Are in-person meetings more important than employee safety?
I hesitate to write this because it’s happening right now.
My nephew went to graduate school in Israel. After a visit and tour by his immediate family several years back, when things were relatively peaceful, he decided to go back to a school that specialized in his line of work. His hope was that he could further his career with this degree.
Before he graduated, he was hired by an Israeli company. While he was still in school, he worked there. Once he graduated, he came back to the States and worked remotely. Occasionally, the company required him to go to the home office for meetings. That was fine until it wasn’t.
Israel has been at war for six months. Last week, as Israel targeted Iranians in Syria, my nephew was there for meetings. He’s still there. He wanted to get out on Monday. He couldn’t get a flight. He has to wait. His mother, his fiance, all of us who know he’s there are worried.
This is the second time since the war started that my nephew has been compelled to go to their home office by his company. It was scary enough the last time. It is scarier now. Have they never heard of Zoom or any of the other multitude of video conferencing programs? It’s not just being there that’s dangerous. It’s also about getting on a plane these days. Not a day goes by that we don’t hear about another plane with mechanical or computer issues…
It’s certainly up to him, but I hope that once he’s home he seeks a new job. How a company of any kind can with a clear conscience compel employees to travel to a war zone is beyond me. If they think mingling with others in person right now is more important than keeping their employees safe, someone needs a reality check. To me, it doesn’t matter what their rationale is. This is not business as usual.
After the drone and missile strikes from Iran last weekend, we are all on edge. After all, Netanyahu started this tit-for-tat with Iran, expanding the war (yes, I’m very opinionated about the government of Israel).
Netanyahu, who only cares about himself, power, and staying out of jail, (who else does this sound like?) doesn’t care about his country, its citizens or his impact on Jews around the world.