Israel's diplomats go on strike (update)

From the Israel Consulate of Philadelphia page:

Due to the work dispute of the Diplomats of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Israel there will be no consular services until further notice except life threatening situations and burials in Israel. 

Phone calls will not be answered.​​
We are sorry for the inconvenience.​

Some of the consulate and embassy pages say nothing, some are more terse than this. The best explanation I've seen comes from the embassy in Madrid:

Due to the refusal of the Ministry of Finance of Israel to resolve the labor dispute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israeli diplomats have renewed their labor measures pressure.

It is rare that the diplomatic service of a country is involved in a labor dispute. Out of our deep commitment to presenting Israel's interests abroad, international prestige and national security of Israel, we Israeli diplomats insist that our reasonable demands are met.

There will be no changes in this website until further notice. Regular updates will resume with a satisfactory resolution of the dispute.

I have not seen this in any news site yet as of this writing.

If I recall correctly, one of the previous strikes by MFA workers occurred during the push by the PLO to have an Arab Palestinian state recognized by many South American countries, and there was effectively no opposition by Israel because of their job action.

IMHO, Israeli diplomats are as important - or more so - than soldiers, and the idea of them going on a general strike is completely unacceptable  although slowing down some personal consular services might be OK.  The idea that no one is available to present Israel's case in every foreign country if needed is crazy.

(h/t Irene)

UPDATE: TOI did have the story:

Workers at the Foreign Ministry initiated a harsh new round of labor sanctions Tuesday, potentially jeopardizing visits of foreign dignitaries and planned trips abroad by Israeli officials.The strike, which has also temporarily suspended all consular services to Israelis abroad, came after months-long talks with the Finance Ministry broke down earlier in the week.

If no solution is found to the rekindled labor dispute, the strike could endanger the upcoming visits to Israel by British Prime Minister David Cameron and Pope Francis.

Oy.

(h/t Gabriel)