Agriculture Reform: One - third of coalition members oppose Israel today

Agriculture Minister Oded Forer recently accused opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu of "pulling the strings" of the farmers' protest against the proposed reform of the Arrangements Law, in order to "dismantle the change government."

But yesterday it became clear in the Knesset that while Netanyahu is vacationing in Hawaii, a significant portion of the coalition members themselves - a third of them, according to farmers - strongly oppose the plan, making it clear that they will not pass the budget if it is not changed or canceled.

Unfortunately, Minister Forer did not respond to our request if Netanyahu wins behind the scenes over the coalition members' protest to overthrow their own government.

According to recommendations

It should be noted that the proposed reform is in line with OECD recommendations for many years, with the aim of opening up the agricultural industry to free competition from abroad and placing Israel on a par with the developed countries in the world. Farmers to leave prices artificially high, by blocking imports and reducing exports - for the benefit of their personal well-being.

It also turned out that while farmers today place the responsibility for the high prices of agricultural produce on the retail chains, claiming that they are the ones driving up prices - in the not-too-distant past the Plant Council were troubled by the opposite problem: lowering consumer prices by chains.

The opposition comes from most of the coalition parties: Yemina (Nir Auerbach), Labor (Ram Shefa, Gilad Karib), Blue and White (Alon Shuster), Yesh Atid (Ram Ben Barak, Nira Shefek) and Meretz (Gabi Lasky).

"Meretz will not agree to this reform being passed in the Arrangements Law," Laski clarified.

Until recently, Deputy Defense Minister and Minister of Agriculture Alon Schuster emphasized: "I will not be able to vote in favor of the agriculture chapter in the Arrangements Law."

According to Ben Barak: "If we do not reach agreements regarding the reform, it will not pass in the Knesset."

Together as an iron fist

Members of the Knesset convened yesterday in the Gezer Regional Council for an "emergency gathering of Knesset members from the coalition," together with the heads of the regional councils and the heads of the agricultural leadership in the regional council.

The conference takes place after about a third of the Knesset members in the coalition expressed their opposition to the inclusion of the reform in agriculture in the Arrangements Law, ahead of the first reading that is expected to take place next Thursday.

During the conference, all Knesset members announced that they would not allow the reform to pass the Arrangements Law.

"I convey to all the unknown elements in the Ministry of Finance - you can not buy us in other achievements, forget about it. We stand together like an iron fist in the face of the reform in its current form," Shefa clarified.

Schuster added: "Farmers are our food security guards, so the reform must be carried out in dialogue and agreements with the representatives of the farmers, and not unilaterally. I will not be able to vote in favor of the agriculture chapter in the Arrangements Law as it is presented today.

"It is appropriate for the State of Israel to see before its eyes the public interest in preserving Israeli agriculture, along with the concern for reasonable prices for the consumer," he concluded.

The chairman of the Knesset's Agriculture Lobby, MK Ram Ben Barak, said: "This government is complex, but precisely because it was formed through dialogue and the creation of cooperation for the citizens, I believe that the change in agricultural reform will come through dialogue rather than domestic threats."

Meretz, as stated, will also not vote in favor of the reform: "The Arrangements Law and its accompanying laws constitute severe harm to farmers, cooperative partners and Israeli agriculture. "With our members in the government, and together with our fellow farmers, on a path that will benefit the citizens of Israel and the future of Israeli agriculture."

Minister Forer's office said in a response that "the reform has been launched, and it was approved unanimously by the government and without opponents in the Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs.

"I understand the difficulty of some Knesset members in dealing with the pressures exerted on them, but I am sure that in the end it is the overall public vision that will lead to the approval of the reform, which aims to lower the price to the consumer."