The Approval Was Already Given, the Religious Services Ministry Was Furious – and the Chief Rabbinate Caved: "Zohar's Kashrut Certificate Has No Validity"
After a long-standing struggle, the Zohar organization received a historic license to grant kashrut certification from the Chief Rabbinate. But the Director-General of the Ministry of Religious Affairs issued an urgent letter stating the move…
Assessment
The long running conflict over kashrut authority in Israel has reached a new flashpoint. Tzohar, a religious Zionist organization, was granted a historic license to certify kosher food by the Chief Rabbinate, only for the Director General of the Religious Services Ministry to declare the move invalid. The Chief Rabbinate Council then reversed course. The core question is whether the Rabbinate can maintain its monopoly over kashrut certification when internal government bodies openly contradict its decisions. The next development to watch is whether Tzohar challenges this reversal in court or through political channels.