The Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem and a group of capital restaurant owners have threatened to sue a rabbinic organization that published a damning report on the state of kashrut supervision in the Holy City.
Kosharot, an organization based in Elon Moreh that provides advisory services in the field of kosher supervision, compiled a blacklist – complete with names and addresses – of dozens of kosher restaurants around Jerusalem after conducting an investigation.
Kosharot recommended not eating in these restaurants despite the fact that all of them were under the supervision of Jerusalem’s Rabbinate.
The blacklist was later distributed via e-mail to hundreds of religious households throughout the city.
It was received with shock and dismay by people who had relied on the kashrut supervision of the Jerusalem Rabbinate and had dined at the restaurants on the list.
Kosharot said in response that it had no part in the publishing and distribution of the report, which was compiled for private use only.
Rabbi Eliyahu Schlesinger, who is responsible for the Chief Rabbinate’s kashrut supervision in Jerusalem, told The Jerusalem Post there were serious mistakes in the report.
The document states that restaurants with normal kosher supervision in Jerusalem are visited by a supervisor (mashgiach) only three to four times a week.
However, Schlesinger said supervisors visited the restaurants twice daily, once in the morning for at least two hours and once in the afternoon or evening.
Also, the report states that restaurants with regular kashrut supervision permitted non-Jews to place uncooked food on the fire when in reality this was prohibited under Chief Rabbinate directives.
In contrast, Schlesinger said it was permitted for non-Jews to place uncooked food on the fire provided the fire was lit by a Jew, in accordance with the Ashkenazi halachic tradition.
