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Out of curiosity – why do so many people who hold by the OU for kashrut in the U.S. not eat at OU establishments in Israel? I’ve seen this several times first-hand, but I can’t figure out why. Any ideas?
because the OU is a US company there are better local organizations
I emailed Rabbi Weinreb last year before my trip to Israel to ask about it. He said it is absolutely reliable and it is the same OU as in the states. You can absolutely rely on it.
someone I know well who use to work for OU israel told me it is not reliable here. The people in the US want to believe it’s the same but it’s not. Kashrus is Israel is a WHOLE ‘nother thing!
Because the kashrus issues in Israel are more complicated, and there are groups who use leniencies in those issues which are specific to Israel.
Rabbi Weinreb is not involed in Kashrus.
Rabbi Weinreb served as Executive Vice President of the Orthodox Union from January 1, 2002 until April 1, 2009. In that role, he led the multi-purpose agency which represents and serves Orthodox Jewry through hundreds of synagogues across North America and beyond. From kosher food supervision to youth, public policy and social action programming, the OU is one of the largest and most vibrant Jewish organizations in the world today.
A talented teacher, writer and orator, Rabbi Weinreb was previously the spiritual leader of Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Baltimore, MD, which he joined in January, 1989.
His recent public appearances include addresses at Cambridge University and the Democratic National Convention. He received awards from numerous Jewish institutions, and he was recognized for his religious public service with a medal presented to him by Pope Benedict XVI.
Rabbi Weinreb is Rabbinic Liaison for NEFESH, the North American Network of Orthodox Mental Health Professionals. He served on the Rabbinic Cabinet of United Jewish Communities, on the Executive Committee of the Rabbinical Council of America, and on the boards of various other organizational and educational institutions.
Nice googling, but what’s any of that have to do with kashrus?
TMB, just answering Hello99, not googling. It has everything to do with Kashrus. Rabbi Dr. Weinreb served as the Executive Vice President of the OU, the Kashrus organization this thread is about. A question was raised about the OU in Israel. I responded and my response was negated by 2 posters. One by saying that they spoke to someone who “used” to work at the OU in Israel but failed to say in what position and why they left and another who said that Rabbi Weinreb was not involved in Kashrus. I jsut proved that not on is Rabbi Weinreb involved in Kashrus but his position was at the top level.
I see again that the laws of lashan hara do not apply to kashrut organizations.
You obviously don’t know (perhaps your living in a cave), but the OU does a lot more than just Kashrus.
He might be the boss, but may not be involved in Kashrus one iota.
JD, YOU obviously don’t know much about Rabbi Weinreb!
OU and OU Kashrus are separate organizations and Rabbi Weinreb, despite the wonderful resume you posted, has nothing to do with the Kashrus department. I have spent hundreds of hours in the OU Kashrus offices and DO know what I am talking about.
aries2756, So tell us please, because he is not involved in kashrus.
I wrote it nicely before, but hello99 was a bit more firm.
And for the record, OU Israel ain’t that good of a hechsher. do some independent research….don’t call the Oj and ask them if it’s good. do you think they would say “nah….OU Israel stinks”.
Anyways, please enlighten us!
john doe,
you have no idea what you are talking about, i live in israel and the ou is as good of a hechser as rubin, badatz etc… stop pretending that you know what the matzav is like when you really don’t have a clue
Kashrut is kashrut. Same Torah in America and Israel.
I thought it was apparent I was referring to issues of terumah, maaser, urluh, neta rivai, chodosh, m’leches shabbos, and whatever else I am missing from this list.
“someone I know well who use to work for OU israel told me it is not reliable here. The people in the US want to believe it’s the same but it’s not. Kashrus is Israel is a WHOLE ‘nother thing! “
If you are going to attack an origianization’s credibility, be honest enough not to use a nameless source.
Now who is bashing Rabbonim? I happen to know Rabbi Weinreb and know his reputation. I trust him and I trust what he says. He would not tell me that I could trust the hechsher if it weren’t so. He was the Rav of my daughter-in-law’s shul in Baltimore. And he was involved with an organization that I was involved in. He would not steer me wrong.
As far as being the head of the OU, are you telling me that the head of any organization has nothing to do with the rest of the entire organization? I don’t buy that one bit.
aries: calm down, no one is bashing anybody. But if you had a problem with the transmission on your car would you call a mechanic or the executive vice president of Ford???
yechezkel89: The OU is certainly NOT identical to RAV Rubin or the Eida, though they may be good enough. For example, Fleish chickens under OU Israel do not check tzomes hagidim at all, where Rav Rubin does and the Eida to a certain degree.
I think the bottom line is that the OU in the States is a fine, quality hechsher, though they have certain kulos they rely on. In the articles linked above it is clear that a year and a half ago there were serious concerns that the OU Israel was not up to the policies of Israeli Mehadrin hechsherim, or of their own exacting US standards. After that scandal the OU enacted certain changes to improve the level of their EY operations.
The question remaining is have those measures succeeded in bringing OU Israel up to standard or not? I personally do not know. I would like to hear from Yechiel Spira who raised the initial concerns to do a recheck and see if they have been addressed.
hello99, it is not the same analogy at all. I would trust the Rabbi to give me a knowledgeable answer if he was the head of OU or not, because he would research the answer for me before answering. He would not give me an answer if he had no knowledge on the subject because that is the kind of Rabbi and man he is. Does that answer YOUR question.
hello, actually is as good as any hashgacha in eretz yisrael. the ou is very strict in eretz yisrael just like it is in america. the ou follows halacha not chumras like other hechshairim. they have the leading poskim dealing w/ any ?????? that arise. take it from me who has a lot of shaichot to the organization.
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