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Jan 5, 2014
Proposed Law: Kashrus Cops
The Kashrus Cops are coming.. and perhaps it is about time.
Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Rav Eli Ban Dahan, in cooperation with Chief Rabbi Dovid Lau, is proposing a law to improve the kashrus industry.
Rabbis Lau and Ben Dahan want to give the kashrut supervisors more practical authority to prevent fraud. The fraud department of the Rabbanut kashrut authority has been functioning for 14 years, but its employees have very limited authority for enforcement. They are proposing a law that would give serious authority to supervise the kashrus industry. Inspectors, mashgichim, will be able to demand identification, take samples, remove an outdated kashrut certificate from a place of business, some sort of authority for investigating suspected crimes and the ability to take items connected to any such investigation or suspicion.
(source: Kipa)
I particularly like the idea of "taking samples", and this might be a good reason to get a job as a mashgiach or kashrut supervisor. I'd be happy to go into restaurants and have the authority to "take samples"..
Joking aside, the one part that surprises me is that they would now have the authority to remove outdated, expired, kashrut certificates. Of all the things they can or cannot currently do, it is shocking to hear that they cannot go into a restaurant and remove an expired kashrut certificate.
Turning these supervisors into more than just figureheads is the right thing to do. How can they ensure kashrut, which is their job, if they can't even stop a restaurant from fraudulently displaying an expired certificate?
Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Rav Eli Ban Dahan, in cooperation with Chief Rabbi Dovid Lau, is proposing a law to improve the kashrus industry.
Rabbis Lau and Ben Dahan want to give the kashrut supervisors more practical authority to prevent fraud. The fraud department of the Rabbanut kashrut authority has been functioning for 14 years, but its employees have very limited authority for enforcement. They are proposing a law that would give serious authority to supervise the kashrus industry. Inspectors, mashgichim, will be able to demand identification, take samples, remove an outdated kashrut certificate from a place of business, some sort of authority for investigating suspected crimes and the ability to take items connected to any such investigation or suspicion.
(source: Kipa)
I particularly like the idea of "taking samples", and this might be a good reason to get a job as a mashgiach or kashrut supervisor. I'd be happy to go into restaurants and have the authority to "take samples"..
Joking aside, the one part that surprises me is that they would now have the authority to remove outdated, expired, kashrut certificates. Of all the things they can or cannot currently do, it is shocking to hear that they cannot go into a restaurant and remove an expired kashrut certificate.
Turning these supervisors into more than just figureheads is the right thing to do. How can they ensure kashrut, which is their job, if they can't even stop a restaurant from fraudulently displaying an expired certificate?
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Read this: http://www.jerusalemkoshernews.com/2013/12/coming-soon-kashrus-cops/ and the comments. If it's true what he says - and he is very much in the know about kashrus in Israel, and provides an important public service - this will not do much to improve actual kashrus standards
ReplyDeletehe might be right, he might be wrong. he just states what he thinks will happen. Yes, it is possible that this will become just another place for waste and giving jobs to friends and relatives. Or maybe they will actually work to improve things. JKN says it will be the former, and it is based solely on his suspicions. I have no idea, but I hope it will be the latter.
ReplyDeletethe fraud department has done a great job in recent years in improving the kashrut situation. JKN might be right that it is too limited, not enough manpower or funding, but they have still done a great job and improved the level and awareness of kashrut, despite having such limitations. Would it be better if they had more people and resources? Of course it would. Now that they are getting additional resources should we not hope that they will be used to improve the kashrut situation?
Perhaps I am more trusting than JKN. I have my issues with JKN and his information, but overall I think he does good work. But he is definitely much less trusting and more cynical about the kashrut situation than I am,. Since I dont work in kashrut supervision, I have the right - actually halachic obligation - to trust what people tell me about kashrut. So, in my opinion, adding these resources to the kashrut fraud department will hopefully be a good thing and help improve kashrut further.