The Knesset has given final approval to legislation repealing former Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana’s kashrus reform, marking a major legislative victory for MK Michael Malkieli.

In a dramatic vote that concluded overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, the Knesset plenum passed the repeal in its second and third readings. The bill was approved by a vote of 46-41.

The legislation, considered MK Malkieli’s flagship initiative, completely overturns Kahana’s kashrus reform, which was enacted in 2021 and sparked fierce opposition throughout the Torah world.

Following the vote, Malkieli, who spearheaded the campaign to repeal the reform, expressed great satisfaction with the outcome.

“After years of determined struggle led by Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, we have merited to correct the Kahana reform, which threatened to breach the walls of kashrus in the Holy Land,” Malkieli said.

He added, “The new reform will bring with it many improvements, some of them historic, in every area of kashrus. The reform will strengthen Israel’s Chief Rabbinate and the rabbis of Israel. It will also regulate the employment of kashrus supervisors and, contrary to the false claims spread by interested parties, will even help lower the cost of living for all Israeli citizens.”

What the New Law Includes

Under the newly approved legislation, the provisions that allowed private kashrus organizations to operate are repealed. The authority to issue kashrus certificates will now rest exclusively with the Council of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, authorized local rabbis, and the IDF Military Rabbinate, as appropriate.

The law also regulates numerous aspects of the kashrus system, including kashrus standards, the operation of bodies involved in providing kashrus services, supervision procedures, the separation between kashrus supervisors and the businesses they oversee, and government oversight of the entire kashrus framework.

The explanatory notes accompanying the bill state:

“On November 18, 2021, the Economic Program Law (Legislative Amendments for Implementing the Economic Policy for the 2021-2022 Budget Years) was published. Chapter 17 of the Arrangements Law, entitled ‘Streamlining the Kashrus System’ (Amendment No. 3), introduced changes to the kashrus system, including the imported food kashrus framework.

“As part of that amendment, the field of kashrus was, in effect, privatized. It provided that supervision services and kashrus certificates could be issued, among others, by private kashrus organizations, based on kashrus standards established, among others, by rabbis who are not public employees.

“The Council of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Chief Rabbis of Israel who headed it strongly opposed Amendment No. 3. They maintained that the unique characteristics of the kashrus system require kashrus services to remain under public administration in order to safeguard the public interest, including transparency, objectivity, and public accountability. In this way, they argued, the granting of kashrus certification and its oversight would not be influenced by the significant economic interests present within the food industry, which could lead to conflicts of interest and improper considerations.”

Chief Rabbi Backs the Legislation

Israel’s Chief Rabbi, HaGaon Rav Kalman Meir Bar, voiced unequivocal support for the legislation during committee deliberations before the vote. In his remarks, the Chief Rabbi sharply criticized the reality that had developed in Israel’s kashrus market following Kahana’s reform.

“The public wants to know that it can rely on the kashrus certificate and on the body standing behind it,” Rav Bar said. “Kashrus is not a marketing brand but a public responsibility requiring professional, continuous, and reliable oversight.”

Background to the Reform

Matan Kahana’s kashrus reform was enacted in November 2021 as part of the Economic Arrangements Law. It authorized private kashrus organizations to provide supervision services and issue kashrus certificates based on standards established, among others, by rabbis who were not government employees.

From the outset, the Council of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and Israel’s Chief Rabbis strongly opposed the legislation, arguing that the nature of kashrus supervision requires it to remain a public service in order to preserve transparency, objectivity, and accountability to the public.

{Matzav.com}