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NEWS
Lulavim to be Imported from Spain Instead of el-Arish
By G. Kleiman
Less than one month before Succos a solution was found to the
lulav crisis. Through the involvement of Agriculture
and Rural Development Minister Yisrael Katz the Ministry is
looking into the possibility of importing lulavim from
Jordan and Southern Spain.
The problem began when the Egyptians refused to allow the
import of lulavim from el-Arish, claiming that the
palm trees were being damaged. MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni
dispatched an urgent letter to Yossi Yishai, the director-
general of the Ministry of Agriculture, asking him to find a
solution to the problem. Yishai responded by working to lift
the import ban the imposed by the Egyptians, and also to
bring lulavim from Spain and the south of the Arava on
the Jordanian side.
According to the Ministry spokeswoman, a delegation from the
Ministry's Authority for the Protection of Plant Growth flew
to Spain on Tuesday to look into the possibility of importing
lulavim in a manner that would meet the Authority's
requirements. The Spaniards agreed to have an Authority
inspector present throughout the harvest to insure that the
products meet the requirements designed to prevent the entry
of plant diseases and pests not present in Israel.
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