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The following are excerpts from the Al-Jazeera article on how Arabs in Israel are excited about Shmita, and are working hand-in-hand with the Chareidi community:
Palestinian farmers across the occupied West Bank are expecting a surge in business this year thanks to Israelis observing a Jewish biblical law called shmita. With the new Jewish year just days away, ultra-Orthodox Jews are turning to neighbouring Palestinian and Jordanian farmers to supply tonnes of fruits and vegetables in the coming year.
“All of my family and many friends are working in the fields to keep up with the demand,” which has grown three-fold to reach some 360 tonnes this year, Azam Jaber says.
Before Jaber was allowed to sell his produce in the ultra-Orthodox market, his land, on the outskirts of Hebron, had to come under the supervision of rabbis - who often visit Palestinian areas, accompanied by soldiers.
“The rabbis wanted us to provide a land deed proving I, and not a Jew, own the field,” Jawad Rujabe, Jaber’s partner, said.
The trade, expected to reach a volume of 100 million dollars over the coming year, has led to criticism from Israel’s mainstream rabbis.
“We, as the chief rabbinate, do not allow trade with Palestinians because it is too dangerous and difficult to supervise the process of growing, picking and selling the crop,” Moshe Raucheberger, a member of the rabbinate’s shmita committee, said.
Instead, to get around the shmita, the rabbinate allows the symbolic selling of the Jewish-owned fields to Arabs or Christians - a loophole that allows a continued use of the fields.
Meanwhile, other religious figures have blasted trade with Palestinian farmer, saying it undermines the Jewish state in its decades-long conflict with the Palestinians.
“As a religious Zionist I do not want my state to strengthen those who are not exactly my friends because of the biblical law,” Rabbi Daniel Sperber, a political right-wing representative, said at a shmita conference in Jerusalem last month.
The rabbis have gone to extreme measures to ensure that Palestinian crops comply with Jewish laws.
“We use every available means of technology in order to supervise the process and make sure we are not being had,” Rabbi Meir Bergman, head of field inspections in the West Bank, said.
“In the past we have used helicopters over fields in the Gaza Strip, and today we use sophisticated camera systems.”
Some rabbis have suggested placing cameras at the entrance to the town of Jericho, from where most of the Jordan Valley produce is transported to Israel, in order to ensure that Palestinian produce does not mix with “impure” crops from Israel.
Palestinian farmers are even prepared to videotape the packaging and loading of their crop, says Samir Muadi of the civil administration department that co-ordinates between the rabbis, the army and the Palestinian farmers.
“There are massive expectations from this year among Palestinians. This year will guarantee an income for thousands of farmers’ families and they are ready to do anything to please the rabbis,” Muadi said.
If the Arabs are really “ready to do anything to please the Rabbis” then maybe they should all leave and go to Egypt or Saudi Arabia by Rosh Hashana. then with Charedi Farmers taking over those farm, the next shimta will be observed the way it should be.
Comment by FayMemMemLamed — September 18, 2007 @ 10:05 am
Yes, as usual, when the Palestinians can make money off of Israel they are out best friend. Three months ago they would’ve shot any Rabbi entering their farm.
As they say, “Money talks!!”
Comment by eliezer — September 18, 2007 @ 10:28 am
Maybe the Palestinians will finally figure out that economic freedom and prosperity is the key to peace.
Nah…
Comment by shazam — September 18, 2007 @ 11:09 am
Better to do business with the Arabs than with the baalei avoida zora xtians — who have spilled far more Jewish blood than the Arabs ever have.
Comment by Yidel — September 18, 2007 @ 11:35 am
If the Arabs can find a positive reason for liking Israel, then let them find more of it. Business is business, and if raises the Israelis and the Jews in their eyes, that can only be a good thing.
Comment by flatbusher — September 18, 2007 @ 12:00 pm
Well said Flatbusher.
Comment by chas/yesh — September 18, 2007 @ 12:05 pm
Yidel and flatbusher are right on - and these zionist rabbis who would rather violate shmitta than trade with arabs are putting their political ideologies ahead of Torah.
Comment by Yoel — September 18, 2007 @ 12:56 pm
Is there really a justification to pay $$$ to individuals who will then use that money to finance terror against Israelis? I’m sorry, but I think this is quite problematic.
I signed up for Otzar Ha’aretz, an organization that provides produce grown by Jews is ways that are in accord with the Halachos of Shmita l’fi kol ha’deos (hydroponics, use of the southern Arava region, which is not Halachik E”Y, and Otzar Beis Din) to avoid this. There should be enough from this, and if some particular items are not available, I plan to do without. Yevul Nachri is not for me.
an Israeli Yid
Comment by IsraeliYid — September 18, 2007 @ 1:29 pm
Notice that AlJarzeera refers to “palestinian farmers all across the OCCUPIED WEST BANK”. So who is occupying the area under The PA? Usually Occupied refers to Israel proper. so does this mean that the Palestinains don’t belong there, according to the powers running Al Jarzeera?
Comment by FayMemMemLamed — September 18, 2007 @ 2:13 pm
Will they also stay off of El Al planes too? How about watering and fertilizing their crops in a way that we don’t have to worry about Hepatitis lingering on our lettuce leaves when we eat a Felafel in Geula.
Comment by Flatbush Bubby — September 18, 2007 @ 2:36 pm
What’s with “ultra-orthodox”?
Why not just say “Torah-observant”?
(I assume your TYW adience would also understand the term “chareidi”!)
Aso: it is probably a great mitzah to send $$$ to the Keren Shemitta operation, NOW, to help our Jewish brothers IN E.Y.
Zeidie in Brooklyn
Comment by Yehoshua Kehati — September 18, 2007 @ 3:20 pm
Bubby, surely you know you have to wash lettuce carefully anyway. If they tamper with this business, they’llbe out of business.
Comment by flatbusher — September 18, 2007 @ 4:37 pm
Everyone should be aware that revenue from these produce goes to the terrorists (whether directly or in the form of tens of millions of dollars in taxes to the PA and Hamas).
There is no reason in the world other options can’t be used by yerai shamayim. Otsar Beis Din is 100% halachically permitted. And through it one gets a mitzvah (according to the Rambam at least) for every bite of Kedushas Shvius he eats. Sure you have to learn more halachos about how to treat Kedushas Shvius properly. But since when has a heimisha yid pushed away from performing a mitzvah just because he has to learn more halachos? Since when did a heimisha yid shrug off a mitzvah because it was “too inconvenient?”
Another point. According to the Chazon Ish this produce still needs to be treated with Kedushas Shvius! Bnei Brak is noeg this way! So if we are treating it with Kedushas Shvius anyway - why not use the real thing a get a mitzvah? And at the same time support Jews that are cooperating with Beis Din and keeping Shmeta? And at the same time not fund our enemies who everyday are trying to kill us?
Comment by Pinchas — September 18, 2007 @ 5:41 pm
Do you really think they wash lettuce carefully in Eretz Yisrael flatbusher? I doubt it. But, let’s not go into the blame game. Hepatitis is rampant in Eretz Yisrael and I wouldn’t go pointing fingers at the felafel stands in Jerusalem.
Comment by Flatbush Bubby — September 18, 2007 @ 6:20 pm
Flatbusher,
Do you really think that anything will raise their opinion of Jews??? Haven’t we lived through enough Golus to know that they’ll always hate us no matter what!
Bubby,
You’re ruining my appetite. I have a nice falafel in front of me and now I can’t eat it. What baal tashchis, and before Yom Kippur too. Thanx.
Comment by sharpestnail — September 18, 2007 @ 7:08 pm
I’m not worried about the money but rather about health and safety issues. Who’s to say that the arabs will not CHV”SH place biological and chemical toxins in the produce in order to terrorize E”Y
Comment by NoJokes — September 18, 2007 @ 7:39 pm
FayMemMemLamed,
How many charedi farmers are there in Eretz Yisrael today? I would think that farming in E”Y would be attractive to religous Jews because in our times a farmer in E”Y is chayev in more mitzvot than any other person on the planet.
Yoel,
I would not accuse Zionist rabbis of violating shmittah. Your rabbis may not accept the heter mechirah, but it has been supported by a long list of distinguished rabbis starting with Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spector.
Comment by charliehall — September 18, 2007 @ 10:17 pm
Buying from Arabs also is problematic because of the issur of “לא תחנם”. Personaly, we decided to use אוצר בית דין because we had 2 family members killed in a “pegua”.
By far the easiest thing to do is live in Boro Park, Flatbush and Lakewood.
Comment by Dvorah — September 19, 2007 @ 7:27 am
Actually, Dvorah, my son is in a Yeshiva in Yerushalayim, and they are importing all their produce from Chutz L’Aretz for the entire Shmita year.
Comment by eliezer — September 19, 2007 @ 10:53 am
Charlie
Please refer to the debate on Heter Mechira of few weeks ago. Even one who isn’t well versed in the pertinent halachos would have read that Rav Yitzchak Elchanan DID NOT give a blank heter, but a ONE TIME psak to save the Yishuv from certain starvation. Even this pask was almost universally opposed at the time, and was followed solely due to the Gaon stature as the Posek Hador. You may wish to read the actual teshuva, wherein you shall see that even the Horaas Shaah was not intended for multitudes, but for the few agricultural enterprises that existed at the time. It does behoove anyone invoking Rav Spektor’s name to peruse the responsum in its entirety, as well as to personally research all his sources, thereby realizing just how fragile the psak was in the eyes of its author. Certainly, one can use the ruling as a start of his own new and timely strategy for modern day adjudication of the issue, but to blindly follow what wasn’t even said, written, or, much less, thought isn’t the way of a serious student of Halacha.
Comment by sammygol — September 19, 2007 @ 11:40 am
But that’s on the hesbon of the Israel farmers who are supported thru programs like the Otzer Beis Din.
Comment by Dvorah — September 19, 2007 @ 11:53 am
Flatbusher
Your dreams are outlandish,,,this will raise the Jews in the eyes of the Arabs. Sounds like Simmy Peres, ‘if only the poverty-stricken Arab would have a job and salary, then the intifada and hatred towards Jews will end’.
Pray that the mashgichim that check the vegetables before bringing them to the Israeli markets live through the day, since Mohammed and Achmed will be pistoling over the 10 shekels. Then continue praying that nothing ’suspicious’ gets smuggled in and TIMED to explode, sort of getting ‘tomato sauce’ when ordering tomatoes.
Comment by sayitlikeitis — September 19, 2007 @ 1:55 pm
Nobody seems to be talking about terrorist plans to kill mashgichim in Jordan as well as in Yehuda vShomron. BH the terrorists were caught prior to completing their mission
Seems a salad is more important than lives.
Comment by stormin — September 19, 2007 @ 7:43 pm