IDF officers voiced strong objections on Friday to bureaucratic changes which were made within the military and to a new contract agreement with security coordinators for local councils, according to a Channel 12 report.
The dispute arose when some local councils, including in settlements and along Israel’s borders, refused to sign the new agreement provided by the IDF that would see a reorganization of the bureaucratic structure in which payments would be given to regional councils and then to local councils, who would then distribute it to security coordinators.
The result was the dismissal of some security coordinators and non-payment of their salaries in councils that did not sign the new agreement, which has traditionally been paid directly by the Defense Ministry to local councils. Some security coordinators have not received a salary in two months.
In support of the security coordinators, IDF officers began issuing threats against the upper echelons of the IDF and sections responsible for budgetary matters, including Defense Minister Naftali Bennett.
Following the threats, the National Federation sent a letter to the commander of the (Gush) Etzion Brigade, saying that "The explicit threats to the security coordinators have come to a significant detriment to the organization of workers and their right to strike.”
Security coordinators have claimed that, "Bennett has thrown us under the bus." Yaniv Yifrach, a Gaza border community chief rabbi, returned his vehicle and announced on Friday, December 13, that he did not want to work. "I returned the vehicle. I want my salary," Yifrach said. He further added that "the council signed the agreement, but the money has not been transferred. They say it's a technical issue, but it's not possible anymore to continue on like this. I work twenty-four hours and I deserve a salary. Why should I be without a salary?"
The Defense Ministry responded to the claims, saying that “[we] recognize and appreciate the work of the security coordinators, and their contribution to strengthening security in localities. Therefore, the Ministry, together with the Regional Council Center, has drafted a new agreement, which will increase the budget for assistance with funding of security components for councils and localities employing rabbis."The vast majority of regional councils, including the councils in the Gaza Strip communities, have already signed the new agreement and received the budget," the ministry statement continued. "A number of individual councils have not yet signed, and we are working with them to reach a conclusion. "