About 150 dairy farmers and other farmers and residents of the southern Arava region along Israel's southern border with Jordan held demonstrations, Thursday, against the government's decision to reduce the price of raw milk that the farmers receive for the milk they provide to Israel's four major dairies. The farmers say that the recommendation flies in the face of a committee report that blames the dairies and grocery chains for recent hikes in dairy products.
In addition to blocking traffic and spilling milk at the Katura Junction and other places, the farmers started disrupting the supply of milk to the dairies and erected a protest tent opposite the home of former agriculture minister Shalom Simchon, who now heads the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. They also started registering en masse for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud party as a way to stop party members from destroying the industry. The farmers feel that price cut and the opening of the dairy-product market to imports will cause the closing of 400 of the nation's 950 dairy farms in less than two years.