Shalom Pollack – "Nochri"

 (During Chol Hamoed Pesach:)

I went to the shuk the other day and stopped at a stall featuring beautiful strawberries.

I asked the(Arab) man behind the counter about shmita..

He immediately assured me that it was "nochri”, (non-Jewish and thus it was permissible during the shmita year. He was aware of the halachic nuances) Arabs in Israel wait expectantly for the seventh year of shmita , a time when their product has a special advantage welling to Jews.

To reinforce his claim, he told me they were specifically from the Arab village of Araba in Galilee.

That rang a bell. I am familiar with that village and it's not known for its warm feeling toward the Jewish state or for  Jews in general.

So, what should I do?

There was no logical reason that I could say not to buy them. Good produce. Good price. What else is there?

I might even make a "minority" seller happy. That would be in the fine Jewish Liberal tradition, wouldn't it?

Maybe it's just me but I found it difficult supporting those who, likely don't have positive feelings about me, my people, and country ; especially at a time when Arabs are killing Jews in the streets and the killers are celebrated in villages like Araba.

I just couldn't do it.

There were other Jewish customers there waiting their turn , witnessing our little exchange.

One told me, encouragingly, that he comes every week to buy here.

Expecting me to buy the beautiful "nochri", shmita safe strawberries, I said "no, I'd rather support my brothers who love me"

The seller asked me to repeat what I said.

Apparently, he could not believe his ears.

There was  silence and expectation on the line

I repeated it, mostly for the benefit of my fellow Jews.

As I walked away, I was curious what the people online thought of what I said.

Perhaps:

The Arab: surprise, indignation, embarrassment, hate, the realization that there are indeed some Jews with principle and national  pride and solidarity (who thought they still existed these  days ?)

The Jewish customers:

Those right wing religious fanatics are destroying any chance for coexistence. The only way that  Arab Israelis will stop hating and killing us is if we make them as comfortable as  possible in this country.

Support them and they will appreciate us more. There is no other  way.

Another might have felt fear; fear of a violent reaction on the part of the surprised Arab.

Jews do fear Arabs today.

Another might have been,  "That strange Jew may have something. I actually agree with him and wish I had the guts to say it out loud. Perhaps I should find another place to buy my fruits.

Did he have the guts to leave his place in line?

I didn't look back to check.

It is certainly interesting how a few (nochri) strawberries can become a focused social/cultural moment.

My book, "Jews. Israelis and Arabs"  was written to better understand  the soul of Israel today

There are still places left for my special  Pesach tours.

Chag sameach to all of Am Yisroel!

May we achieve true Jewish freedom.

shalompollack613@gmail.com