Israel's high-tech sector joins general strike to demand hostage return
Israel's high-tech sector joins general strike to demand hostage return
Leading Israeli tech firms unite with labor unions to pressure Netanyahu government for swift action.
Much of Israel's high-tech sector will join the general strike on Monday called by the head of Israel's biggest labor union. The strike aims to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to bring back Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.
The call for a one-day general strike by Arnon Bar-David, whose Histadrut union represents hundreds of thousands of workers, was backed by Israel's main manufacturers and entrepreneurs in the high-tech sector.
Hundreds of tech companies have joined the strike, including: Wix, Fiverr, HoneyBook, Playtika, Riskified, AppsFlyer, monday.com, Trax, AI21 Labs, Augury, Simply, Minute Media, Forter, Redis, Lemonade, RAMP, Agora, TytoCare, Pixellot, Papaya Global, CHEQ, Unity, RiseUp, Reason, HiBob, DriveNets, Pentera, Perion, Fireblocks, ScyllaDB, Startup Nation Central, and Recma Bio. They are joined by a list of leading funds in Israel, including Qumra Capital, NFX, Disruptive Fund, F2, PSG, Bessemer, and more.
"We will not rest until our sisters and brothers return from captivity by Hamas," read a statement by the high tech protest movement. "The Israeli government owes it to the families and to all the people of Israel to quickly advance a deal to bring all the hostages home—this is what is important at this moment. We have a strong army, and we can return to the Philadelphi, Rafah, Khan Yunis, or any place we choose at any time. The Israeli families and society will never give up on them. The State of Israel has no moral or ethical justification without their return."
The alliance of some of the most powerful voices in Israel's economy reflected the scale of public anger over the deaths, announced on Sunday, of six hostages among some 250 people seized by Hamas terrorists on October 7 last year.
"We must reach a deal (on the return of the surviving hostages). A deal is more important than anything else," Bar-David told a press conference. "We are getting body bags instead of a deal."
Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's main air transport hub, will be closed from 8 a.m. on Monday, he said. Municipal services in Israel's economic hub Tel-Aviv will also be shut for part of Monday.
Israel's Manufacturers' Association said it backed the strike and accused the government of failing in its "moral duty" to bring the hostages back alive.
Thousands of protesters blocked roads on Sunday in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and demonstrated outside Netanyahu's residence.
The Hostages Families Forum, which represents the families of some of those held in Gaza, said the death of the six was the direct result of Netanyahu's failure to secure a deal to halt the fighting and bring their loved ones home.
"They were all murdered in the last few days, after surviving almost 11 months of abuse, torture and starvation in Hamas captivity," the group said in a statement.
Reuters contributed to this report.
