Palestinians Look to Circumvent Chief Rabbinate on Shmittah Products
Jerusalem… The Jewish New Year of 5768 ushered in Shmittah, the seventh year of which fields in Israel must remain fallow. KosherToday had reported exclusively of behind the scenes negotiations between Israeli intermediaries and Palestinian farmers to sell some of the produce to Jews practicing shmittah. But the Chief Rabbinate has refused to certify the fields since its rabbis would not be safe traveling to the West Bank and Gaza to supervise the fields. The Egyptian Times ran a feature article about Palestinian farmers who are praying that they could prevail and sell Israelis the produce. It also had examples of rabbis who were working with the Palestinians.
In some cases, rabbis escorted by soldiers have made the trek to the Arab fields. "With God's help, this year is going to be great for business," said 53-yar old Azam Jaber, a farmer just outside of Hebron. "All of my family and many friends are working in the fields to keep up with the demand," which has grown threefold to reach some 397 tons this year, Jaber says” 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 entrances to the town of Jericho, from where most of the Jordan Valley produce is transported to Israel, in order to ensure that trucks enter completely empty and that the Palestinian produce does not mix somehow with crops not observing Shmittah in Israel. And in order to answer these same fears, Palestinian farmers are ready to videotape the packing and loading of their crop, says Samir Muadi of the civil administration, who heads the coordination 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. The trade, expected to reach $100 million over the coming year, has earned criticism among mainstream Israeli rabbis. But despite the unofficial hashgocho of some of the fields, the chief rabbinate refuses to budge. "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 Shmittah committee, said. Instead, to get around the Shmittah, 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. But this “heter mechira” is largely not accepted by the Charedi (strictly observant).
Thousands Head to Israel for Succos, But Getting a Room Not Impossible
Jerusalem... Hotel officials are whispering that despite what is shaping up to be another banner season, there are some empty hotel rooms that the hoteliers hope they will fill this week. Succos, which begins on the eve of September 26th, is one of the busiest seasons for Israel’s hotel industry, particularly in Jerusalem. For wealthy Orthodox Jews, the trip to Israel is a mandatory status symbol. At the David Citadel, “the place to be,” as one frequent holiday traveler put it, guests include some of the Orthodox tycoons from around the world. El Al, Israel Airlines, which recently added two new 777’s to its fleet, has added several flights to transport the travelers. European airlines have also put on extra flights from Europe to accommodate the large number of European Jews who travel to Israel for the holidays. Meanwhile, El Al will face some new competition this winter when Delta begins a daily New York-Tel Aviv non-stop flight and British Midland begins a daily flight to Israel from Heathrow Airport.
Super-Sol CEO Blasts Rival’s Price Cutting
Tel Aviv… Israel’s largest supermarkets are at loggerheads not only at the checkout counter but also in the media. According to Globes, Effie Rosenhause, CEO of Super-Sol, attacked rival Blue Square for price cutting just before the Jewish holidays. He also predicted failure for Blue Square’s new “Mega Ha’ir” brand. “Globes” had obtained a copy of Rosenhause’s remarks made during a closed capital market conference by Gilbert Kahana Investor Relations Ltd. These were his first comments on the topic.
