JERUSALEM — Israel’s chief rabbis have rejected a proposal to allow non-Jewish workers to operate dairies during the upcoming Jewish holidays, saying it could compromise kosher certification and violate Shabbat, Times of Israel reports. Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber stressed in a letter to Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter that observing Shabbat and holiday closures is “one of the most distinctive symbols of the Israeli nation” and a key expression of the country’s Jewish identity.
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The High Holidays — Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur — followed by Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret-Simchat Torah, will shut milk production for nine workdays. The rabbis said dairies have managed similar schedules in past years without shortages and that there is enough time to plan for continued milk supply.
I believe they are referring to the processing plants not the farms which milk every day. Problem is storage capacity at the farms and at the producing plants which don’t necessarily have the capacity to hold raw milk for more than one extra day, shabbat, and will lose addtional processing days on chag. I for one would like them to find a way so the milk will not be dumped. In previous years there probably was enough raw milk holding capacity as production and demand were less
Everything today is automated. With Robotic Milking Systems (RMS) or Automatic Milking Systems (AMS) the cows practically walk in to get milked after grazing. Use of Nolad aside, not sure what melacha there would be shabbos for Yisrael Roeh B’sheas Chaliva. Then again I totally of Rabbinate not wanting to go theis rabbitholen of many pitfalls.
glad they didnt give into this minister, since ben gurion days the government will always look for ways to skirt halacha, which is why they are the only country to draft women and insist on having buses operate on Shabbos.
Among a country with so many babies, how can the rabbis be so sure not a single child will be endangered? May the merit of the Kiddush hashem protect us all.