Despite all that the Kfar Darom farmers have been undergoing
in the months since Rosh Hashanah, they are making every
effort to provide the shmitta observing community in
Eretz Yisroel with bug-free produce. Day in day out, hour
after hour, they cope with unbearable experiences: bus
bombs, shooting, terrorist attacks, Molotov cocktails, rocks
and more.
In addition to the danger at their very doorstep,
agriculture -- their source of income -- has also been hurt.
Recently, as the following story illustrates, the situation
has worsened.
Two weeks ago the workers in the Chasalat -- Alei Katif
company, which markets bug-free vegetables, rubbed their
eyes in amazement, when an official, large black car passed
through their gates. At first the workers thought that a
Palestinian VIP had made a wrong turn and without realizing
it had entered Kfar Darom.
Quite quickly it became clear that this car belonged to
Thailand's ambassador to Israel, who had come for a visit to
Gush Katif. Although the visit itself was cordial, the
ambassador had been sent by the government of Thailand in
order to evacuate the many Thai workers employed in the Gush
Katif greenhouses as quickly as possible. These workers had
long been replacing the Palestinian workers who now
constitute a security risk.
On the ambassador's orders, these excellent workers left the
greenhouses and Chasalat was left without farm hands.
Company manager Lior Schwab Halevi says that the enterprise
managed to fill the gap due to the generous help of Gush
Katif youth who volunteered to package the vegetables.
However, he adds, the damage is long-term, since there is a
constant need for workers. Of course, the terrorist attacks
in Kfar Darom have impeded work even more.
Lior notes that the most difficult problems are caused by
constant blocking of the traffic routes, which are sometimes
closed for hours at a time as a result of Palestinian
rioting. This prevents transport of the produce from Gush
Katif to the sales outlets throughout the country. Due to
this situation, produce often lies in factory storerooms for
long periods without reaching the consumer on time and some
of it even rots and must be thrown away.
Despite all this, Chasalat is making every effort to
overcome its many current difficulties and to meet the
increased demand for its produce. "There is no doubt that
certain shortages are felt in the markets at this time. But
we are making every effort to overcome the problems, and to
enable a steady supply of produce to the various markets,
while fully maintaining the unique, strict kashrus
standards of Chasalat," Halevi says.
Here we should note the tremendous investment made by Gush
Katif in time for the shmitta year, in accordance
with the guidelines of maranan verabonon, gedolei
haposkim. 500 dunams of greenhouses were prepared
according to these guidelines, in order to fill the huge
demand for Chasalat produce in Israel as well as
worldwide.
One of Chasalat's agronomists, Rabbi Yehuda Kalish, relates
that Chasalat personnel made extensive efforts to prepare
the greenhouses for shmitta in order to meet the most
stringent demands of halocho in all that pertains to
both shmitta and the produce's bug-free status. This
has cost millions of shekel.
Rabbi Kalish himself was a near victim of a terrible lynch.
One day, as he was on his way from the greenhouses to the
packing plant at Kfar Darom, he encountered a planned ambush
of Palestinian rioters. They hurled Molotov cocktails, steel
rods and huge rocks at his car. While reciting
Tehillim, the bleeding Rabbi Kalish managed to flee
his attackers and to reach the plant, where he received
first aid. Within a short time, he regained his strength and
returned to work, in order not to cause excessive delays in
the provision of the agricultural produce.
