Israel – Having seemingly agreed upon a solution to his contentious conversion bill, Hatnua MK Elazar Stern had another controversial bill approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Monday which will allow restaurants to receive a rabbinate kashrut license and stay open on Shabbat.
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The current law governing kashrut licensing states that the rabbi giving issuing a rabbinate kashrut license may only take into account the laws of kashrut, but in practice they will not do so if the establishment opens on the Sabbath.
This situation forces many restaurants, bars, and other businesses serving and providing food to choose between bringing in more custom by being kosher or by opening on Shabbat but driving away patrons who only eat in an establishment with a kashrut license.
According to Stern’s bill, the only requirement for a restaurant or other business to get kosher certification would be to serve kosher food.
The MK noted in the explanation to his bill that the Supreme Court has issued rulings to this effect and stated that the decisions of the Council of the Chief Rabbinate to condition kashrut certification on matters not related to food are not legitimate.
Stern’s bill nevertheless takes into account concerns regarding Jewish law and has proposed the use of separate cooking and serving utensils for Shabbat for restaurants that want to be open on Saturday and be kosher.
Kashrut supervisors would be unable to inspect such businesses on Shabbat and so the utensils used for the six days of the week for which its kashrut license is operative could not be used on Shabbat.
Stern said his bill had the support of senior rabbis within the national-religious community and would make Judaism less alienating for the broader public.
Following the approval of the bill, haredi MK Yisrael Eichler called it “part of the war to turn the state into a Reform ghetto.”
“Those who observe the laws of kashrut will not surrender and will not rely on rabbinate kashrut licenses and restaurants will close if they don’t have haredi licenses,” he said.
Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post
At least this will finally get Modern Orthodox American tourists to stop eating rabbanut.
The Chilul Shabbos rockets are pounding us not Hamas , it is only coming from that direction to make you thing it Hamas
If you don’t like the hashgocho then don’t eat there. I assume most VIN readers only eat Badatz and Mehadrin. So why does this matter? In New York there are plenty of places with alleged hashgochos that are open on Shabbos. Who eats there?
In the holy state of israel they approving a bill against the holy shabbos & israel has still chutzpa to ask the world to recognize them as a jewish state
This article is mixed up. A mashgiach can inspect on shabbos but the keilim used to cook on shabbos by a jew become assur because of maasa shabbos.
How does a government weigh in on halacha
At the end of the day this bill is pretty stupid
Most kashrut keeping people will be concerned about an establishment that is opened on Shabbat and will not patronize it anyway so the certificate will mean nothing
For people on the fence I was not worried about them
So the irony is that a bill that was designed to protect the integrity of the kashrut certificate is actually encouraging “fake” kashrut
When all is said and done, and the broigas has died down, State Rabbanut hashgacha will have the same value as the “supervision” of the Federation of Retail Kosher Butchers: good for members of Conservative congregations who aren’t concerned with peripheral issues such as Shabbat, bishul/chalav Yisrael, fish with meat, etc.. The shomer Torah/mitzvot population will rely on private rabbanim and organizations. Just like in the States.
If the Haredi had ever shown an ounce if respect for the Klal, Israel would have a reputable kashrut system like the OU here in America. Instead, every tom, dick and Harry opened their own badatz and refused to go near rabanut, which was actually a good Hashgacha. The fragmented Kosher market leads to less options for everyone and higher prices. BUT it is perpetuated because the Rav HaMachshir gets to make a few bucks. Like many here in Monsey, the only treif food I have ever eaten was with a Heimish monsey hashgacha-and KJ. We now stick to OU.
…and I’m sure there is a way pork can be kosher
I guess the halacha is not relevant. How can food prepared on Shabbat be kosher?
Olam hafuch raiti
“Reform” is a hot-button for yours truly, having escaped their clutches, but, initially, with the price of painful alienation from family and friends, after realizing that Reform have been unwitting kapos to the spiritual holocaust in America. Yes, our ‘rabbis’ and teachers in those years, many of them, were well-meaning, sincere people (themselves usually tinukei sh’nishba) who were simply uneducated Jewishly and doing the best they could with what they had. But the departure from Torah & Mitzvos at the heart of the movement has resulted in the terrible statistics of the “Phew” Report. Except that they are not statistics; they are cousins, brothers & sisters. Having run out of victims in America, and desperate for some sort of reason to exist, and probably with plenty of money from “social engineers” like Soros & the ilk, reform has now set its sights on remaking Israeli society in its own craven image. May their plot be speedily frustrated. And may our remaining Jewish brothers & sisters come to drink from the waters of “Toras Chaim” – called so, because Torah GENERATES life.
a secualr israeli govt doesn’t change.
from day one they secularized the yemenites and Moroccans. they hate the frum and will try as much as possible to secularize. as each yomtov comes along they start teaching the public why matza is unhealthy or sufganiot. Now they are sticking their nose into the kashrus business. how dare they? this is not up to a gov’t , this is up to Rabbanut. if the govt is not running al pi halacha al pi the rabbanim they have no right to mix in and they should realize that.. i also read that they are passing or passed a bill that you cannot refuse a non frum guy to be your mashgiach
The Bill has not passed the Knesset yet, so everyone is jumping too soon. No Hashgocho is absolutely fool proof. This may actually be of benefit to people who are uncertain about a Hashgocho, in that they won’t buy from any business open on Shabbos or use the Hashgocho that supports it.
n New York, there are Glatt Kosher restaurants where you pay before Shabbos with a credit card, and make a beauiful Shabbos meal in the restaurant. That is certainly following the Halacha.
As far as the Shulchan Aruch goes, that was written by a human and not Hashem. It also says in the Shulchan Aruch that masturbation is the equivalent of murder. That makes every male Jew on the planet a murderer!!! How stupid is that by Rabbi Karo. Great rabbis make mistakes, and this is certainly one of them. Enjoy your Shabbos meal at a restaurant with your friends.