Arnon Bar-David (; born 1957) is an Israeli trade unionist and civil servant. He is the Chairman of the

Histadrut Histadrut, fully the New General Workers' Federation () and until 1994 the General Federation of Labour in the Land of Israel (, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center and represents the m ...

since March 2019.

Biography

Arnon Bar-David was born in 1957 in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. His father worked in the city's water plant. In 1975, Bar-David enlisted in the IDF, joining the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. List of naval academies See also

* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...

, and later served as a company commander in the Armored Corps. After the conclusion of his service, Bar-David became a coordinator of the Hebrew Scouts, studied history at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

, and worked as a sports correspondent for Hadashot in 1986, before becoming an editor until 1990. Bar-David additionally worked as a department manager in the Education Administration of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality until 1993.

Trade union career

In 1993, Bar-David joined the Tel Aviv's trade union, later becoming its chairman until 2006. from 2006 to 2019, Bar-David served as the Chairman of th
Union of Clerical and Public Service Employees of the Histadrut
In March 2019, after Avi Nissenkorn joined the Blue and White list and resigned as Chairman of the Histadrut, Bar-David was elected by the Histadrut House of Representatives to the post of chairman of the Histadrut. One of his first acts after he took office was the closure of the Davar Rishon website, which criticized his entry into the post, his predecessor Nissenkorn and Moshe Kahlon. On May 1, an alternative news site went live. Bar-David was re-elected as chairman on 24 May 2022. defeating former chairman Ofer Eini and winning 78% of the vote to Eini's 22%. On September 1, 2024, Arnon ordered a strike in the Histadrut to pressure the government to reach a hostage deal.

COVID-19

Bar-David, a vocal critic of the Israeli government's economic response to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

crisis, warned that Israel stands on the verge of an “economic

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

.” Bar David repeatedly called on authorities to release cash to keep struggling businesses afloat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bar-David, Arnon 1957 births Living people Israeli Labor Party politicians Israeli trade unionists General secretaries of Histadrut People from Kiryat Ono