Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber, who heads the Chief Rabbinate Council, has announced that he will serve as head of the committee for shechita (ritual slaughter) abroad.
The unprecedented move follows revelations of serious flaws recently discovered in the system for supervision of the meat imported to Israel.
Rabbi Ber's decision follows the publication of a list of serious failures in the system for supervising the kashrut (kosher status) of meat imported from abroad. These failures were reported by Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, who currently heads the committee.
Among other failures reported were: a lack of supervision, failure to appoint someone to head the Chief Rabbinate's Department for Kosher Slaughter Abroad, and failure to follow the acts of slaughter and supervision.
Though Rabbi Eliyahu asked the Director General of the Chief Rabbinate to appoint someone to head the department, the move has not yet taken place. In light of the delays and evasiveness of the staff in implementing the needed reforms, Rabbi Bar himself was invited to head the committee. Rabbi Eliyahu will continue in the committee as well, as deputy to Rabbi Ber.
The Rabbinic Council said, "The direct involvement of the Chief Rabbi in the Committee for Shechita Abroad shows the severity of the failures and the need for a strong hand to be involved with the secretarial individuals who refuse to listen to the rabbis' directives."
The Committee for Shechita Abroad is responsible for supervising and inspecting millions of tons of kosher meat imported to Israel annually, and the issues exposed arouse great concerns amongst the Torah-observant community at large.