Amazingly, Israel does not only receive Katyusha and Kassam rockets from Hamas-controlled Gaza, but now, lulavim for the fulfillment of the Sukkos mitzvos too.
With the realization that this year lulavim will not be coming from Egypt, the IDF has approved a request to permit importing 100,000 lulavim from Hamastine. Some reports indicate the lulavim will enter Israel from Egypt; a move that most predict will result in additional costs to the end-user.
Realizing that the local market is insufficient, if the lulavim do not arrive from Gaza wholesalers report there will be a critical shortage this year.
After it was clear that lulavim would not arrive from Egypt, a request for assistance was made to Minister of the Interior (Shas) Eli Yishai, who then turned to Defense Minister Ehud Barak about approving lulavim from Gaza.
Ironically, while Israel has approved it, officials in Gaza are still deciding if the request will be honored.
One may question the merit of reciting a bracha on a lulav that will assist to finance future rocket attacks as well as terrorists who continue to hold Gilad Shalit prisoner….
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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7 Responses
Commerce is good. It is a feature, not a bug. Indeed, one can argue that the “Kivush avodah” movement of the zionists in the early 20th century (i.e. boycotting non-Jewish labor, through which the goyim were benefitting economically from the growth of the Yishuv which started well before the zionist movement) is what started the current war.
I’d rather go without a lulav than buy one that will benefit the residents of Gaza in any way.
#2 – How will you know where a lulav came from? They don’t come with “Grown in ______ ” stickers.
#2, Hashem has his ways of running the world, and he wants you to do Mitzvos, no matter what the circumstances!!!
Why on earth can’t Israel grow their own lulavim??? They have the same climate as Egypt and Gaza. Why would they want to buy kedushadike items from arabs, for goodness sake!!! (or anything for that matter)
The Goq (# 2) – Your Rav would disagree.
#1 You will be fighting against the psak of Rav Chaim K.
who published last year NOT TO HIRE ARAB WORKERS. (which includes Arab produce of course).
Try a different mode of discussion without the Z word.