Tel Aviv [Israel]: Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture has arranged for students from pre-military preparatory schools to work in agricultural work for extended periods of time in order to help with the manpower crisis that has arisen due to the war in Gaza.
The worker shortages were caused by the need to evacuate areas near Gaza and the border with Lebanon and due to the thousands of people called up to perform military reserve duty. Also, many foreign workers left the country.
There have been a great many Israeli citizens who came forward to volunteer and work in agriculture.
However, the Ministry of Agriculture points out that a permanent solution is needed since the volunteers cannot help with fieldwork that requires training and skill.
The ministry said that Israeli agriculture is currently short of about 20,000 workers.