High Court steps into controversy over land-use loophole during shmita year - Haaretz

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Tue., September 11, 2007 Elul 28, 5767

Israel Time: 02:01 (EST+7)

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High Court steps into controversy over land-use loophole during shmita year

By Yair Ettinger and Amiram Cohen

The High Court of Justice gave the Chief Rabbinate Council a week to reconsider its policy of allowing local rabbinic councils to make their own decision on whether to allow produce grown on land sold to a non-Jew using a halakhic loophole allowing the sale of Jewish land to a non-Jew in the sabbatical (shmita) year.

The High Court objects to the Chief Rabbinate Council's decision to allow local rabbinates independence on this issue. Local rabbis who oppose the arrangement would give kashrut certification only to businesses in their city that agree to import produce.

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The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee is to discuss the issue of shmita at the request of MK Ophir Pines-Paz.

Agriculture Minister Shalom Simchon is to visit the town of Baka al-Garbiyeh in central Israel to see how Arab and Druze farmers are preparing to meet the needs of the Jewish community for produce during this year.

The Agriculture Ministry has provided 30 percent of the funding for hothouses in the Arab and Druze sector, and additional water allocation of one million cubic meters.

Meanwhile, the head of the Chief Rabbinate's Shmita Committee, Rabbi Ze'ev Witman, has completed the bill of sale to Colonel (res.) Hamada Ganem of Mgrhar. Ganem paid NIS 70 billion with a post-dated check to the Israel Lands Administration last week for 1.75 million dunams (440,000 acres) of agricultural land leased to kibbutzim, moshavim and private farms.

Ganem wrote another check yesterday for NIS 1.5 billion to another group of private farmers. The checks will be returned to him at the end of the year.

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