Local dairy farmers journeyed to Jerusalem in tractors, with many heading to the Knesset on Wednesday to protest the advancing dairy reform led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The demonstration led to road blockage on Highway 1, which leads into Jerusalem, as protesters waved flags calling to halt the reform.
Protesters also gathered around the Finance Ministry and attempted to break in. Police established a barrier, which was subsequently breached, leading to altercations between demonstrators and police.
The protest comes after farmers resumed milk supply to dairies on Wednesday morning. They had halted the supply throughout Tuesday, leading to milk shortages.
Agriculture and Raw Food Security Minister Avi Dichter (Likud) requested that farmers end the strike late on Tuesday evening, despite being an outspoken critic of the reform.
The dairy reform is set to enact sweeping changes to the dairy sector, claiming to lower milk and cheese prices by addressing monopolies that dominate the market.
The reform has raised concerns over shutdowns and harm to hundreds of local dairy farms. It will reportedly open the economy to free imports by abolishing all protective tariffs on dairy products.
Smotrich said on Wednesday morning that the reform would harm local dairy farmers who were small producers, and that they would then receive a compensation package.
He added that dairies would receive “statutory protection from the state, and in addition, the state will be your partner in new investments, with a great deal of money."
The finance minister’s remarks came after the Knesset decided overnight to keep the dairy reform as part of the 2026 state budget bill.
Dairy reform included in Israel’s 2026 state budget
Rather than advancing the dairy reform as a standalone bill, it was included in a series of bills as part of Israel’s 2026 state budget, which passed its first reading in the Knesset last week.
By law, the state budget must be passed by the end of March in all three readings, or else the Knesset will automatically dissolve, and elections will be called.
This gives the dairy reform a narrow window to pass and will require it to be deliberated within the lengthy state budget bill, which runs hundreds of pages.