Shelly Yachimovich's famous breakfast and offending tomato (photo credit: screen capture from Facebook)
Shelly Yachimovich’s famous breakfast and offending tomato (photo credit: screen capture from Facebook)
Labor Party leader Shelly Yachimovich found herself in hot water this week after she posted on Facebook that she had prepared her daughter a breakfast that included biscuits and a tomato that she brought back from a recent visit to France.
According to Maariv, the post was shared widely and it was pointed out quickly in the comments that it is, in fact, illegal to bring produce into the country, and that the tomato could even endanger Israeli agriculture by harboring diseases or foreign spores.
One commentator went so far as to say of the single tomato that “this is a very serious issue… It’s enough that one is infected with an unknown virus which could destroy entire fields and orchards.”
Many of the comments were supportive of Yachimovich; some praised or critiqued her food preparation skills.
Yachimovich quickly responded to the mini-controversy by stating that she was committed to maintaining Israeli agriculture and that she “was unaware of the guidelines, and unfortunately the evidence was eaten.”
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She added that she checked with the of Agriculture Ministry, and it is in fact permissible to bring in tomatoes, cucumbers or onions from Europe, but they must be checked by the “Supervisor of Plant Protection” at the airport — which she promised to do in the future.
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