WEST BANK/ISRAEL: Israeli Jews turn to Palestinians for kosher vegetables

The Jewish state turns to Palestinians for agricultural produce, as Israeli farmers let their land lie fallow for a year under religious laws. A Jewish agricultural law that crops up every seven years is prompting Israel's most fervent Zionists to turn to Palestinian farmers for food. According to biblical law, farmers must let the land of Israel "rest and lie fallow" every seventh year, which means no planting crops, no picking fruit and no working vineyards. In past years, farmers have circumvented the law by symbolically selling their land to a non-Jew for the year. But this year, some Orthodox Jews want that loophole closed and are turning to Palestinian farmers for their kosher vegetables -- an ironic twist in a region gripped by conflict over land ownership. Wearing traditional prayer shawls, a group of bearded Orthodox Jews strolled through Palestinian farmland in the occupied West Bank, choosing the shiniest, firmest tomatoes to take back to their communities. In Hebron, Palestinian merchant Ghaleb Abu Sneineh stood near his fruits and vegetables as Orthodox Jews, members of a local shmita committee which is responsible for implementing the law in their communities, selected their produce. They marked each box with a black "kosher" stamp in Hebrew. Rabbi Shner Revach, chairman of the government sponsored group that oversees implementation of biblical laws, explained of the religious and ecological logic behind the agricultural sabbatical -- known as 'Shmita'. "God wanted to remind us and tells us, 'Look, I'm the owner of the land. Once in seven years, let mother earth rest and trust me. I will worry about everything because remember, I am the true owner,'" he said The Shmita started last month with the advent of the Jewish New Year, and Israel's Industry and Trade Ministry said imports of Palestinian produce into Israel had risen significantly since then. In past shmita years, religious authorities have allowed farmers to get around the law with tricks such as selling land for a year to a non-Jew, a practice called 'heter mechira'. Some farmers grow crops on platforms to avoid working the land directly or cover their fields with giant greenhouses for the year, which means it is indoors and exempt. This year, many ultra-Orthodox rabbis want a stricter interpretation of the law with a ban on methods aimed at getting around it. Israel's chief rabbinate has allowed local religious authorities to decide how to enforce the shmita rule and many ultra-Orthodox communities have insisted on a literal interpretation, which has pressured secular farmers to conform. Farmer Dror Maimoni, who, like many Israelis, sells his land to non-Jews during shmita years, has scaled back production because his goods are not deemed kosher under the stricter rules. "We have reduced the amount of produce to the minimum possible because our sales are not like every other year," Maimoni said. Even non-religious Israelis are affected by the shmita, since stores selling produce that has not been approved by the religious authorities run the risk of losing business. "A lot of people that are regular customers are not here anymore because of the shmita," said Keren Kasit, whose fruit and vegetables stole in Tel Aviv, Israel's secular metropolis, lacks the kosher stamps from rabbis. A vendor at a Tel Aviv market said a shortage of goods sanctioned as kosher had forced up prices. "They (Orthodox Jews) have the shmita and they buy from the Arabs, that's their religion, and now the prices have gone up dramatically," he said, giving his name only as Sami. The legality of heter mechira is being discussed in Israel's Supreme Court and some rabbis have even formed groups to offer alternative religious sanctions that bypass the ultra Orthodox ban and allow farmers to take advantage of the loophole.

ITN Source | October 29, 2007

Tags:. .palestinians. .lacks. .methods. .symbolically. .fruits