Jewish Scene
Jews turn to Palestinians for kosher vegetables
Reuters
Published: 22.10.07, 08:37
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1. Monty Python's Flying Circus
Michael ,   Haifa   (10.22.07)
Even Monty Python couldn't have dreamed up such a ludicrous scenario.
2. Rabbis going banana ( or vegetable )
Yiannis Kareklas ,   Athens Greece   (10.22.07)
Do they practice shmita year for their wives as well ? or are they using the back door ?
3. Ultra Orthodox Rabbis...
Aharon   (10.22.07)
Bankrupting Jewish farmers for the sake of Palestinian farmers. Amazing.
4. These petz are aiding the enemy...
Joe M   (10.22.07)
I am a religious Jew and these petz are aiding the enemy. I dont have much use for these idiots,and so when they knock on my door schnorring (The Mezuzah gives me away)..I refuse them. They demostrate in downtown Montreal against Israel on Israel Day..They are in mind anti-semites. I refuse to support them in any way,save the fact that they control the kashrus Mafia here in Montreal. Thanks to this Mafia,kosher milk is 25% more expensive and meat well you can forget about it. Who suffers? I'll tell you who.Its their very own kids, thats who. Talk about being selfish,stupid and arrogant all at the same time.
5. Can someone answer this question?
Chaya ,   Bat Yam, Israel   (10.22.07)
If it is the land that is to lie fallow, how can it be kosher to buy from Arab-owned farms that work the land of Eretz Yisrael???
6. Lo Techanem - is this what God wants
Roland thomson ,   Jerusalem   (10.22.07)
Buying produce at inflated prices to support the enemy so that that he can buy rockets that daily rain down upon us, to support the enemy that daily sends terorist bombers, is this what God wants!?!?!!?
7. occupied West Bank
(10.22.07)
8. Tell me this isn't stupid.
Terry ,   Eilat, Israel   (10.22.07)
And how can you call these lunatics "fervent Zionists"? They're just irresponsible religious fanatics.
9. Wearing prayer shawls???
Shalom   (10.22.07)
Why on earth would people be picking tomatoes in their tallises? When any sane, thinking person realises that the reporter here used "literary license" in telling this story, we can begin to understand how journalism in general, is a mixture of fact and fiction.
10.  Wearing prayer shawls
Jonathan ,   Israel   (10.22.07)
Presumably tzitziot and not "tallises"
11. No. 9 Shalom
NYC Girl   (10.22.07)
You're correct in your assessment, but all I would suggest is that you consider the source...al-Reuters.
12. the land should rest every seventh year, but not all land
Rivkah   (10.22.07)
should rest on the SAME seventh year. There should be some fields that rest each year, that being the seventh year for that area so that Israel does not have to rely on Palestinian vegetables. If the land does not rest for a year with grasses replenishing the trace nutrients, then the food becomes empty of a lot of valuable nutrients that are drained from the soil from overplanting without letting the soil rest. Dr. William Campbell Douglass II's free email medical newsletter has discussed this. Food from soil that does not rest has the nutrients in fertilizer like sulfur, potassium, nitrogen, etc.; but is missing many trace nutrients. A can of spinach from the late 1940's is equal the nutrient value of 40 cans of spinach today if the soil has not rested. Empty calories is not healthy in the long run.
13. #12 So some Jews should make the Shabbat on Sunday and some
Miriam ,   Jerusalem   (10.22.07)
on Monday, etc? And so it seems that you understand better than G-d what's best for the Jewish country?
14. So, what is the truth?
Ephraim ,   diaspora   (10.22.07)
I would like to know, wasn't the whole idea that Israel should lay up in store food products to sustain themselves through the seventh year? You will probably say to me, then we have no fresh vegtables. So! can't sacrifices be made for obedience sake? If we do all we can to get around the Torah requierments. what's the point? Either obey or quit pretending to be holy people. Have you ever heard of canned and frozen produce? I fully understand the arguements of the secular, however those who are professing to be observant should either obey or shut up! Now I've stuck my neck out, everyone take a shot at me. I'm used to it.
15. #13
Ephraim ,   diaspora   (10.22.07)
Very good point! #12 is just suggesting the same as all the rest of the pretenders. Find a way to get around the commandment instead of obeying it.
16. could anyone explain...
Carol ,   Jerusalem   (10.22.07)
if in order not to create dependency from palestinian vegetables, would it be "halachically" acceptable to let for instance half field rest for shmita, and the other half continues working, and gets its rest the next year?
17. Aren't the Arabs farming part of the land of Israel?
Tim ,   Canada   (10.22.07)
If the law is to let the land rest, how is it okay to buy any produce, especially i fit is still grown in Israel?
18. the land palestians work is subject to shmita
zionist forever   (10.22.07)
These are the sort of men who believe that the land the palestians want for their state is jewish land and part of biblical Israel but instead of saying that its in the land of Israel ( biblical ) Israel they base their decisions on whats shmita or not on borders created by politicians today not based on the borders of the promised land. Also supporting the palestian farmers is supporting terror because chances are very high that at least some of these profits will end up in the hands of terrorists so orthadox jews buy food from land which should also be subject to shmita but creating political loopholes allows them to get round that problem then the money they spend to buy food from the arabs ends up in the hands of men who want to kill jews. If they want food thats not grown in Israel then there is not only western states who its possible to import food from but if they want closer to home then what about Egyot or Jordan Israek has a firmal peace treaty with them and I really dont think they would be saying dont buy our tomatos and boot our ecoonomies spend your money with palestians it would be a nice gesture.
19. #8: No. It isn't stupid at all
abdullah ,   ashkenaz   (10.22.07)
Its one of the (many) commandments that a Jew living in the land of yisroel must keep in order to justify his presence in the holy land. And obviously any jew who takes the miswoth so seriously as to buy from the palistinians and give them a livelihhod, is obviously not a 'fervent zionist' but a 'fervent jew'. Jews (real ones) only bring blessing and security to anywhere in the world they live bcos they keep the miswoth. This article gives a good example. The author obviously cannot tell the difference between a 'fervent jew' and 'a fervent zionist'. Any man in black with a beard and ssissiyoth is a 'jew' and thus a 'a fervent zionist'.
20. Instead of the Israeli government
Joseph P. ,   Jerusalem   (10.22.07)
lowering the prices of imported fruits and vegetables this year because of Shmitah, this anti-religious knesset has inflated the duty prices abnormally. The citizens of Israel should demonstrate against this outrageous act of the government.
21. Forget Reuters--information on shmitta
Brana Lobel ,   Israel   (10.22.07)
Skewed article. No intelligent perspective. Not knowledgeable. For those who want to know about shmitta, here are two links: http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-medi-shmitta5761.htm http://www.youngisraelrabbis.org.il/assets/shmitta.doc the YI pages are available as html, for this, use google
22. Laws of Shmitta
Pesach Belfer ,   Rehovot   (10.22.07)
Unfortunately, there is a lot of misunderstanding as to what Shmitta really is. The mitzva is not to let the land "rest" - that may be a good agricultural idea, but not what the Torah is talking about. What the Torah tells us is that we must relinquish ownership of the land every seven years - this to remind us who the real Owner of all land is -- God. As such, we must not plant, harvest, work the fields in a manner which shows "ownership". The farmer who keeps shmitta will renounce ownership of his field, appoint the Beit Din to collect his produce for distribution (not sale) to any and all who need/want. The farmer will be paid for his labor and expenses only, not the value of the produce. This is how Otzar Beit Din works, which is one way of consuming produce of Eretz Yisrael during Shmitta. the Heter Mechira is another mechanism which helps to keep Jewish agriculture going. Many people don't use this method, others do. Buying produce from outside of the country gets around many problems that some people have with things grown in Eretz Yisrael (esp. the intrinsic holiness of the produce, which carries with it various halachot- too detailed to mention here). Anyone wishing to get a better and fuller understanding of Shmitta might want to check it out from a reliable halachic source, and not rely on newspaper articles. It's much more complicated (and beautiful, IMHO, than that).
23. Shmitta
Another Miriam ,   Israel   (10.22.07)
To quote Rav Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba: "none of the solutions is perfect." As for my own opinions: The Arabs around here also live in Eretz Yisrael, so the land is not resting at all. A lot of the money that the Arabs will earn from Jews buying their produce will go towards bombs,missiles, bullets,guns, etc which will kill Jews-so what about pikuach nefesh? Jewish farmers will go bankrupt and the Arabs, our enemy, will make tons of money. For all of these reasons, I feel that Heter Mechira is the best of all these not perfect solutions.
24. since when are hareidim "fervent zionists"?
ora ,   israel   (10.22.07)
The "fervent zionists" who prefer funding Jewish farmers to our sworn enemies use Otzar Haaretz, not Arab-grown produce. It's not forbidden to eat the produce that grows on shemittah year, only to farm the land or sell the fruits. I recommend that everyone look into Otzar Haaretz--the choice that allows you to keep kosher without funding terrorism against yourself.
25. I understand it differently
Steve ,   USA   (10.23.07)
B"H I understand that like on Shabbos, everything is arranged to function, that the 6 years proceeding Shmittah are a practice run for the 7th year. If the 6 years of production are conducted properly, then in the 7th year, the land continues to produce fruit that is available for all to eat directly, like in the first year when the Jews entered Israel and ate directly from the land. People need to be bussed to where the crops are to eat there the crops that grow, and not be charged for it. The concept of wealth attached to Shabbos extends to the concept of wealth of the land for Schmittah. The perspective in this article seems very different. Why should Jews be buying fruit from biblical Israel versus going to the farms to pick it and eat it there?
26. #12 Typical x-tian
Josh   (10.23.07)
Yes, and you think three equals one and shabbat can be any day you want to pick from the week. Do you think Moses wasn't smart enough to write that if that was what he meant? It is the same years.
27. Col hacavod! It is about time they stopped...
Josh   (10.23.07)
...playing with the words and laws and got serious about respecting G-d's demands. However, the land is the land. Palestinian territories within Israel proper are still under Smita requirements. We should be buying from countries that have no terrorist objectives. Taking food from terrorists is inviting agroterrorism. We have international ports, lets use them.
28. God always keeps his promises
marilyn   (10.23.07)
Anyone who takes a step in putting their trust in the word of God , should be encouraged. These fellows are going out on a limb and trusting in God to fulfill his part of the bargain. As a Christian I understand this principle. " To take notice of God in all our ways and not to lean on our own understanding."
29. RE: JOE M #4
GB ,   mtl   (10.23.07)
"I am a religious Jew and these petz are aiding the enemy. " you aint religious you slandering c.s. you just another self hating jew...best we dont cross eachther here in mtl... how does ynet print such anti jewish comments, CLEARLY not written by a "religious jew"?
30. Rivkah #12, Your Understanding Is The CORRECT One.
Maansingh ,   The Netherlands   (10.23.07)
You write :"There should be some fields that rest each year, ...". THIS is how the Rabbis of Israel should explain the scriptural injunction at hand. Rivkah, your understanding is the CORRECT one. The Rabbis of Israel should take your understanding. Otherwise the Jewish farmers will go bankrupt, as mentioned by Aharon #3. Thus benefitting the enemy "so that he can buy rockets", as mentioned by Roland #6. I think the Rabbis of Israel should re-adjust their understanding -- which, according to Michael #1, is "ludicrous". Hearing the Rabbis understanding -- Chaya #5 has a legitimate question. CONCLUSION : why should Palestinian Arab farmers benefit, while Jewish farmers go BANKRUPT ?? The Rabbis of Israel should IMMEDIATELY re-adjust their understanding and consequent application of the scriptural injunction at hand -- without delay.
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