Pinhas Idan in a stirring letter following the Ben Gurion Airport saga: "I must vent my pain. I have been hurt"

The veteran chairman of the Israel Airports Authority workers' union, Pinhas Idan, sent a personal and sharp letter to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich following the recent chaos at Ben Gurion Airport. The letter, full of deep frustration, opens with an unconventional address: "Mr. Bezalel Smotrich, honorable Minister of Finance and my dear brother, I am sorry to bother you, but I had to vent some pain to you." Idan expresses deep hurt over the accusations the Finance Minister directed at him in the media, and mentions that their relationship had much better days in the past, when the minister served as Minister of Transport.

Idan strongly rejects the aggressive image that has been attached to him and the workers' union. He emphasizes that the days of bullying in the public service have long passed.

"Maybe in the seventies and eighties we still allowed ourselves to act out, but we cannot be accused of bullying in the last three decades," he writes.

Idan reminds the minister that since 2006, there has not been a single strike at Ben Gurion Airport initiated by the local union, except for one general strike by the Histadrut. The workers' leadership under his command, according to him, is characterized by responsibility and discretion, preventing many crises behind the scenes.

Regarding the recent events that led to the collapse of operations at the airport, Idan claims that a grave injustice was done to him and that he was framed. He clarifies that he did not give an order to close the airport and demands the establishment of an investigative committee to identify the party actually responsible for the shutdown.

According to him, administrative failures and the lack of recruitment of suitable personnel led to the complication, while prior consultation with him would have prevented the management's unilateral conduct and the resulting chaos.

"Even at the height of the war, when the airport was under threat and full of US Air Force planes, Ben Gurion Airport functioned as usual," Idan reminds.

He adds that he works in cooperation with Finance Ministry officials and suggests that the minister check the facts with professional staff instead of describing him as a "savage." The letter ends on a somber note: "I want to believe that in the end the truth will come to light, but unfortunately even then I will not receive an apology from those who slander my name. My heart is truly broken that this is your negative opinion of me."