The bill that will reform the kosher market in Israel was approved today (Wednesday) for a second and third reading in the Committee on Special National Infrastructure Initiatives and Jewish Religious Services.
After dozens of hours of deliberations, the committee approved the bill for further voting and rejected thousands of reservations submitted, although it did accept a few individual reservations approved with the coalition’s consent.
The committee's chairman, MK Yulia Malinowski, said after the bill was approved that "this is a huge message to the general public. We broke the rabbinate's monopoly and opened the kashrut to healthy competition. There were in-depth discussions with the members of the opposition. For women - because labor laws will also apply to all corporations. We have broken the rabbinical monopoly. What hurts them is the control and power to determine for all of us. We may not have thought enough and more amendments will come. There is no law that does not pass amendments. "A training system in Israel will reduce costs, lower the cost of living and improve the business owners who have so far paid dearly for a training certificate."
According to the main points of the approved law, the kosher market will open to full competition in a little over a year on January 1, 2023, so that private entities can grant kosher.
The bodies will receive approval from the head of training at the Chief Rabbinate.
In addition, the bodies will be able to act according to their choice, according to a kosher standard (standard) set by the Chief Rabbinate Council or according to a standard set by three rabbis and the religious councils will in about two months, on January 1, 2022, give kosher everywhere .
At the same time it was decided that the price of kosher certificates for businesses would not be uniform and would be determined by each kosher corporation and religious council.
The granting of kosher food products will be possible for all the above bodies except the religious councils, kosher supervisors will be required to be certified by the Chief Rabbinate and there will be parliamentary oversight by the committee on the implementation of the law.
On the other hand, Knesset members from the ultra-Orthodox factions expressed strong opposition to the move.
MK Uri Maklev of Torah Judaism said after the approval of the kosher reform that "this is a black day.
You may end up here, but now I'm just starting the war, kosher consumers will not have kosher training and confidence.
People are hungry for bread because of kosher, kosher is not here.
You have not seen before your eyes neither the civil rights nor the religious rights in the Land of Israel, the law may have passed but we are just starting the war now, we will reach every child in the country to let him know that your training is absolute pike! "
MK Yaakov Asher attacked the approval of the kashrut reform and said: "The 100 hours of committee discussions in which we participated proved beyond any doubt that this is a reform that has nothing to do with lower prices, on the contrary.
"Yemina and Yisrael Beiteinu are carrying out a targeted assassination of the state rabbinical institution established by the late Rabbi Kook during the British Mandate. This is desecration D."
Protest of kashrut workers in central Tel Aviv, Photo: The headquarters of the struggle against kashrut reform
At the same time, while the bill to carry out a kosher reform was approved for a second and third reading, dozens of kosher workers are currently protesting on Ibn Gvirol Street in Tel Aviv against Minister Kahana and the kosher reform he is leading: "This is a kosher destruction reform.
As is well known, according to the plan, which we first reported on in Israel Today, with the approval of the Arrangements Law, kosher areas will be opened, and the religious councils will be able to provide kosher services throughout the country, as agreed in the coalition agreements.
This means, for example, that Rabbi David Satyu, rabbi of the locality of Shoham, will also be able to provide kosher food in Eilat, which will make it easier and more open to provide kosher food in cities where a conservative rabbi serves.
The coming year will be a transition period, during which the Minister of Religions will establish the system in charge of kashrut in the Chief Rabbinate, install the regulations required for reform, and kashrut bodies will be able to begin obtaining a license to issue a kosher certificate.
On January 1, 2023, in a little over a year, private kosher bodies will be able to start providing kosher services for the first time and compete in the religious councils.
