The striking of the Foreign Ministry workers should be stopped. I don't know what their problem is, except for wanting more money which is always the case, but when it harms national interests striking should not be allowed. There should be some form of pressure they are allowed to hold, but not a strike. Stopping aliyah to the country?

They just announced that they will be halting all consular services abroad.

In many far-flung countries, it was well known that the local Chabad house provided a lot of the services for the local Consulate. From what I can gather it was generally an unofficial arrangement. The Chabad house is generally able to mobilize much quicker and provide on the ground help much faster than the Consulate, which can often be handcuffed by politics and relations, interests and bureaucracy.

That being said, it is a bit funny when the Foreign Ministry dumps its responsibility completely on to the Chabad houses. It says a lot for the Chabad houses and the shluchim, for their dedication and for the quality of assistance, but it is still strange the Foreign Ministry would strike and dump their responsibility on Chabad shoulders.

In the Israel Hayom article about the Foreign Ministry workers stepping up the level of the strike, Army Radio is quoted as saying from the Foreign Ministry " Israeli tourists who find themselves stranded abroad are advised to turn to a local Chabad house for assistance, Army Radio said."

strange.

and on that note, a Chabad shliach that was spoken to had the following to say in response:

"We would be happy to assist any Israeli or Jew in need. I don't expect we'll be bombarded by phone calls, but we will do everything we can to help," Rabbi Mordechai Levenhartz, who heads the Chabad house in Kiev, Ukraine, told Army Radio. "We are unable to issue visas, I'm afraid, but we can offer a comfortable place to stay and a hot meal."

Way to go Chabad. Down with the Foreign Ministry.