The Chief Rabbinate of Israel Council published an official decision this afternoon (Thursday) in which it announced that it does not approve, at this stage, the license granted by the outgoing Chief Rabbinate Director General to the Zohar organization to operate as a kosher certification body.
The decision of the Chief Rabbinate Council states:
""We have learned that the Zohar organization received a notice from the Director General of the Chief Rabbinate about granting a license to serve as a kosher certification body. The notice states that the kashrut standard by which the organization will operate is the kashrut standard regulated by the Chief Rabbinate Council of Israel. In accordance with the Law Prohibiting Fraud in Kashrut - one of the conditions for granting a license, to an applicant for a license to operate according to the council's kashrut standard, is that the Chief Rabbinate Council did not object to granting the license.
""Although he should have done so according to the law, according to logic, and according to the rules of proper administration, the CEO did not inform us at all about his intention to grant the license, so the issue has not yet been brought up for discussion before the Chief Rabbinate Council or before the Kashrut Committee established by the Chief Rabbinate Council.".
""In order for the Council to be able to discuss the issue, it must receive all of the relevant material, including a reasoned decision by the Commissioner, the license application, and the materials on which the Commissioner based his decision. To date, the Commissioner has not presented the Council with any of the above materials or data.".
""According to the law, 30 days are allotted in which the Rabbinical Council can examine the matters in order to express its halachic position in terms of kashrut laws, in relation to the license granted. In order for the Council to be able to meet these deadlines, the Commissioner must forward the materials detailed above without delay.
""In light of this, the Chief Rabbinate Council does not approve at this stage the granting of a license to the Zohar organization.".
""This decision is brought to the attention of the Commissioner, the Director General of the Chief Rabbinate.".
The decision comes against the backdrop of harsh criticism voiced in recent weeks towards the actions of the outgoing director general of the Chief Rabbinate, who allegedly acted on the issue of the license for the hatchery on his own, without authority and without the approval of the Chief Rabbinate Council, which is described by sources in the Rabbinate as "hijacking.".
Yehuda Avidan, Director General of the Ministry of Religious Services, also addressed a dramatic letter this afternoon to the Deputy Attorney General, Attorney Carmit Yulis, and the Chief Rabbinate's Counsel, Attorney Ofer Yaakov.
""It has been brought to my attention that the Director General of the Rabbinate, Yehuda Cohen, signed a certificate for 'Tzohar-Food Supervision Ltd.' granting them authority as a body granting kashrut. The body of the certificate states that the kashrut standard is according to the kashrut standard regulated by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel," Avidan wrote.
Avidan clarifies in his letter that the move was carried out while bypassing the express provisions of the law and contrary to the position of the president of the council: "It is clear that I spoke with Rabbi Kalman Bar, the Chief Rabbi and the president of the Chief Rabbinate Council. I was informed that neither the Chief Rabbinate Council nor the president of the council were asked about the issue or expressed an opinion on the issue.".
The CEO added: "As things stand, the aforementioned certificate given to 'Tzohar-Food Supervision Ltd.' is invalid and cannot be acted upon. The procedure for granting a certificate is supposed to begin with the approval of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, and as long as it agrees, the certificate can be written and relied on the Rabbinate's kashrut standard, which did not happen in this case.".
The CEO warns against establishing facts on the ground and asks the Legal Counsel to the Government to immediately halt the distribution of the certificate: "I am urgently appealing to you due to the rapid action of 'Tzohar - Food Inspection Ltd.' to distribute the certificate among business owners. Dozens of inquiries have been received from across the country requesting that the certificate be used immediately in violation of the law.
""I would ask you to instruct and announce that the certificate was issued illegally and that it is not valid. All this so that no actions are taken on the ground that will require us to deal with petitions, etc.".
The rabbi of Safed, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, criticized and claimed that this was a "hijacking" carried out by the outgoing Director General of the Chief Rabbinate, without the approval of the Chief Rabbinate or the Council of the Chief Rabbinate, and therefore the approval is invalid.
""The fired Director General of the Rabbinate continues to conduct himself in a scandalous manner. After harming kashrut in Israel, public trust, and the cost of living, the Director General continues to try to sow destruction. We did not allow this then and we certainly will not allow it today. The kashrut letter for Tzahar is unacceptable and is doomed to fail," wrote Rabbi Eliyahu.
The Koshrut organization responded: "This is what lawlessness looks like in the guise of competition. The Director General of the Chief Rabbinate, who is ending his term after a period in which the field of kashrut was harmed and even a disciplinary procedure was conducted in his case, issues a three-year license without even consulting with the Chief Rabbinate Council or the Kashrut Division, without an organized and transparent professional process, and without completing the required tests.".
""Kashrut Tzohar itself participated in discussions in which the failures that occurred during the CEO's tenure were presented, but when it serves its interest, it does not hesitate to rely on a personal certificate issued by him.
""In the High Court hearing, professional reports were presented indicating deficiencies and non-compliance with kashrut requirements and procedures, but the license issuer chose to ignore them. It is precisely against situations like these that we have warned all along: when kashrut becomes an arena of commercial competition, there are those who are willing to accept even improper moves, as long as they serve their own interests. It is a shame that those who preach competition do not demand, first and foremost, that there be fair, legal, and equitable competition.".
