Florida Prisoners Win Right To Eat Kosher
The Florida Department of Corrections has reportedly agreed to serve kosher food to Jewish inmates, ending a five year legal battle that involved the federal justice department.
The Chabad-Lubavitch Aleph Institute, which advocates for Jewish inmates, praised Florida Gov. Rick Scott for ordering the change, Yeshiva World News reported.
“The Aleph Institute and the Jewish community would like to thank governor Rick Scott profusely for arranging that kosher food will be available to Jewish inmates in Florida,” said Rabbi Menachem Katz of the Aleph Institute.
The issue first arose when Florida scrapped its kosher prison food program in 2007. At the time, 250 prisoners across the Florida were enrolled.
A Justice Department complaint filed last year asserted that Florida’s policy since 2007 was illegally depriving Jewish prisoners of their right to practice Judaism.
“This is a major milestone,” said Katz.
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