Will the Chief Rabbinate allow kosher food to be imported from abroad without further inspection on its part?
The Ministry of Finance and Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan are conducting talks in an attempt to reach an agreement regarding easing the rabbinate's requirements regarding food imported from abroad. This is reported this morning by a newspaper. The Marker.
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel does not rely on kashrut certifications from outside the country, and demands that additional kashrut be added on its behalf.
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During the talks between the Ministry of Finance and the religions, the claim was made - according to De Marker - that the situation with kosher is 'absurd.' "Even the Ministry of Health, which approves a medicine, does not send representatives abroad, but relies on the approvals issued by the authorized bodies there," sources close to the talks said: "If the Haredim in Brooklyn eat Philadelphia cheese, which has been approved as kosher, why is this cheese not good enough in Israel without the additional stamp?"'
Large cheese importers say that in order to import kosher food into Israel, they are required to finance a special inspector from the Rabbinate who will fly to the location and re-check the product's kosherity. The inspection is particularly meticulous and involves high costs and heavy bureaucracy, which means that most manufacturers are unwilling to cooperate with Israeli importers.
According to them, the price of the additional kashrut certification by the Rabbinate in Israel increases the price of hard cheeses coming to Israel by approximately 35%, so that the supply is extremely low and there is no real competition. The milk market is currently dominated by three major dairies: Tnuva, Strauss, and Vetra. According to the parties managing the negotiations, the main factor preventing the development of the market is the barrier of additional kashrut certification.
De Marker adds that a serious problem also exists in the meat sector, due to a shortage of kosher meat abroad with increasing pressure on kosher slaughter in Europe, due to sensitivity to animal rights. There is a serious concern that the abolition of customs duties on fresh meat imports to Israel will not lead to the breaking of Tnuva and Dabah's control in the industry - due to the high prices of kosher meat abroad.
Despite the attempts, the newspaper estimates that the chances of success of the move are not at all clear. This is because the Chief Rabbinate is a kosher monopoly, and kosher inspections in Israel and abroad are a primary source of income for its employees.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Religious Affairs told De Marker in response: "The Ministry of Religious Affairs is committed to reducing the costs of kashrut, and therefore we consider every proposal that is presented to us. However, the proposals in question are still only in initial examination.".
