Israel's labor union head attacks Netanyahu, vows to protest against gov't

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must resign, chairman of the Histadrut labor federation Arnon Bar-David said on Saturday in what he called the first step of a "restart" for the State of Israel.

Bar-David, speaking at a Shabbatarbut event in Beersheba, attacked Netanyahu over his failure on October 7 and called for the prime minister to take responsibility and resign.

He further called on the "disastrous" government to decide a date for new elections to place, adding that he believes Israel would have a new prime minister within 12 months.

"We must have elections, we must restart the State of Israel. An agreed date for the elections should be set, by December of this year."

"There is only one way out: Elections," Bar-David said. "The prime minister should first of all take responsibility for what happened and then make his decisions. If I were him, I would resign."

Israel's labor union will join strikes, protests against the government

Bar-David also promised that the Histadrut would join protests and demonstrations against the current government, sparking concern over a potential strike across Israel's work sector.

He revealed that he had attempted to speak with the prime minister and the Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, to correct the budget and adapt it to the war situation Israel is in, including closing unnecessary government offices, but according to Bar-David, the two did not respond.

Israel's primary worker's union previously planned strikes against the Israeli government over the judicial reform. However, were canceled in light of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement that he would temporarily pause judicial reform legislation back in March of 2023. 

The Likud sent out a statement on Saturday evening attacking Bar-David, accusing him of choosing "nation-dividing politics over unity."