State Union Accuses ILA Chief of Excluding Women in Labor Dispute
State Employees Union chair Ofir Alcalay accused ILA acting director Yehuda Elyahu of excluding women after he delayed a musical featuring female singers, violating a labor court settlement.
Administrative Dispute Over Women's Singing at Israel Land Authority
Ofir Alcalay, chairman of the State Employees Union, has strongly criticized Yehuda Elyahu, acting director-general of the Israel Land Authority (ILA), accusing him of "excluding women from the public sphere while trampling the principle of equality." The severe reprimand was delivered in an official letter following Elyahu's failure to honor a legally binding agreement validated by the labor court.
The dispute centers around the cancellation of a musical performance titled "Biglal HaRuach," featuring songs by Shlomi Shabat, which was originally slated for a Rosh Hashanah employee event in September. Although the show was duly selected by an ILA tender committee in early August, Elyahu instructed the human resources division on August 17 to cancel the production because it included women singing.
"This is a deliberate pattern of action designed to stall activities and systematically exclude women from public spaces," stated Ofir Alcalay in his reprimand to the acting director.
Labor Court Intervention and Subsequent Delays
To prevent a legal defeat in the Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court, Elyahu had previously reached a compromise with Alcalay and ILA workers' committee chair Shelly Yirmiyahu. Under the settlement, the musical was rescheduled for October, with a parallel alternative activity arranged for religious employees who object to mixed singing. Consequently, the legal proceedings were formally dismissed.
However, over a month has passed, and the production has faced continuous administrative stalling. Alcalay noted that Elyahu is similarly delaying an educational employee seminar in Eilat, which was also scheduled to feature a female vocalist. Despite requests from the workers' committee in August to advance the tender, Elyahu demanded personal approval of the content yet failed to promote the tender or clear the program.
The union has issued a seven-day ultimatum demanding a fixed date for the rescheduled employee event and a concrete timeline for the Eilat seminar tender. Failure to comply will result in the immediate resumption of legal action in the labor court.
