The Supreme Court ruled that the Chief Rabbinate Council is the authorized body to decide on the issue of importing poultry from Brazil and refrained from issuing an interim order against the Rabbinate’s position.
The decision was made during a hearing on a petition submitted by Baladi, a company which sought to operate large-scale slaughtering operations in Brazil and import the poultry to Israel.
The panel of judges, headed by Daphne Barak-Erez, Noam Sohlberg, and Ruth Ronen, ruled that the Chief Rabbinate Council must convene within 45 days and issue an official decision to be submitted to the court by February 23, 2026.
In the petition, the company argued that the Chief Rabbinate was blocking the import solely for kashrut reasons and requested that the Supreme Court authorize bypassing the Rabbinate’s authority. However, the court chose to leave the decision in the hands of the Chief Rabbinate Council.
The ruling was received with relief among kosher certification authorities. According to senior industry sources, “The Supreme Court understood that new, more lenient standards cannot be imposed on kashrut authorities and returned the decision to the halachic decisors."
The Rabbinate’s import department emphasized that its position remains firm. “We firmly maintain that importing poultry from Brazil would severely harm the entire kosher poultry system in Israel. This move could result in Jews consuming meat with questionable kosher standards. Our refusal stems from serious responsibility: it would lead to Jews being served poultry that does not meet minimal kashrut standards."
Kashrut experts say there are significant differences between the controlled slaughter in Israel and that proposed abroad. “While Israel operates a strict, continuous supervision system under close oversight, the standards in Brazil are far from the level of control practiced here."
Beyond kashrut concerns, health and economic considerations were also raised during the hearing. Industry sources warned of lax regulation in Brazil compared to Israel’s strict veterinary oversight. Additionally, there is concern about harming the livelihoods of some 6,000 families in peripheral communities, from the north to the Gaza periphery.
Moti Elkabetz, secretary of the Poultry Farmers Organization, said, “Israel’s food independence requires strong local agriculture."
A senior Rabbinate official summarized: “Attempts to introduce poultry from countries with weak halachic supervision constitute a breach that cannot be tolerated. We will continue to stand firm against business attempts to undermine kosher standards. We will ensure that every chicken on Israel’s supermarket shelves is kosher, without compromise."
The Chief Rabbinate Council is expected to convene in the coming weeks to discuss approving the import department’s decision to ban imports from Brazil.