Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David announced a new initiative last week aimed at reserve duty soldiers and their families. The program includes legal assistance, online lectures, subscription to the AllJobs website, and rights advocacy for reserve duty soldiers. "Every reservist needs to know that while they fight for the country, there are those who fight for them and for their loved ones waiting at home," Bar-David emphasized.
The leadership of the Histadrut agreed unanimously to implement the program, which will offer a package of services and benefits to hundreds of thousands of reservists who have been called into service since October 7th, and to make it available to all reservists, including those who are not Histadrut members. The Histadrut will provide legal consultation through its emergency hotline (*2383) and expand its activities to assist reserve soldiers, their spouses, and families. Dozens of specialized labor law attorneys will offer legal advice to reserve soldiers to ensure their rights in the workplace and address cases of employment conditions or dismissals due to reserve duty.
Additionally, the Histadrut, in collaboration with the AllJobs website, will assist in job searches, providing every reservist with a free monthly VIP subscription to the largest job search site in Israel. Each reservist will also receive a professional résumé analysis and access to a webinar to enhance job-seeking skills.
The support package from the Histadrut is expected to include comprehensive assistance for the families of reservists, including support for women, assistance for students in the reserves, and representation against higher education institutions in cases where adjustments were not provided or rights were violated due to reserve duty. The package will also offer free online lectures on employment rights, personal resilience, relationships, family, and discounted tickets for cultural events nationwide.
The Histadrut has launched a website (in Hebrew) with detailed information on the initiative and how to access its various services. "We will operate wherever there is an empty space left by the state, providing immediate and additional protection to reserve soldiers with important benefits," Bar-David noted.
Bar-David concluded by addressing the challenges faced by reservists and their families, emphasizing the need for the state to invest maximum effort to ease the situation of soldiers in reserve duty. "Until the situation changes, the Histadrut will establish a comprehensive support system for all reservists in the country," he stated.
The general director of the Histadrut, Dudu Bezalel, a reservist himself, expressed pride in the initiative and stressed the importance of mutual support within the community. "We will help each other, rebuild, and restore everything that they tried to destroy for us," he stated.
Since the outbreak of the war, the Histadrut has been operating an emergency hotline, addressing various issues and providing assistance to the public. This includes temporary housing solutions for families displaced from their homes and mental health support for thousands of affected individuals. The Histadrut has also been actively involved in local aid initiatives from the north to the south, collaborating with public and commercial workers to stop the economy for 100 minutes as a gesture of solidarity 100 days after the war broke out.
This article was translated from Hebrew by Ben Markbreiter.
