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Last update - 23:00 04/08/2008
Israeli food company: We won't sell produce grown by Arabs
By Amiram Cohen, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: ultra-Orthodox, shmita

Israeli produce marketing company Otzar Ha'aretz (treasure of the earth) announced on Monday that it will not market produce grown by Arab farmers, and will from now on only sell only Jewish-grown products.

The company, which has been marketing fruits and vegetables to the ultra-Orthodox community during the shmita (sabbatical) year, announced that it will continue to operate once the year is over in effort to "support Jewish agriculture in Israel."

According to Jewish law, every seventh year the earth must rest and no crops can be grown. Many ultra-Orthodox Jews use foreign-grown produce during this sabbatical year in order to avoid using crops grown by Jews. Another solution, offered by Otzar Haaretz, is the Otzar Beit Din, a solution in which the Rabbinical Court appoints the farmers as its emissaries to grow produce. The produce retains its Shmitah sanctity, but can be sold by the Rabbinical Court for a fair price. Other solutions include growing produce in hothouses on beds detached from the ground, storage of produce grown in the year prior to Shmitah, produce grown in the Aravah and more. These are the main sources from which Otzar Ha'aretz supplies kosher produce during the Shmitah year.
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In a statement issued Monday, Otzar Ha'aretz announced that though the shmita year will soon come to an end, the company plans to continue marketing produce to the ultra-Orthodox community as well as to members of the general public "who want high quality produce that the consumer can identify where it was grown."

The Director of Otzar Ha'aretz Ika Ness explained the company's decision, saying that "Jewish agriculture needs support and we, as Zionist people, view this as our mission."

Marketing Director Dore Lichtenstein said that "it is every person right to know who stands behind the product they are buying, who made it and who imported it and whether it was made in Israel."

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  1.   Racism alive and well in Israel, even for produce... 18:59  |  BBSNews 04/08/08
  2.   amazing! 19:15  |  ilan 04/08/08
  3.   # 1 Racism? 19:21  |  Sherlock Holmes 04/08/08
  4.   And if a Jewish farmer uses Arab labor? 20:21  |  Ian 04/08/08
  5.   I give them credit 20:30  |  Realistic Arab 04/08/08
  6.   I wonder..... 22:05  |  yuval 04/08/08
  7.   #1 bbs and more distortions of a news item 22:38  |  victor hardman 04/08/08
  8.   Otzar Haaretz NOT aimed at ultr-orthodox! 22:47  |  Kenny 04/08/08
  9.   #5 Realistic Arab 22:47  |  judith 04/08/08
  10.   its all about money, religion only an excuse 22:53  |  al 04/08/08
  11.   BOYCOTT OTZAR HA`ARETZ 22:54  |  B`galil 04/08/08
  12.   Sherlock your deductions are quite wrong 23:16  |  Paddy 04/08/08
  13.   Re B`galil #10... concur completely...! 23:32  |  Esther 04/08/08
  14.   Boycott all totserot haaretz: buy nothing from these racists 23:58  |  Chanalau, Tova 04/08/08
  15.   IS THERE ANYTHING CALLED `JEWISH RACISM`? 23:59  |  JACKAL 04/08/08
  16.   Lets compare two scenarios 00:02  |  Labhras 05/08/08
  17.   what a buch of ... 00:06  |  ron 05/08/08
  18.   Paddy...#12 00:09  |  Nemesis 05/08/08
  19.   Arab countries have been boycotting 00:17  |  Some1 05/08/08
  20.   Arabs refuse to sell oil to Israel 00:18  |  Slappy 05/08/08
  21.   Boycott Otzar Ha`aretz 00:42  |  Moshe 05/08/08
  22.   Racism alive, well, and illegal 00:42  |  Slibovitz 05/08/08
  23.   B`galil? 00:43  |  Erich 05/08/08
  24.   Outrageous 00:44  |  Nathaniel 05/08/08
  25.   Israeli Jews racist? No, of course not... 00:51  |  peacelover 05/08/08
  26.   Could this explain why... 00:53  |  Maureen Ann 05/08/08
  27.   pikuach nefesh 00:59  |  Scharker Yid 05/08/08
  28.   BBS NOT protesting boycotts unless they come back to bite you 02:03  |  PETER SM 05/08/08
  29.   i`ll always have a problem associating "racism" with "godliness" 02:22  |  eric 05/08/08
  30.   Freedom fries; the Arab boycott 02:47  |  DJStahl 05/08/08
  31.   why is this different? 03:38  |  Alja Haaretz 05/08/08
  32.   Buying only Kosher products is not racist. 03:39  |  Great White North 05/08/08
  33.   We won`t sell produce grown by Arabs 03:48  |  Alja Haaretz 05/08/08
  34.   Arabs and arab lovers, stop being racist!! 03:52  |  Great White North 05/08/08
  35.   Free Shalit 03:54  |  Great White North 05/08/08
  36.   Otzar Haaretz decision - irresponsible ? racist 05:35  |  Moshe 05/08/08
  37.   Maureen Ann 05:38  |  Jane 05/08/08
  38.   End Racism, Don`t Buy Israeli Products Period 06:12  |  Boycot Israel Now 05/08/08
  39.   #37 Jane. Do you consider the Palestinian people - at all? 06:29  |  Maureen Ann 05/08/08
  40.   not racism ofcourse 06:37  |  rm 05/08/08
  41.   A divisive, Aparheid idea worthy of abortion 07:50  |  Ivar 05/08/08
  42.   only in israel 08:32  |  barbara 05/08/08
  43.   This is pushed too far 08:40  |  PARIS 05/08/08
  44.   WE WON`T BUY PRODUCE-GROWN BY JEWS 09:26  |  indrajaya 05/08/08
  45.   IVAR "Death to Israel" marches come home to roost 09:41  |  PETER SM 05/08/08
  46.   INDRAJAYA Your brothers have been boycotting for 60 years 09:43  |  PETER SM 05/08/08
  47.   "Buy American"; "Look for the Union Label"; affirmative action 10:14  |  DJStahl 05/08/08
  48.   The decision is good, one of the freedoms in a democracy 10:21  |  Johnny 05/08/08
  49.   Racism ? 10:36  |  Wendy 05/08/08
  50.   About time the Israel took a stand! 11:10  |  Harvey 05/08/08
  51.   Let`s talk oil 11:40  |  Harvey 05/08/08
  52.   Anti-Semitic Hypocrisy 12:24  |  Shmuel 05/08/08
  53.   Moaning Ann 12:53  |  Victoria 05/08/08
  54.   Indrajaya lives under a rock 12:58  |  Victoria 05/08/08
  55.   Why would Otzar Ha`aretz announce this publically? How retarded 13:03  |  Steve Randolph 05/08/08
  56.   Also, this is yet another haaretz article designed to harm israel 13:06  |  Steve Randolph 05/08/08
  57.   BBSNews = ignorant person at best 13:08  |  Simcha 05/08/08
  58.   victor hardman you do not know Jewish law 13:12  |  Simcha 05/08/08
  59.   indrajaya not only are you hater but you are ignorant 13:24  |  Simcha 05/08/08
  60.   300 Million Arabs boycott Israeli produce 13:30  |  That is allowed 05/08/08
  61.   Chanalau sweetie how amazing 13:33  |  x-ray 05/08/08
  62.   Jews only 13:33  |  Senora 05/08/08
  63.   How about Jewish Arabs? 13:35  |  Singer 05/08/08
  64.   #58 simcha is full of joy but misses the point 13:35  |  victor hardman 05/08/08
  65.   # 54, VICTORIA 13:37  |  indrajaya 05/08/08
  66.   This happens all the time to Israelis 13:39  |  judith 05/08/08
  67.   victor hardman again you know nothing about Jewish law 13:54  |  Simcha 05/08/08
  68.   #5 14:07  |  Hilda 05/08/08
  69.   Phooey, Buy California Avocados Instead 14:44  |  Jeff Northridge 05/08/08
  70.   The Law 14:54  |  Leviticus 25 05/08/08
  71.   Grace 14:56  |  Mrs. Fatso from USA 05/08/08
  72.