Following the High Court of Justice ruling banning private hashgachos in place of the state kashrus, the Chief Rabbinate Kashrus Enforcement Unit inspectors on Tuesday afternoon 1 Sivan distributed final warning letters to stores with private kashrus such as Hashgacha Pratit.
The High Court has not outlawed private hashgachos but the latter may not operate without the Chief Rabbinate. The so-called badatz hashgachos continue to operate for they will not give certification if the business does not have kosher certification from the local religious council.
Often one only sees a badatz teudah hanging in a store for a store in a frum area feels it does not benefit from the regular rabbinate certificate but this does not mean he does not have one. The major badatzim will not take on a store until is has verified the latter has a teudat kashrut from the local religious council.
A store according to law must have kosher certification, regular or mehadrin, from the respective local religious council. Only then may a private ‘badatz’ step in alongside a rabbinate certificate.
The Hashgacha Pratit organization headed by Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz, challenged the system by offering his services in place of the rabbinate, not alongside. Rabbi Leibowitz has explained for him, it is not about money, but he and others feel that the Jerusalem Rabbinate has long stopped doing what it should and too many mashgichim are ‘no shows’ and they get paid a handsome fee nonetheless. Hence, they turned to Rabbi Leibowitz who decided to step in.
Chief Rabbinate Director-General Moshe Dagan on Tuesday morning 1 Sivan told Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) stores would be given a period of time to adapt to the court’s decision but inspectors were out issuing final warnings that afternoon. The papers distributed by the inspectors also carried the court’s ruling and warned if the restaurant fails to comply, legal action would follow.
Haaretz quotes officials from Rabbi Leibowitz’s Hashgacha Pratit saying for now, it plans to continue providing kashrus supervision to its 27 clients, with another expected to join this week.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
If they try to put the antizionist hecksherim out of business it will be as contentious as the attempt to conscript hareidim. What it comes down to is do you want a hecksher authorized by Netanyahu and the Likud, or one that comes from a Beis Din that is based on Torah. No matter how hard the state rabbanim work, at the end of the day they are civil servants answerable only to their secular political masters.