Agriculture Minster Shalom Simhon on Monday told the Chief Rabbinate that if it did not pressure local rabbinates to allow the sale of produce from land sold to non-Jews during shmita, the agricultural sabbatical year, he would refuse all fruit and vegetable imports.

The Knesset Finance Committee called an urgent meeting for Tuesday to discuss the coming sabbatical year, which begins with Jewish New Year Rosh Hashanah on September 13. Simhon said Israel's agricultural industry stands to lose NIS 2 billion if local rabbinates carry out their recent threat to nullify the kosher certification of farmers who sold their land to non-Jews under the traditional system of heiter mechira, or 'permission to sell'.

According to Jewish religious law, land must lie fallow every seven years to allow it to rest. Jews worldwide may eat fruit and vegetables from Israel during the sabbatical year only if they were grown on land owned by non-Jews.