Mishor Adumim

Mishor Adumim (Hebrew: מישור אדומים‎) is an industrial park located in the industrial zone of the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, about 10 minutes' drive from Jerusalem, in the West Bank.

Mishor Adumim Industrial Park

פארק תעשייה מישור אדומים
Aerial view of Mishor Adumim industrial park
Mishor Adumim Industrial Park
Coordinates: 31°47′50.40″N 35°19′54.70″E
DistrictJudea and Samaria Area
CouncilMa'ale Adumim
RegionWest Bank
Founded1998
Founded byMa'aleh Adumim
Economic Development Co. Ltd.
Area
1,550 dunams (1.55 km2 or 380 acres)
Population
300 businesses
Name meaningPlain of Adumim

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law,[1][2] but the Israeli government disputes this.[3]

History

According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated land from the following Palestinian villages in order to construct Mishor Adumim:

Since 1998, the park has been managed by the Ma'aleh Adumim Economic Development Company Ltd. Stretching over 1,550 dunams (1.55 km2; 0.60 sq mi), it includes businesses and factories, as well as a busy commercial center.[7] In 2014, the park housed 300 factories and small businesses, a bowling alley, two large supermarkets, an art museum and several kosher wineries. These businesses are entitled to special tax breaks under Israeli law. A few, like the Shweiki glass factory, established in 1936, is Arab-owned: the Shweiki products are boycotted by Palestinian consumers, while the IDF refuses to give its seal of approval for the shatterproof glass it produces.[8] One of the big draws is a Rami Levy supermarket.[9] Adumim Food Ingredients is a food additives company that manufactures nutraceuticals in collaboration with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[10] Most of the businesses rely heavily on Palestinian labour.[8]

The SodaStream factory in Mishor Adumim provided employment for 1,300 workers: 950 Arabs (450 Israeli and 500 Palestinian) and 350 Israeli Jews.[11] The SodaStream plant was established in Mishor Adumim by the company founder Peter Weissburgh in the 1990s, before SodaStream was taken over by the Fortismo Capital Fund in 2007. In 2014, Daniel Birnbaum, the current CEO said that he would not have opened the factory at this site, but its presence there was a reality and he would not bow to political pressure to close it, even after the inauguration of a new plant under construction in Lehavim in the northern Negev.[12] According to Birnbaum, he would not consider closing the plant out of loyalty to its hundreds of Palestinian workers, noting that he could not see how it would help the Palestinian cause if they were fired.[13] Nevertheless, the closure of the Mishor Adumim factory was announced in October 2015.[14]

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Many Palestinians are employed at Mishor Adumim where they can make between double to triple the common wages in the Palestinian territories. One Palestinian worker said "I can bring a million people who want to work here".[15]

According to a report in Haaretz in 2017, the Palestinians working in one of Mishor Adumim's factories, the Hayei Adam (Life of Man) carpentry shop which crafts furniture for synagogues, labour in sweatshop conditions.[16]

The Rami Levy supermarket in Mishor Adumim is widely patronized by Palestinians, although Palestinian Authority Economy Minister Hassan Abu Libdeh warned them in 2010 not to buy there. Many of the employees are also Palestinian.[17] On December 3, 2014, a Palestinian teenager entered the supermarket and stabbed two Israeli shoppers.[18]

See also

References
  1. "The Geneva Convention and Israeli Settlements". BBC. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  2. "Israeli Settlements and International Law". Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  3. El 'Eizariya (including Al Ka’abina) Town Profile, ARIJ, p. 19
  4. 'Isawiya Town Profile, ARIJ, 2012, p. 14
  5. Az Za'ayyem Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 16
  6. Adumim Industrial Park Archived 2012-03-31 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Judy Maltz, 'Down the Road From SodaStream, a Complicated Coexistence,' Haaretz 30 January 2014
  8. PA warns Palestinian shoppers
  9. BioJerusalem: Adumim Food Ingredients
  10. At SodaStream Palestinians hope their bubble won't burst
  11. SodaStream Misses Q3 Earnings, Cuts View; To Close Facility by Zacks Equity Research. Yahoo! Finance, October 30, 2014.
  12. "SodaStream Boss Admits West Bank Plant Is 'a Pain' — Praises Scarlett Johansson". Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  13. Last Palestinian employees at SodaStream lose their jobs
  14. "Palestinian workers praise SodaStream - and Scarlett Johansson". Haaretz. 2 February 2014. Archived from the original on 29 January 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015. Nasser, a 28-year-old who has been with the company for two years, said that employees receive “the best conditions there are”
  15. Tali Heruti-Sover, 'This Synagogue Furniture Factory Is Actually a Sweatshop That Tramples Palestinians' Rights,' Haaretz 30 July 2017
  16. PA warns Palestinian shoppers, Jerusalem Post
  17. http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Stabbing-in-Mishor-Adumin-in-the-West-Bank-two-injured-383552
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