Secretary-General Yaffa Ben-David of the Histadrut Hamorim teachers' union has responded to Education Minister Rafi Peretz's pledge to open the school year on time by saying, "If the Treasury does not meet our demands, we will not open the coming school year."
Ben-David added, The time has come for the State of Israel to pay heed to the teaching staff and give them the proper respect. We've had enough talking. We demand what we deserve and has been stolen from us. The Treasury officials are criminals with a license."