Shmitta: an interview with the Badat"z about their policy

Arutz 7 conducted an interview with the head of the Badat"z Shmitta department. It is very interesting and I suggest anybody interested in shmitta issues should read it. I will give a rough English translation below for those who might have a problem with the original being in Hebrew.

The interview was conducted with Rav Meir Bergman, head of the Shmitta department of the Badatz Eidah Chareidis. The last thing the Eidah wants to do, he says, is to harm the Israeli farmers. Purchasing produce from Arabs is the least preferential of all the options.

Bergman differentiates between practical possibiities and halachic possibilities. He says, fro a halachic viewpoint the greatest preference is to purchase vegetables imported from abroad where there are no issues of shmitta and they have very little checking to do. All they would have to do with such produce is make sure no other produce got mixed in once the boat comes into the port. That is the easiest from all aspects.

The problem with that option is that it is not practical. the government does not let them import as it upsets the Israeli farmers, and "we have no interest in harming the Israeli farmers". Also the prices of imported vegetables is very high.

The next level of preference is attaining produce from the Arava region. The Arava region is part of Israel but has no halachic status of Israel regarding shmitta issues (my note: this issue is a can of worms and there are different opinions on this). From this region we do not deal with Arabs, it is all Jewish, there is little deceit and trickery going on so it is the best for us.

The problem with the Arava region is the produce is limited and does not grow all year round and not every type of vegetable is grown there.

That leads to the third level of preference, Rav Bergman says. Arab produce. This is the least preferable option for a few reasons. The whole issue of whether an Arab purchasing/owning land in Israel removing the kedusha of the land for shmitta is a machlokes. Aside from that, there are security concerns. Aside from that, it is difficult to supervise this produce due to their deceptions and trickeries (which sometimes force us to stop working with certain farmers after they are caught).

When asked how the Eidah can justify supporting farmers in Gaza (hostile to Israel; supporting terror), Rav Bergman responded that in a regular year 80 percent of Israel's produce comes from Gaza.

So in a regular year when you go to the supermarket and buy veggies, chances are very high that you are buying produce from Gaza. "You have to remember", Bergman says, "stopping imports from Gaza completely would be a terrible blow to the economy. It could be on a micro level importing hurts the Israeli farmers, but overall on a macro level it is good for the Israeli economy."

Bergman also responded to the claim that the Eidah causes security problems by importing veggies from these areas. He says they have no desire to cause security problems. Since a ban was declared on Gaza by Israel, there are no imports from there. They are not even pressuring Israel to allow them to import from there. The Eidah brings produce from Arabs in Judea and Samaria, from where most of Israel's produce is coming right now anyway. He repeats that we must remember that in a regular year the merchants prefer Arab produce as well because of the price.

During shmitta this is the lowest option in order of preference (but the most prevalently used).

Rav Bergman added that in stores that sell Eidah produce, everything is specifically marked (e.g. Arab produce, from abroad, Arava, etc.)so the buyer knows where things comes from and can choose what to buy.

Regarding OBD produce, he says the Eidah does not deal with OBD produce. It is too difficult to supervise this produce and most people do not know how to treat it properly and therefore it is not practical to deal with in large amounts.

Bergman concluded that there are problems with supply and there are chances that certain vegetables might have a shortage, such as beetroot, however the main vegetables are in supply. He also added that if you check, the prices of Eidah produce is only slightly higher than non-Eidah produce.