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Chief Rabbinate Council denies Tzohar kashrut certification shortly after authorization

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The Chief Rabbinate Council has refused to authorize Tzohar Kashrut's certification, reversing an earlier approval granted by the Director General of the Religious Services Ministry.
  • The council cited that the authorization was unlawfully granted without proper procedure and consultation with the council itself.
  • Tzohar Kashrut maintains that the Director General of the Rabbinate, who issued the license, has the sole authority, and that businesses with their certification can operate with the Chief Rabbinate's permission.

A kashrut authorization granted to the Tzohar Kashrut organization has been revoked by the Chief Rabbinate Council shortly after its approval, creating a dispute over religious certification in Israel. Yehuda Avidan, Director General of the Religious Services Ministry, demanded the reversal, stating the initial approval was unlawful and bypassed the necessary legal process.

The approval was granted unlawfully and did not go through the Chief Rabbinate Council as required.

— Yehuda AvidanDirector General of the Religious Services Ministry, explaining the demand to revoke Tzohar Kashrut's authorization.

"The approval was granted unlawfully and did not go through the Chief Rabbinate Council as required," Avidan reportedly stated. Earlier in the day, Yehuda Cohen, Director General of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate, had granted the authorization, a decision celebrated by the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization as the culmination of years of effort to establish its kashrut supervision as a recognized agency based on justice and impartiality.

However, the Chief Rabbinate Council quickly responded, stating it would not approve the authorization at this stage. The council echoed Avidan's claim, asserting that the Director General had not informed them of his intention to grant the license. "In light of this, the Chief Rabbinate Council is not approving the license for the Tzohar organization at this stage," the council stated.

In light of this, the Chief Rabbinate Council is not approving the license for the Tzohar organization at this stage.

— Chief Rabbinate CouncilStating their refusal to authorize Tzohar Kashrut's certification due to procedural issues.

Tzohar issued a protest, claiming the council was aware of their request and had even responded to petitions on the matter. They asserted that the Director of the Religious Services Ministry lacks authority over issuing kashrut certificates, and that only the Director General of the Rabbinate holds that power, which he had exercised in Tzohar's favor. Tzohar also stated that hundreds of businesses and hundreds of thousands of consumers already use Tzohar-certified establishments with the permission of the Chief Rabbinate.

The only one who can issue a license for such certificates is the Director General of the Rabbinate, who did issue the license to Tzohar.

— Tzohar Rabbinical OrganizationAsserting the validity of their certification based on the Director General of the Rabbinate's approval.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jerusalem Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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