that Defense Minister Naftali Bennett meet with them personally in order to resolve the long-standing matter.

The issue revolves around the manner in which the chiefs get paid, and whether the payment comes directly from the budgets of towns or other sources. On Thursday, Bennett announced that he had worked out an agreement that allowed towns in Yehudah and Shomron to pay security personnel from external sources, but union officials representing the security chiefs said the agreement did not cover all towns, and that Bennett “is ignoring us. We will not accept a situation where when we ask to meet with him he releases news about fake agreements.”

In a statement, the union said that it hoped the issues could be resolved as soon as possible. “Security staff in towns are an indivisible part of the IDF, and they work day and night to achieve their goals of ensuring security. We are proud to be representatives of the military and we have nothing against the IDF, town administrators, or regional authorities. We call on Minister Bennett to stop ignoring us.”