Foreign diplomats retaliate after Mossad tries to break union strike

An Israeli union representing diplomatic staff abroad has put a black ban on Mossad – the spy agency – because they effectively broke a strike and walked through a picket line of Department of Foreign Affairs staff to organize an overseas trip for Prime Minister Netanyahu – a task normally done by the union’s members.

The Foreign Ministry will no longer pay for family-related expenses such as school enrollment for children of Mossad personnel. The ministry is also considering halting payment of all wages to employees of the espionage agency.

Strong independent union culture watched closely by diplomats from other countries

The decision by the union to attack the Mossad underlines the historically, strong, independent, union culture which still pervades many, but not all, parts of Israeli society.

Unions, like in many parts of the developed world, have lost ground over recent decades but there is still a union culture which is prepared to stand up to some of the strongest institutions in Israeli society.

A US magazine reports that American diplomats who are unhappy with their own pay and conditions are salivating at this story – and possibly inspiring other diplomats from other countries to get their unions to act as strongly.

Refusing to work with Mossad anywhere in the world

The London Daily Telegraph has reported that Israel’s foreign diplomats have refused to work with Mossad spies ‘anywhere in the world’ after agents effectively broke their strike. The Israeli PM asked Mossad operative to help with his trip to Greece after industrial action over pay rates meant Netanyahu would have to cancel the visit to Athens.

Undermining important relations with Russia

Agence France Press reports Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon had to welcome visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov without a customary ceremony because no one bothered to organise one.

And Uzi Arad, national security advisor to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had to cancel a trip to Moscow because the Israeli embassy there said it could not accommodate him.

The strike, which was triggered by claims that diplomats get half the pay of defence ministry officials, has seen workers engineering a series of diplomatic faux pas. These include leaving the wife of Estonia’s president stranded at a restaurant outside Jerusalem and failing to role out a red carpet for the Russian foreign minister. They have also ditched suits in favour of jeans and sandals.

Diplomatic cable explains action against Mossad

The diplomats union who say members are still taking industrial action sent a cable to all members abroad instructing them to cut off all contact with Mossad officials, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reports.

The cable stated that ministry workers did not intend to harm Mossad employees who serve in Israeli embassies abroad, because the ministry doesn’t want to hamper efforts by an agency committed to preserving national security.

“Nonetheless, their involvement in breaking the strike moved us to respond in the way in which we responded,” the cable read.

Cable lists new punitive measures to be taken against Mossad

The cable described in detail which punitive measures to take against the Mossad agents stationed in Israeli embassies.

They include:

withholding of all payment for expenses (a Foreign Ministry administrative officer is responsible for managing all financial affairs of those in the embassy, including payment of wages and return of expenses );

a cessation of all logistical assistance, including the issuance of visas,

the arrangement of visits by senior Mossad figures, and

the provision of diplomatic passports, and

a complete halt to all assistance in the area of room and board for Mossad officials and their families.

Senior ministry officials said yesterday they were infuriated by the fact that the Mossad helped break the diplomats’ strike. The anger at the espionage agency has reached the point that the ministry will only cooperate with the Mossad in cases of life and death.

Mossad will face the consequences says foreign ministry union head

The head of the foreign ministry union, Hanan Goder, said members would retaliate against Mossad by withdrawing co-operation.: “It is unacceptable that the prime minister would use another body, which is strictly in charge of security matters to break a strike, Hanan Goder told the Daily Telegraph.

“Our mission abroad is to analyse political developments,” he said. “If we are excluded (from the Athens trip), they will face the consequences and we will not send them the reports we normally write.”

Mr Goder said striking diplomats would “provide no aid to Mossad representatives” at embassies and consulates around the world except in matters of “life or death”.

Inspiring disgruntled diplomatic workers from other countries

The high profile strike has inspired workers far afield, the US magazine In These Times reports.

The US magazine wonders if the Israeli diplomats have planted a seed with TSB, a pseudonynmous American diplomat who blogs about his job at The Skeptical Bureaucrat

“[American Foreign Service Association], eat your heart out,” TSB wrote, “Your counterparts in the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s diplomatic union are living the dream.” TSB doesn’t expect that American diplomats will ever follow the example of their Israeli counterparts and go on strike. “But you can dream.”