Six Kashrut inspectors, overseeing the Kashrut in Israeli-owned greenhouses located in Jordan were attacked on Tuesday by Jordanian workers, according to a report in Kikar Shabbat.
The workers attacked the inspectors with stones and axes. Initial reports said the workers kidnapped the inspectors.
It appears the Jordanian workers had a financial complaint against the Israeli company, and assumed the Israeli Kashrut inspectors were representatives from the Israeli company.
Initially, the workers decided to hold a strike, and when the Kashrut inspectors saw that no work would be done for them to oversee, they decided to leave. That’s when they were attacked by the Jordanians.
Two of the inspectors work for the Badatz Kashrut organization, and four work the Rav Efrati Kashrut group.
Other inspectors who were on site, saw the assault on the security cameras and called the Jordanian police and security personnel.
The six inspectors were safely extracted unharmed, and despite the late hour, returned to Israel.
The greenhouses are owned by an Israeli Jew, who established them in Jordan to import Shmittah-free vegetables into Israel.
During the Shmittah year, fruit and vegetables grown in Israel have a consecrated status, which can sometimes make it more difficult to handle properly in the home, so one solution is to import fruits and vegetables grown outside of Israel.
