Jerusalem – A Deputy Minister is embarking on a new effort to remove businesses that do not have a state-issued kashrut certificate but call themselves kosher.
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As reported by Haaretz.com (http://bit.ly/1ggcz1K) Deputy Religious Services Minister Eli Ben Dahan proposed a law circulated in the Knesset on Sunday to establish a group of “kashrut police” to crack down on businesses that sell merchandise as kosher but have no kashrut certificate.
The proposal requests that the kashrut inspectors be allowed to take food samples from restaurants and businesses, and request citizens to identify themselves and be available for questioning.
According to the proposal, members of the Chief Rabbinate’s Kashrut Fraud Division would wear identification badges and uniforms as to be easily identified.
An Israeli law states that merchandise cannot be described as kosher and business owners cannot use the word “kosher” in any way unless the business has obtained a state-issued kashrut certificate.
It’s all about the money.
As if kashrus agencies don’t wield too much power as it is, over issues they have no business sticking their noses into, now we should have kashrus police empowered by the state? Consumer protection is all fine and good, but our track record as a community on this is not a good one.
UNFORTUNATLEY I HAVE TO AGREE WITH # 1. A LOT OF THIS IS ABOUT THE MONEY. MY FATHER Z’L WAS A KOSHER BUTCHER, AND HE TOLD ME WHAT HE SAW GO ON WHEN BUTCHERS WERE THREATENED.
It’s an excellent way to get even with the secularists.
Until now, both the religious and non religious overlooked each others transgressions of the law, provided that neither would flex their muscle too much over each other.
But now that the secularists are flexing their muscle to force the compliance of the charedim with the draft, segregation and the like, the charedim are fighting back to “throw the book” at the secularists who regularly step all over the laws, themselves, too.
# 7. The last time me father spoke to me about this was about a Chasideshe butcher in Crown Heights that he was working for after he retired from his own place. my father felt terrible for that man.