Christians warned Tuesday that a general strike threatened by Israel's largest labor union could disrupt travel for thousands of pilgrims travelling to Israel for Christmas, AFP reports.
Barring a last-minute wage deal, the Histadrut labour federation says its members - including workers at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion international airport, government offices, hospitals, schools and public transport - will stop work at 6:00 am on Wednesday.
"I contacted the office of the Histadrut chairman this morning to ask that they make an exception of the airport," Wadie Abunassar, a spokesman for local Christian groups, said in a statement. "That is, in order not to hurt the thousands of Christian pilgrims who are due to arrive here for Christmas and hundreds of Christians from Israel who are to travel abroad for the holiday," he said.