Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky

By Naomi Zeveloff April 27, 2017

Image by Nate Lavey

Critics of the state rabbinate contend that restaurateurs who want the kosher seal of approval have only to open their wallets for the kosher inspectors in order to receive the coveted designation.

Now, the rabbinate is taking steps to end the perception of corruption in its ranks by adopting a new set of standards, reported the Jerusalem Post.

The most significant of these would allow make it so that kosher inspectors are no longer employed by restaurants, but employed by the local rabbinate.

Restaurants would also be able to choose to have an electronic surveillance system to monitor food preparation, or to work with a kahsrut “trustee” appointed by the restaurant and approved by a municipal rabbi, to carry out the checks.

The proposed reforms come after the Israeli High Court lambasted the rabbinate in a February hearing on rabbinate’s monopoly on the system of checks for koshering food.

Hashgacha Pratit, an organization promoting another kosher certification independent of the rabbinate system, took credit for the proposed regulations.

“That which the Chief Rabbinate is saying they will fix in the future is something Hashgacha Pratit has already implemented on the ground from day one,” said Aaron Leibowitz, the rabbi who founded Hashgacha Pratit.

Contact Naomi Zeveloff at [email protected] or on Twitter @naomizeveloff

Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief

You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.

And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.

That’s where you come in. Gifts of any size keep the Forward free and accessible to everyone and ensure we have the resources we need to power the Forward at this critical time for American Jews.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Will you support our work today?

— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT