The corruption within the occupation is alarming. Let me introduce you to Yair Katz, chairman of the Israel Aerospace Industries(IAI) workers' union. IAI is a state-owned company and its largest.
Recently, he threatened to use "doomsday weapons" against Israel's enemies. It prompted me to research this man.
Yair Katz was arrested in 2017 on suspicion of corruption at IAI. Katz, 36, who serves in the senior management of the IAI and has been a member of its powerful workers’ union for four years, was arrested on suspicion of coercing employees into joining the Likud party, police told the court in a hearing to extend his remand. https://www.timesofisrael.com/welfare-ministers-son-named-as-suspect-in-iai-corruption-probe/
He eventually got nothing, and the case virtually disappeared from the news.
The Likud party is Netanyahu's government. The IAI company is a stronghold for him.
For some two decades, Haim Katz has represented employees of IAI, Israel's largest state-owned firm, whose current roster numbers 16,000. https://www.defensenews.com/interviews/2015/03/22/iai-labor-chief-helped-propel-netanyahu-s-win/
Before Yair Katz became chairman, his father controlled the workers' union at IAI. He was also arrested for corruption, but nothing came of it.
Haim Katz is an Israeli politician. He currently serves as the Minister of Tourism. He was the Minister of Labor, Welfare and Social Services from 2015 to 2019, and served as a member of the Knesset for One Nation between 1999 and 2003, and for Likud between 2003 and 2023. (Wikipedia)
The events below happened recently and are quite alarming.
On May 6, 2024, the Israel Aerospace Industries workers’ union has announced a labor dispute and is threatening to disrupt the company’s supply to its customers. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2024/05/09/israeli-labor-dispute-could-disrupt-production-of-arrow-3-weapon/
From the article (emphasis mine):
The dispute, announced Monday, follows the Israeli Finance Ministry’s demand that it regulate so-called salary anomalies found within the state-owned defense company. The government is seeking the return of hundreds of millions of shekels that IAI employees received over multiple years without governmental approval, contrary to what is customary in state-owned firms. But the union describes the anomalies as incentives, claiming they are primarily meant to help with employee retention. The union wants the salary deviations to be incorporated into the company’s budget.
So, what we have here is a dispute between the union and the state over "salary anomalies."
From the same article above:
The union added that if the Finance Ministry does not meet its demands, the supply of the Arrow 3 air defense system to Germany, which is the largest defense deal in the history of Israel and the company, will be among the disrupted programs. The workers’ union and the company itself are united in the union’s demand to incorporate the alleged salary anomalies into the company’s budget.
On June 12, 2024, the state capitulated to their demands.
The Israel Aerospace Industries workers’ union has reached an agreement with the government’s Finance Ministry where so-called salary anomalies previously provided to company employees will be recognized as special retroactive grants, according to the union. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2024/06/12/israel-aerospace-industries-union-reaches-agreement-with-government/
The IAI workers' union practically controls the entire company, and Yair Katz bribes/blackmails employees to support the Likud party. It's being hidden as salary anomalies. Also, his father had the same position before him and is now a powerful politician. Furthermore, it seems to me that Germany has a role to play in this matter. They certainly wanted that air defense system that the union threatened to interfere with, and one of the articles mentioned a meeting with German officials. It is worth noting that the deal involved $3.5 billion and it's a significant weapon deal.
It may have something to do with Germany's new deportation law.
The existing law requires that would-be citizens be committed to the “free democratic fundamental order,” and the new version specifies that antisemitic and racist acts are incompatible with that.
The Interior Ministry said that the law on residence will be changed so that approving or promoting “a single terrorist crime” is grounds for a “particularly serious interest in expulsion.” That means that in future a single comment that “glorifies and endorses a terrorist crime on social media” could constitute a reason for expulsion. The government has said that issues such as antisemitism, Israel’s right to exist and Jewish life in Germany are being given a greater weight in the citizenship test applicants have to undergo. https://apnews.com/article/germany-deportation-approval-extremism-online-7e849a4c7b15c5edbbeb063264ffbaaa
The excuse from Chancellor Olaf Scholz about last month's knife attack is silly. One white cop dies, and it's an excuse to enact a severe law? If only our politicians were this quick and effective with cops that execute black people... I believe the only changes in this legislation relate to Israel and that the IAI's union coerced Germany to add those new laws. This Yair Katz has an enormous amount of power. His union can halt weapon production and meddle in major deals with other countries. He is now threatening to use "doomsday weapons."
Any thoughts about all this would be much appreciated.