The Chief Rabbis of Israel, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef and Rabbi David Lau, published an open letter Wednesday condemning Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana's kashrut reforms.
The chief rabbis define the new outline as "the destruction of kashrut that reflects a trend toward the displacement of the Judaism of the State of Israel."
The chief rabbis also call for an immediate halt to the reforms, and also call on the rabbis of Israel to stand firm and not give kashrut certification where they have not been authorized to do so by the Chief Rabbinical Council.
The full text of the Chief Rabbis' letter: "The decision on the new kashrut outline constitutes the destruction of kashrut and reflects a trend towards the displacement of the Judaism of the State of Israel, another step in making the State of Israel the state of all its citizens."
"Everyone who has eyes in their heads sees the hand being raised ahainst the Torah of Moses, a deviation from the path outlined by the great men of Israel, the founders of the Chief Rabbinate, headed by the late Rabbi Kook and the late Rabbi Meir and the chief rabbis of the generations, the path of establishing a Jewish state in the Land of Israel.
"In the space of the conspiracy rooms of change, additional voices are already resonating in matters of conversion and marriage outside the framework of the Chief Rabbinate, which will inevitably lead to the separation of the communities in Israel. We must protect the unity that was the desire of the founders of the rabbinate and which is being cut with iron blades.
"We are anxious about this, we turn to you with this call: Take your hands away from the holiness of Israel! Matters of halakhah and religion are the purview of the rabbis of Israel. It is inconceivable that in the blink of an eye they would destroy an entire building in a trend to please certain elements.
"Out of heavy responsibility to the people of Israel and to the Land of Israel, we call for an immediate end to this process," the letter concludes.