Here is a good example of what some people call politics in kashrus, or the kashrus mafia, but is at minimum some sort of underhanded behavior..

The Rubin hashgacha announced a few days ago, during Pesach, that they removed the hashgacha from a pizza shop in Har Nof, Jerusalem that had been under their hechsher. The reason given is that  it was discovered during the holiday that there was activity in the shop, so they immediately removed the hechsher.


I dont know who would buy pizza in Har Nof during Pesach, but that's the announcement.

A few days later, the following gets publicized:


The Eida Hachareidis announced that they are giving a hechsher to that same pizza shop in Har Nof. The one that just a few days before had been accused of "activity" during Pesach.

The following letter was published, the same day the original hechsher was removed, by a group of local rabbonim in order to clarify:




basically, to be brief, before the holiday they had already decided to switch hechshers from Rubin to Eida. During Pesach a worker went into the shop to do some work checking the equipment and making sure everything was ok for the upcoming switch. They mention this is frequently done and it happens under all the hechshers and often permission is given for such activity. They recommend the Eida continue with the process of giving its hechsher.

I have no problem with a hechsher announcing in some way that it is no longer giving the hechsher on a restaurant that had previously been under its supervision. It must do so, so people will know. People can decide on their own whether or not to rely on the new hechsher. But to turn it into a scandal as if the pizza shop was in business on Pesach and therefore the hechsher had to be removed, that is deception. They lost a customer. I am very sad for them. Maybe if they would treat their customers, or former customers, with more menschlichkeit, they would get more business than they lose..