Israel’s chief rabbis ruled against allowing dairy plants to operate on Shabbat and Jewish holidays, rejecting Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter’s request to permit limited production during the upcoming High Holidays amid warnings of a looming milk shortage.
Dichter had proposed letting non-Jews staff the plants on holidays to avoid supply gaps, but Chief Rabbis David Yosef and Kalman Bar wrote in a letter that such activity would compromise kashrut certification. “The dairies in Israel receive kosher certification from the Chief Rabbinate, and factory work on Shabbat could harm that certification,” they said in the letter.
The minister’s appeal followed a Calcalist report last month that Israel is already facing shortages that are expected to worsen as this year’s cluster of weekday holidays reduces production days. Importing milk from abroad has also been ruled out: Germany, a major supplier, is dealing with cattle disease, boosting demand from Poland and leaving no surplus for Israeli importers.
In their letter, the rabbis also rejected expanding domestic production during the holiday season, saying dairies have always found ways to cope. “Every year the milk production system faces the challenge of Tishrei milking. Just as dairies managed in the past, we are convinced they can respond this year as well,” they wrote. “In the past, when Rosh Hashanah fell on Thursday and Friday, a solution was found. Up until a reasonable time before the holiday begins, dairies may operate halachically so workers can return home and prepare properly for Shabbat and the holiday.”
They concluded by framing the decision as a matter of national identity: “Shabbat is a defining sign of the Jewish people and a covenant between the Creator and His people. The fact that factories in Israel observe Shabbat testifies to Israel’s mission and Jewish identity. With sufficient time to prepare before the holidays, no shortage should occur.”
Meanwhile, Chief Rabbinate Director-General Yehuda Cohen dismissed warnings of shortages as a political dispute unrelated to kashrut. “For 77 years, food plants have not desecrated Shabbat, and dairy farms have technological-halakhic solutions,” he said. He argued the real issue is a pricing dispute between the Finance Ministry and farmers. “This has nothing to do with the Rabbinate. The myth that there is no milk is untrue, as is the claim that six million liters will be dumped because plants can’t work on Shabbat and holidays,” Cohen said.