Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit rejected the request of Rishon L’Tzion HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef, who asked him to demand from the High Court an extension of the implementation of the kashrus reform plan pertaining to mashgichim, which he says could cause financial harm to thousands of mashgichim.

In the State’s response to the High Court of Justice, it was written that the attorney general does not accept the request of the Chief Rabbi and demands that the outline be implemented within three weeks. The High Court of Justice Department in the State Attorney’s Office noted in response to Rabbi Yosef’s request that Mandelblit had not accepted the request, and he was demanding the implementation of the outline according to the memorandum of law from September 18, in about three weeks.

The worlds of the Chief Rabbinate and kashrus were surprised to discover last week that the attorney general had announced that the Chief Rabbinate’s kashrus monopoly would be canceled if the High Court of Justice ruled that the financial arrangement that exists between the mashgichim and the owners of the businesses is not ended, as the plan demands. This refers to the reform which is supposed to bring an end of the conflict of interest, in which a mashgiach is paid his salary by the store he supervises.

In response, Rav Yosef sent a letter to the attorney general and warned severe harm would come to mashgichim if the reform is implemented. “As a result of the government’s decision, there is a need to ensure that thousands of mashgichim will not be victims of the implementation of the decision, and in particular to ensure that the injury to the overseers will not impair the quality of kashrus, which the Chief Rabbinate regards as superior to other values”, Rav Yosef wrote.

In his words, “Despite the decision of the Chief Rabbinate Council and despite the government’s decision, there is still a serious danger of mortal damage to mashgichim as long as a proper and optimal solution is not found … It is inconceivable that these efforts and the desire to examine additional alternatives will be an obstacle for the court, which must also be a partner in the desire to prevent harm to the thousands of workers.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)