A new report by Hashomer Hahadash finds agricultural crime increased 46% in 2020.
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There were 2,172 incidents of agricultural crime in 2020 compared to 1,481 the previous year.
Fifty-eight percent of farmers said they had been the victims of agricultural crime in 2020, compared to 67% the year prior.
With more criminal acts targeting a smaller number of farms in 2020, the findings point to criminals having targeted specific farms.
According to the data, the average farm was the target of 12.1 acts of agricultural crime in 2020. The majority of incidents involved the theft of both produce and equipment. In 2020, agricultural damages sustained as a result of crime stood at 23.5 million shekels (around $7 million), a 10% increase from 2019.
Around 35% of farmers do not report the agricultural crime to the police. A majority who refrained from reporting incidents said they either did not trust the police or that the police would not do anything about the crime.
In a disturbing trend, a majority of farmers who did report agricultural crime said they did so for insurance reasons. In 2019, 80% of farmers went to the police to report an agricultural crime.
According to Mordechai Hadad from Moshav Eitan in south-central Israel who spoke to the authors of the report, "There was a time when you could leave a tractor in the yard with the key in the ignition. Now we need dogs, chains, guards, and cameras, and it doesn't always help."
In a statement, the Israel Police called the report "tendentious."
"The data presented in [the report] are far from reality and the data in our possession. Over the past two years, hundreds of suspects have been arrested, and hundreds of indictments have been filed. Nearly 20% of cases opened in the last two years have developed into an indictment. Some of them ended in a conditional settlement in cases where that was appropriate, some of them have unfortunately not been solved, and others are still under active police investigation or have been transferred to the prosecution for review and a ruling."
To tackle the phenomenon, ministers, lawmakers, regional council heads, and social activists are set to take part in the first-of-its-kind conference on agricultural crime in the Negev and Galilee regions, Monday.
The conference, an initiative of Israel Hayom, Hashomer Hahadash [the New Guard], and the Farmers' Federation of Israel, will also focus on governance challenges across the country.
Public Security Minister Amir Ohana told Israel Hayom he intends put task Border Police units in charge of dealing with the phenomenon of agricultural crime.
The move follows a 2017 decision by Israel Police Commissioner Ronnie Alsheikh to shift responsibility for the issue from the Border Police and to that of local police stations. That move, however, did not bring results, according to feedback from regional council heads and other figures in the field.
"I have followed the fight against agricultural terrorism and crime in the rural space for many years as a lawmaker," Ohana said, Sunday. "Families have been ruined and much suffering has been caused as a result of this crime, and this move will bring great news in the field."
Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit is also expected to provide a review of changes made by the prosecution system to deal with the phenomenon.
In a conversation with Israel Hayom ahead of the conference, Mendelblit said he intends to present the activities of a Justice Ministry "super team" that was formed to deal with major crimes.
He said the Justice Ministry was working to promote changes to the concept of "proactive enforcement" aimed at harming financial institutions of those believed to be perpetrating the crime. There are also plans for integrated enforcement that would see a variety of legal measures employed to allow for more effective handling of organized crime.
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