Majority of religious-Zionists oppose gov't kashrut reforms - poll

• Author: JEREMY SHARON
• Published date: 02 October 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

At the same time, pluralities of religiously-traditional, traditional and secular Israelis support the proposals, the poll found, although majorities in each sector had not heard about the reforms, which involve abolishing the Chief Rabbinate's monopoly over kashrut supervision.

The data comes from a poll conducted by Panels Politics for the Institute for Jewish and Zionist Research, a new organization dedicated to examining attitudes to religious and social issues specifically among the religious and traditional sectors, and Jewish society more broadly.

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The government is currently advancing legislation which would abolish the present system where local rabbinates, which are under the authority of the Chief Rabbinate, are the only bodies which can issue a kashrut certificate stating that a restaurant or other food business is kosher.

In its place, independent kashrut authorities would be allowed to provide supervision to any business requesting their service, and the Chief Rabbinate would operate a supervisory body to ensure compliance with kashrut standards.

The reforms, which have generated fierce opposition from the Chief Rabbinate as well as the ultra-Orthodox and conservative religious-Zionist parties, were brought to the Knesset Committee for Special National Infrastructure Initiatives and Jewish Religious Services on Thursday in preparation for the next legislative stages.

Committee chairwoman MK Yulia Malinovsky noted during the hearing that since a vast array of food, and non-food items have kashrut licenses, thereby increasing the cost of the item, the issue of such supervision affects all Israeli citizens, Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and non-religious alike.

The MK brought several non-food products that have kashrut stamps to the committee hearing, including bleach, soap, utensils and toothpicks, to emphasize her point that kashrut and its costs touch the lives of all citizens.

"This affects us all, everywhere… In order that kashrut services be trustworthy and qualitative they need order, oversight and making the current system more efficient," said Malinovsky.

DURING THE hearing, Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana of Yamina, whose office designed the proposals, defended perhaps the most controversial element of the reforms, whereby a kashrut provider could be established with more basic standards...