Negotiations have resumed in the Israeli nurses strike following a labour court decision not to grant the government’s request for a back-to-work order.  

The nurses have eased off slightly on their sanctions as more public figures and organizations come down on their side in their dispute with the Netanyahu government.

Among those who have added their voices to support the nurses’ cause are Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini, who has demanded that Netanyahu himself intervene to bring an end to the strike.

President Shimon Peres was quoted as saying “We must not let the doctor and nurse strike continue longer than a day, because it’s not a regular strike of doctors and nurses, but a shutdown of hospitals . . . If I was in government I would say that we must accept the verdict.”

According to the Jerusalem Post, “Despite their suffering, patients generally voiced their support for the nurses in their struggle.”

Leaders of left-wing parties in Israel, which is facing a general election next month, have voiced support for the nurses.

“Meretz MK Ilan Gilon launched a campaign on Tuesday to hand out white rubber bracelets to mobilize public support for the nurses’ demands,” reports the Jerusalem Post. “Hadash MK Dov Henin charged that it “wasn’t the nurses who abandoned their patients on Tuesday morning but the government.”