Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel responded Monday evening to the Supreme Court decision to freeze the work of a committee set up by the prime minister to copy the Volcani Institute of Agriculture Research to the north from its current location, south of Tel Aviv.
Ariel said, "The government and I are determined to strengthen the communities in the north and move the Volcani Institute there. No legal maneuvering will stop what logic and common sense demand. We are taking the issue of employees into consideration and it is clear to all that the relocation of the Volcani Institute northward, if and when it is decided, will go into effect after about 60 percent of the institute's employees retire."