Due to a shortage in recent days of sweet potatoes, which were stored in a refrigerator for the benefit of the Shemita observant public, Rabbi Yaakov Litzman appealed to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Oded Forer, in order to allow the importation of sweet potatoes from the Gaza Strip.
Minister Forer replied in the negative to Litzman’s request and said: “The policy that I have outlined since the beginning of my term in the Ministry of Agriculture is not to import goods in general, and agricultural produce in particular, from the Gaza Strip in addition to the existing imports that were approved before I took office.”
Furer also emphasized in his letter to Litzman: “This policy remains the same even today and will not change until our sons are released."
Minister Forer revealed in his answer that this is not the first time he has received requests of this type that he answered negatively during his shift: “About a year ago, I received a request from the EU ambassador in Israel to allow the import of strawberries from the Gaza Strip. This request was answered in the negative, and at our meeting I made it clear to that ambassador in a way that does not imply two-facedness that as long as our soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, and the citizens Abru Mengistu and Isham al-Sayed are not released from captivity and return to Israel, I will not approve of a person coming from the Gaza Strip.’
Minister Porer emphasized that in order to help the Shemita observant public, he ordered the Directorate of Plant Protection Services to examine other alternatives for importing vegetables and fruits that are not from the Gaza Strip.
