The Chief Rabbinate of the IDF admits: "The state of our
kashrus supervisors in both the reserve and the regular army
is not 100%." This surprising admission was made within the
framework of the State's response to a petition filed against
the army, demanding that its kitchens be closed due to
serious kashrus infractions.
Over a year ago, Chaim Ozeri of Bnei Brak, a reserves solder
in the Rescue and Identification Unit of the IDF, demanded
that the High Court issue an order to the army, asking it to
explain why all of its kitchens aren't closed immediately,
due to the fact that their kashrus is inadequate. By
keeping the kitchens open, Ozeri said, many soldiers are
forced to eat food non-kosher food.
The appellant, by means of his lawyer Ariel Sarig, filed a
petition against the Security Minster, the Chief of Staff,
the Chief Military Prosecutor, and the Chief Chaplain of the
army. In it, he asked why army bases to not observe
elementary kashrus laws, so that religious soldiers
will be able to eat kosher food.
Ozeri claimed that due to the fact that all of the kitchens
of the IDF aren't kosher at all, he refused to report for
duty in his reserves unit. For that reason, it was decided to
try him before his unit's commander and its chaplain. In his
appeal, Ozeri demands that he be tried before a military
court over his refusal to serve in the reserves since the
food in the IDF kitchens isn't kosher.
Ozeri's petition enumerates a long list of serious kashrus
violations, which he witnessed over the years of his
service in the IDF. He claims that a religious or traditional
soldier has no heter to eat in the army's kitchens
since the food isn't kosher, and he did not report for
reserves duty for that reason
Ozeri argues that he may be tried in a military court, only
after the High Court issues its final verdict on his
appeal.
A number of days ago, the Chief Rabbinate of the IDF
presented its response to the appeal by means of a top
ranking deputy of the State Prosecutor. In the response, it
admitted that kashrus situation in the IDF, both in
the regular and the permanent army, is not 100%. "Of course,
this doesn't mean that the active kitchens in the army, all
of which have kashrus certificates of the army's Chief
Rabbinate, are not kosher," the reply also said.
It was also noted that there are instances in which kitchens
function without a kashrus supervisor. "This
occasionally occurs, during change over periods when a
mashgiach is discharged from duty, while his
replacement still hasn't arrived, or when only a few soldiers
eat in a dining room. In such instances, the Chief Rabbinate
of the IDF instructs the commanders of the units to appoint
soldiers from their units to supervise the kashrus of
the kitchens.
The High Court deliberated on the appeal last week.
