Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
A Israeli army APC in a field near the southern Israeli city of Sderot, on October 23, 2023. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP)
The Agriculture Ministry calls on the big retail chains, smaller greengrocers and consumers to give preference to produce grown in Israel.
It says it will push for a law to ensure Israeli produce is labeled as such so that consumers are better informed to choose local.
“This is a rallying cry to defend Israeli agriculture,” says ministry director general Oren Lavi.
A large percentage of Israeli vegetables are grown in areas near the Gaza border, which have largely been cleared of civilians since October 7, when Hamas terrorists launched a murderous invasion of that area.
Much of Israel’s fruit is cultivated in the north, where communities are also being moved, against the backdrop of skirmishes between Israeli forces and terror groups such as Hezbollah.
Illustrative: A foreign worker at an onion farm on August 12, 2016. (Yaniv Nadav/Flash90)
Growers have been hard hit over the past two weeks by the departure of some 2,000 Thai farmhands, upon whom Israeli growers have come to rely.
Volunteers are being enlisted to help harvest seasonal produce and milk cows.
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, October 23, 2023
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