After Chief Rabbi David Lau announced he feels the hashgacha should be removed from the Zoglovek Company, Israel’s largest purveyor of deli products, he has summoned the directors of the company to meet with him.
The rav wishes to have the rabbonim responsible for shechita to hear about the process in the factory, particularly how the chickens are handled prior to shechita. Following the revelation of widespread animal abuse in the factory, Rav Lau issued a statement for all slaughterhouses nationwide to take additional steps to avoid tzar baalei chaim.
Mr. Ami Zoglovek and other senior company officials will be meeting with the Rabbinate’s Shechita and Halacha Committee and they will review the entire process from beginning to end.
CEO Pinny Kamri reported to the media that the company has always complied with all of the regulations set forth by the Rabbinate and it will continue to do so in the future.
Rabbi Yeshayahu Meitlis Shlita, the chief rabbi of Nahariya gives the hashgacha on the slaughterhouse, which is located in Shlomei. He reports that the factory is operating as it should from a halachic point of view and the operation is monitored on a regular basis as halacha demands.
Rav Lau added that he has complete trust in the local rabbinate but feels more must be done to address the issue of animal cruelty. Rabbi Lau plans to raise this issue in an upcoming meeting of the Chief Rabbinate Council. The chief rabbi concluded “We will not tolerate giving kashrus supervision to a factory that ignores animal cruelty issues”.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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5 Responses
Harav Lau – Yishar Koach!
Even though this may not be a kashgus issue, it is a gOod move by rav lau. By this move Rav lau endears himself with the non observant public.
The right spelling is Zoglovek with the g before the l
Rav Lau, Shilita, is demonstrating a forceful position that possessing hashgacha requires more than simply having a frum yid in chaddideshe lvush sitting in in the schlachthois….a shochet and mashgichim must affirmatively monitor all aspects of the operation and take action if they see the kinds of abuse that apparently had been going on here. We don’t have to get into the debate about the concept of hechsher tzedek. the practices here were about the kashruth itself.
At first it looked as though Dudi LLau was different. Now we see that he is the same as his father: an attention seeker who will seize any opportunity to get fuis picture on the TV and in the papers. Rabbi Lau, leave kashrus to those who know more about it than you. Stick to arranging society chuppas like your father did.