There's a cartoon in today's New York Times Week in Review highlighting all the strikes ongoing around the globe this week. All of a sudden, it appears that workers of the world are uniting, and in some cases, may even be winning. Here, at home the WGA strike is changing the face of union communications as creative workers are ably getting their message out on youtube and blogs galore.

But a strike in Israel has been much less fun--and off the radar of the American public. While news saturation covers that region on the war front, it's not often that there's coverage of domestic life in Israel. Consequently, many of Israel's staunchest supporters have no idea about the reality of life there. The teacher's strike--which began in middle and high schools six weeks ago--shows a side to Israel that should have all those who care about the country and the region concerned. Can you imagine a school strike going on in any state in this country for six weeks? The Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, has refused to meet with the Teachers' Union chief turning him into a near martyr especially among the poorer sectors in Israel who already feel slighted economically.

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