Lifeguards on the Holy Land's beaches went on partial strike Friday. Although they will continue to look after bathers in the daytime hours, they will be closing their stations at 5 PM every day, until further notice. The lifeguards are protesting what they say are unfair terms of employment for new lifeguards who joined their ranks from 2000 onwards.
The strike is backed by the national federation of labor unions, or Histadrut.
The Labor Court allowed lifeguards outside of Tel Aviv and Haifa – who are employed through contractors – to strike from 1 PM every day, but the Histadrut and lifeguards said they would be foregoing that right as a gesture of goodwill to the bathers.