Rabbi Yuval Cherlow
Rabbi Yuval CherlowEliran Baruch

Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, member of the Tzohar Rabbinic Organization which works to provide alternatives to Cheif Rabbinate services and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Hesder Amit Oron Shaul, criticized Tzfat Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu for besmirching the alternative Kashrut label 'Private Supervision.'

Private Supervision is an initiative which exploits a legal loophole allowed by the Supreme Court, offering Kashrut supervision to businesses without explicitly defining the establishments as Kosher. At his weekly Torah class on Sunday, Eliyahu told listeners that Private Supervision was certifying Arab restaurants as Kosher, and said that "Private Supervision is worthless. No wonder the Reform movement supports it".

Rabbi Cherlow tweeted in response that "the Torah not only tells us what to put in our mouths, it tells us to watch what comes out. It is forbidden to libel and make fun of people."

Private Supervision meanwhile strenuously denied Rabbi Eliyahu's charges that they certified an Arab restaurant as Kosher. "When we hear Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu lying, we understand why the Kashrut system is so broken," it told the Srugim website.

Chairman of the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization Rabbi David Stav, who plans on launching his own alternative Kashrut label, also weighed in, telling Arutz Sheva that 'it is legitimate to disagree, but it is not legitimate to lie".