With the harvesting season for vegetation already here, the farmers have a very narrow window of opportunity to harvest their farms before they rot in the field.
For most, the IDF does not allow them entrance to their farm for security reasons. For others, the farmers themselves fear for their lives and the lives of their families as rockets continue to fall in their fields. And without workers, harvesting fields and hothouses is an impossible task.
Farmers have already been severely hit by years of Covid. This was followed by a sabbatical year of Shmitah - when no produce was grown on their fields during the seventh year of the Shmitah cycle. Now, with the struggles brought on by this sudden onslaught by Hamas, farmers will not be able to survive.
They need help now! Help for agriculture and animals to survive. Help for their family members to survive. Help to build back morale - for the very ones who literally and figuratively help sustain the people and nation of Israel.
In all probability, the country is facing a long war. Whatever funds the government will allocate will be going to the war effort - as they should. The government's commitment to pay the farmers restitution may take half a year or more, and will surely not cover their loss in its entirety.
Historically, the government has allowed agricultural imports from Israel’s Arab neighborhoods and other Middle Eastern countries at a lower cost than Israeli-grown produce.
However, it is the farmer who has sacrificed for so many decades to keep the farmland in Israeli hands. These farmers, with their fields close to the Gaza and Lebanese borders, act as a safety buffer to the Israeli cities.
The farmlands are intricately linked to Israel's first line of defense. As this war has proven, the farmers are paying a very high price for their unwavering commitment.
If we don't help Israeli farmers now, we will surely lose some of these farmlands, which in turn means that Israeli produce will be affected for years to come. More importantly, it might affect the future defense of Israel irreparably!
