Israelis Go on General Strike Over Judicial Reform

On Monday, Israel's largest labor organization Histadrut started a general worker strike to press the government to halt its contentious judicial overhaul plan.

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Histadrut's chairman Arnon Bar-David issued a statement saying "workers and employers will together halt the judicial overhaul." 

Following his call, departing flights from Ben Gurion International Airport have been grounded. Factories, banks, shopping malls and local authorities participating in the strike also shut down services.

Fast food chain restaurant McDonald's also joined the strike and closed its restaurants throughout Israel. Public transportation, schools, and kindergartens were not affected.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Medical Association announced a strike at all public hospitals and community clinics for the same reason, sparing only urgent life-saving treatments. All Israeli public universities also went on strike on the same grounds.

Israel's Association of University Heads in a statement called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ruling coalition to immediately stop the legislation procedure and begin discussions to reach an agreed and broad outline.

The current Israeli government has put forward changes to the Israeli judicial system aimed at curbing the "overly activist" Supreme Court since the beginning of this year, sparking continued massive protests nationwide.