Agricultural Minister Oded Forer of Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party is making efforts to remove the restrictions against the establishment of slaughterhouses for pigs in Israel.

Currently, slaughterhouses for pigs are only allowed in three places in Israel – in I’billin and Mi’ilya, Arab local councils with Christian populations located in northern Israel, and at the research institute next to Kibbutz Lahav in southern Israel.

Forer is working to amend the law and remove the geographical limitations, enabling the establishment of slaughterhouses for pigs anywhere in Israel, with the only condition being compliance with veterinary requirements.

“There are currently no professional reasons for restricting slaughterhouses to those localities only,” a draft of the amendment published on Tuesday, states. “In order to act to reduce the cost of living, the ministry worked to remove the geographical restriction, which will lead to increased competition between the establishments and thereby lead to lower prices and the accessibility of meat to the entire population in Israel, including non-Jewish citizens of Israel,” the draft continues. “Regarding everything related to religious aspects, the Religious Ministry should be consulted.”

UTJ chairman Moshe Gafni responded to the report by stating: “Yisrael Beiteinu is not successful in anything it does –  the cost of living is reaching unprecedented highs, the whole country is on strikes, nothing is functioning, and in order to incite the burning issues – they try to harm the Jewish state in order that there will be shouts and arguments and they will be portrayed as fighters against religion.”

“We’re in a period before elections and the legal adviser to the government must stop this dangerous provocation immediately so that Lieberman and his people won’t invent a Torah provocation every week until the election.”

Shas MK Moshe Arbel responded to the report in an interview with Reshet Bet by saying that Israel’s current policy, according to which pigs can be raised for food in two Christian settlements is balanced, and the change that Lieberman is trying to make is undemocratic. “We’re a Jewish country,” he asserted.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)