KKL Cancels Employee Event After Union Calls for Boycott, Costing Over $250,000

An employee appreciation event organized by Jewish National Fund-KKL (JNF-KKL) was canceled, resulting in a financial loss exceeding one million shekels (approximately $250,000). The cancellation occurred after the workers' union instructed its members to boycott the event, which was scheduled to feature performances by Israeli artists Shlomi Shabat and Pablo Rosenberg at the Shuni Amphitheater.

Israel Goldstein, the chairman of the workers' union, sent a directive to employees on the afternoon prior to the event, unequivocally stating, "We instruct all of you to boycott the event and not to take part in it." Due to the union's boycott announcement just 24 hours before the scheduled performances, JNF-KKL's CEO, Ilan Shohat, announced the event's cancellation. Shohat stated that the union's decision to boycott was made with "clear knowledge that this decision will harm your status and dignity (of the employees) and cause financial damage of over one million shekels due to the event's cancellation."

The event cancellation is the latest development in an ongoing dispute between the union and JNF-KKL's new management, which took office in January with the appointment of Eyal Ostrovsky as Chairman. The core issues fueling the conflict are efficiency and cost-saving measures implemented by management, and a reduction in the power and status of union chairman Israel Goldstein, who is described as an influential figure within the Likud party.

Among the management's decisions is to directly control the employee welfare budget, previously managed by the union, which amounts to approximately seven million shekels. A significant move involves curbing the growth in employee numbers. While 1,244 employees were employed in 2025, Ostrovsky approved only 1,275 positions for 2026, rejecting a request for 1,400. The 2027 budget anticipates a further reduction to 1,250 employees due to retirements. This initiative to halt workforce expansion stems from a previous, "abnormal" increase in staff that led to rising organizational expenses.

During the tenure of former JNF-KKL Chairwoman Yifat Ovadia-Luski, also from the Likud party, from early 2023 until January, the organization operated for nearly three years with acting directors and saw a significant increase in employee numbers, growing by dozens of percent. Over five years, from 2021 to the end of 2025, the workforce expanded by nearly 30%, from 953 to 1,233 employees. This surge contributed to a 44% rise in the organization's fixed expenses, from 444 million shekels in 2021 to 640 million shekels in the recently approved 2026 budget. Goldstein reportedly became dominant during this period, influencing numerous appointments.

Goldstein explained his call for the boycott by stating that "management consistently chooses to sideline and ignore the workers' organization on a long list of substantive issues, including employee events and employee welfare." He also noted that the expected cut in fixed expenses "constitutes a direct blow to the employees." While the 2027 fixed expenses are projected to remain at 640 million shekels, this represents a real decrease when accounting for inflation, attributed to the reduced workforce and a new policy of hiring only essential and suitable personnel. JNF-KKL management did not respond to requests for comment, but Goldstein asserted that the union would continue to fight for employees' rights against a management he described as "abusive" and acting on "narrow political considerations."