Shas MK Chaim Amsalem wishes to plug up holes in the supervision of Jewish dietary laws (Kashrut) in Israel. His bill, addressing problems warned about by various bodies including the State Comptroller and the now-defunct Religious Affairs Ministry, passed its preliminary Knesset reading last week.
Amsalem's legislation proposes to gather together many recommendations made over the years to improve Kashrut monitoring practices and turn them into law. For instance, there is no regulation governing how many hours a Kashrut supervisor must spend at the restaurant or establishment at which he is employed, nor is there any mechanism governing whether he has been there at all. The Chief Rabbinate, which issues most of the country's Kashrut certifications, is currently responsible for the actions of the Kashrut monitors.
Kashrut refers to Jewish dietary laws; food is considered kosher - permitted for consumption - only if it does not include ingredients from non-kosher animals, as determined by the Torah, or from animals not slaughtered according to Jewish Law, or meat-milk mixtures, and the like. In addition, detailed laws govern the utensils used for cooking and eating. As opposed to common misconception, Kashrut does not require that food be "blessed" by a rabbi.
Details of the Bill
The proposed legislation, which Amsalem emphasizes "has no elements of religious coercion," will enable "anyone who wants to eat Kosher food to be able to do so." Amsalem told Arutz-7 he hopes that it will pass its first reading within two months, after which it will have to pass either the Knesset Law Comittee or the Interior Committee; "we haven't yet decided which one."
The bill also proposes to encourage yeshiva students to enter the profession of Kashrut supervision, and train Kashrut monitors with courses of study and tests, as in other professions. The Rabbinate has taken some steps towards this, but the courses are not yet in place.
Amsalem's bill also wishes to formulate appropriate regulations for the various establishments whose Kashrut needs to be supervised. "The needs of a large food processing plant are different than those of a falafel stand," Amsalem states, "and both of these are different than a wedding hall, a restaurant, a butcher store, and so on."
No More Conflict of Interest
The most fundamental problem in Kashrut supervision is likely the very fact that the supervisor is generally employed by the owner of the establishment - leading to an obvious conflict of interest. The new bill stipulates that the supervisors be hired by outside, nation-wide firms that will be chosen by the Chief Rabbinate.
"This bill is designed to implement the various recommendations that have been made," Amsalem concludes, "but which have not yet been manifested. The current situation is harmful to both the status of the Chief Rabbinate's Kashrut authorizations around the country, and to the Chief Rabbinate itself. This bill comes to remedy that."
"This legislation will not cost the State additional expenses," the bill's rough copy states. "The costs for courses and salaries will be paid by outside bodies that will then charge the businesses, and yeshivot and Torah institutions will be able to generate revenue and jobs by training Kashrut supervisors."
