At Knesset, protesters against proposed dairy reform throw hay, spill milk

Farmers and dairy workers protest outside the Knesset and the Finance Ministry against Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s proposed reform of the dairy industry. Some 500 take part in the demonstrations, where some participants spill milk and throw hay in symbolic gestures.

A press release from the Moshav movement adds that some protesters attempted to break into the ministry, and that others placed a statue of a cow in a square outside the Knesset Square, dubbing it Israeli Cow Square.

The press release says several lawmakers from the coalition and opposition attended the protest.

Amit Ifrach, secretary-general of the Moshav Movement and chairman of the Israel Farmers’ Association, says: “You don’t shut down a 100-year-old enterprise while spitting in the faces of the farmers of the Gaza envelope and the Golan Heights — those who were on the front lines on October 7. We will not allow Smotrich to abandon the farmers, sell out the dairy sector or Israeli agriculture, and jeopardize the food security of the State of Israel.'”

הפגנת הרפתנים בירושלים מגיעה לשיאה, כשהמוחים מנסים להיכנס למשרד האוצר בירושלים. pic.twitter.com/tLe4zGueev

— דפנה ליאל (@DaphnaLiel) February 4, 2026

As part of a broader plan to lower the cost of living, Smotrich is seeking to disband the centralized coordination mechanism that has characterized the dairy industry since the state’s founding. He plans to slash milk production from the current 1.5 billion liters to 1 billion, cut the price per liter that dairy processors pay to farmers by 15 percent, and abolish tariffs of up to 40 percent to flood the Israeli market with imported dairy products. The plan was approved by the government in December and now needs the Knesset’s authorization.