Threatened Strike Could Close Israeli Airport for the Weekend

A strike that will close Israel’s main gateway to the world, Ben Gurion International Airport, for part of the coming weekend is being threatened by the Israel Airports Authority union. Steeped in Israeli culture, the threat was to close the airport for the Sabbath: from sundown Friday evening to sunset Saturday night – and there was no religious nuance or element to the issues. The union is protesting a decision to considering plans to divert funding earmarked for the airport to nearby municipalities. The union’s job action notably comes in the absence of any decision or action. At the present time, it’s just that funds “could be” diverted. According to the daily Haaretz, it also comes with knowledge that Prime Minister Netanyahu gave a written commitment that no funds would be diverted from the IAA budget which is a free-standing and does not receive state funds. Instead, its funding comes exclusively from airport fees and charges.