Hundreds of kilograms of freshly harvested onions were stolen from fields in northern Israel on Monday, prompting an official to demand that the government crack down on what he termed an epidemic of “agricultural crime” terrorizing farmers in the region.
Farmers who came to their fields in Kibbutz Manara discovered that some 200 kilograms (440 lbs) of onions, harvested the previous day and packed in cardboard boxes, were gone, out of a total of 700 kilograms, Hebrew-language media reported.
The onions were slated to be sent to retailers on Monday morning.
“Agricultural crime has become a national calamity,” said Ofer Gershowitz, director of “Galil Golan,” a local company belonging to an NGO promoting development of the Galilee region.
Gershowitz said there was a wave of crop-burning, “daily” theft of products and torching of agricultural vehicles and machinery. He alleged it was being carried out for nationalistic reasons, though he also claimed the thieves were motivated by profit.
“The government should increase the punishments for the thieves and the criminal nationalist terrorists, who extort protection money from farmers, and destroy their property by burning and thieving,” Gershowitz charged.
Police did not respond to a request for comment.