The Rabbanut published its response to a Supreme Court petition regarding the Tzohar organization following a request for freedom of information submitted by the Kosharot organization, Arutz Sheva reported.
The Tzohar Food Inspection Ltd. filed a petition to the Supreme Court after the Rabbanut refused to recognize Tzohar as an authorized body to grant kashrus certification to products imported from abroad.
In its response, the Rabbanut noted a series of issues it has discovered about Tzohar’s reliability as a kashrus certification agency.
“The Rabbanut cannot rely on the petitioner (Tzohar) as a body whose kashrut services are reliable,” the Rabbanut stated in its response to the Supreme Court. “According to findings provided by the inspectors of the Unit For The Prevention of Kashrut Fraud, a problematic picture emerged regarding the conduct of the kashrut body in the provision of supervision services in Israel in the wake of failures found in the conduct of the petitioner’s supervision.”
“The petitioner granted retroactive kashrut status to a winery for wine produced seven years before the certificate was issued, based on testimony from the owners of the place. And even after a video was published showing that non-Torah observant people worked in the factory during the wine-bottling process, which is forbidden, it did not remove the kashrut certification.”
“In another case, the petitioner granted kashrut certification to a bakery which was inside a non-kosher restaurant, when in practice, rabbinical officials found that there were significant failures in supervising the bakery, which led to misleading the kashrut-observant public.”
“In another case, the Rabbanut removed kashrut certification from a hotel after significant failures in the conduct of the kashrut supervisor in matters of Shabbat and meat and milk. The petitioner then granted its kashrut certification to the hotel without the kashrut supervisor being replaced.”
“In some cases, the petitioner issued kashrut supervision certificates immediately after the certification was removed by the Rabbanut over violation of kashrut laws. This, ostensibly, is contrary to the petitioner’s own publications, in which its states that it will wait three months after the removal of kashrut certification by the Rabbanut before granting its certification.”
“Not only does the petitioner’s kashrut body not comply with the Rabbanut’s kashrut procedures, but the petitioner also conducts itself in an irresponsible manner, which does not allow the Rabbanut, in its position, to trust it for recognition.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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14 Responses
Tzohar is a Quasi-Reform organization.
LOL
Would trust tzhohar over anyone else any day of the week-
How many incidents can one dig up from the other side if they so desired?
You’ve gotten the Kool-Aid crowd though that’s fo sho
What was Tzohars response?
I don’t claim to be an expert, but is this Loshon Horah and needs to be deleted?
TSOHAR IS REFORM PRETENDING TO BE ORTHODOX, LIKE THE SO-CALLED OPEN ORTHODOX IN AMERICA, THAT GIVES SEMICHA TO WOMEN.
Avi, This is called l’Toeles.
And Hymish – unless you are in the Kashrus industry and posses specific knowledge, what you wrote does not constitute Lashon ha’Ra, but rather Motza’ei Shem Ra.
I, like Avi, am no expert. But although I personally avoid both, I know enough to know that there is a siginificant difference between Rabbanut and Tzohar.
Avii Cohen its not loshan Horah.Frum People should know where they eat. And with Tzohar its not kosher.
And i can tell you that even Chutz laaretz people dont eat Tsohar. and a lot of restaurants can and will change because the have to rely on tourist and im sure they dont eat and accept the kashrut of tzohar. Its a reform organisation
Hymish- What your saying in short is that you dont trust any hechshar!! Thats the easy way out.
There have been lapses with rabbanut as well
It’s the Israeli version of the American “Heksher Tzedek” that Rubashkin refused to accept. They in turn called in PETA and the rest of the story then developed. It is the reform movement’s הכשר. It must not be recognized.
We don’t trust any hechsher, it’s all a business.
The fact is that Rabbanut is a very professional Kashrut organization & practically the only one with “teeth”.
You may not like the psakim they rely on but they provide a strictly enforced – minimum standard.
The most chareidi Rabbonim would be the first to tell you how essential a role the Rabbanut plays in Kashrut in Eretz Yisrael & around the world.
Mobico- point being that in the sphere of kashrus day to day there will always invariably be a a few situations and incidents that fall through the cracks- therefore saying other side has similar ( or perhaps more who knows ? ) failings borne out of sheer enforcement difficulties is just stating the obvious and highlighting that their nitpicking of tz is seemingly just a tactic to besmirch
In reality I’m sure they both do their best — but portraying tz as nefarious and negligent kashrut administrators is wrong