JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The first phase of the controversial revamping of Israel’s kosher certification system came into effect Sunday. Opponents claim that the new system, which weakens the Chief Rabbinate’s ability to supervise kashrus, will lead to more leniencies and loopholes on the matter, while proponents say that the new system will pave the way for greater competition and will remove numerous unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.
The reform, spearheaded by Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana, will eventually enable private organizations to provide supervision services — with the overall supervision of the Rabbinate — starting in 2023.
The Knesset’s Religious Services Committee approved the new legislation in late October and it passed its final readings in the Knesset in early November.
In the current stage, any restaurant, food store and factory can choose from among all religious councils nationwide to provide kashrut supervision, rather than only being able to use their local council. For example Elite which manufactures in Upper Nazareth (now renamed Nof Hagalil) will not require the local rabbinate’s services and can choose any religious council to provide their kashrus supervision.
After the second and final stage enters effect on January 1, 2023, a series of private agencies will be able to issue kosher certification, which currently can only be done by the Chief Rabbinate, though the private agencies will be required to uphold religious standards established by the Chief Rabbinate. The move is aimed at increasing competition to reduce costs for businesses seeking certification.
The private agencies will be authorized to issue certifications that note they are “under the supervision of the Rabbinate.” Each agency is expected to be headed by a rabbi who is certified by the city’s local rabbinate. The agencies — which will also need to demonstrate financial viability — will make public the religious standards they are maintaining in their certification.
The proposed plan would also see the creation of a new supervisory body within the Chief Rabbinate to monitor the private agencies and ensure they uphold the standards they have promised to meet. It will allow local religious councils to also provide kosher certifications as well as local municipal rabbis.
Businesses have complained that the rabbinate monopoly costs them more money and the Israel Democracy institute says the costs – an estimated 13 million NIS per year – are then conveyed to taxpayers, who are sometimes forced to pay for duplicate and triplicate certifications. However Chareidi politicians claim that the new reform will lead to kosher certifying agencies without sufficiently stringent oversight or regulation.
Kahana hailed his reform on Sunday in a Facebook post, saying it will “march the kashrut system forward toward better, more organized and more supervised kashrut.”
“The option for every city rabbi, via a religious council, to provide kosher certificates in every area of Israel… opens the kashrut market to competition,” Kahana wrote, arguing that this will lead to “better, more serious, more meticulous and more convenient service to business owners.”