A general strike threatened to bring Israel to a standstill Monday as growing fury at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the country’s courts stoked nationwide backlash and threw the government into turmoil.
Israeli universities, workers’ unions, hospitals, malls and Israel’s national carrier, El Al, announced a general strike, and the international airport terminated outgoing flights indefinitely. Even diplomats abroad were set to join striking government workers. Tens of thousands of protesters flooded Jerusalem. Amid calls from across the government for Netanyahu to stand down, the business community and opposition, including from Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Netanyahu’s own longtime lawyer, local media outlets reported he would make a public statement Monday.
