After a serious investigation, the Rabbinical Committee for
the Sake of the Sanctity of Shabbos in Eretz Yisroel (Vaada
Lemaan Kedushas HaShabbos), the major watchdog organization
of Shabbos in Eretz Yisroel, announced that "it is clear to
us beyond all doubt that the factory has not violated
Shabbos in any way in the past and the place shows no signs
of any intent chas vesholom to violate Shabbos
Rachmono litzlan."
This investigation was undertaken in response to various
public declarations from chareidi organizations that the
Shemen factory intended to work on Shabbos.
At the request of the gedolei Yisroel, Shabbos
Committee representatives visited the Shemen Haifa plant to
observe its manufacturing and work procedures. Company
officials also asked the rabbinical committee to examine the
entire issue of Shabbos in their plant. The meeting was
attended by committee representatives as well as by Boaz
Tzafrir, plant director; Chaim Meller, operations director;
Menachem Hartman, a chareidi engineer brought in by the
rabbinical committee; as well as by Rabbi Sholom Eliezer
Roter, coordinator of the visit.
At a lengthy meeting, the rabbonim and technical experts
questioned various professionals about the plant's
manufacturing processes. The visitors then proceeded to the
control room and examined the work ledgers and computers,
all of which indicated that the plant had not even made any
preparations to work on Shabbos.
Menachem Hartman told Yated Ne'eman that following a
thorough examination of the issue, he is confident that the
plant had no plans to work on Shabbos. "All findings
indicate that the plant did not work on Shabbos and never
had any plans in that direction. Additional discussions with
the workers confirmed this," he said.
At the end of the visit, the representatives of the rabbonim
stated that the issue had been thoroughly examined, and that
it is absolutely clear that the firm had never desecrated
Shabbos in the past, and had no plans to do so in the
future, either using automated systems or by any other
means.
On Friday 8 Tammuz, it was announced that the BaDaTz
Mehadrin of Rechovot headed by HaRav Simcha Kook and HaRav
Avrohom Rubin have granted their hechsher to Shemen's
Haifa plant. The Shemen company also has the
hechsherim of Shearis Yisroel and the Kahal Machzikei
Hadas of Belz, of which HaRav Yosef Efrati is a member.
In the wake of changes in the plant's kashrus supervision,
it was decided to appoint a Shabbos supervisor, which the
plant had lacked in the past, to supervise the resumption of
work in the first shift on motzei Shabbos.
The Shemen factory is owned by chareidi Jews. A number of
months ago, the owners of the firm began to observe a
special kashrus stringency with respect to company products,
namely taking terumos uma'asros even from imported
soybeans if the gmar melochoh takes place in Eretz
Yisroel.
Though many important authorities do not require this, the
Chazon Ish was unequivocal in this requirement and many
bnei Torah follow his ruling. Shearis Yisroel has
always followed this ruling in all products under its
supervision.
Following the recommendations of the Chazon Ish, the
terumos uma'asros are given to kohanim who
have animal farms. It should be noted that this
hiddur is unique to the Shemen factory, and that the
Center for Agriculture According to the Torah headed by
HaRav Y. Efrati supervises this procedure.
The chareidi community was happy to learn that the country's
most important kashrus networks are currently certifying the
Shemen Haifa factory, and that since the factory has
received the new kashrus supervision of Shearis Yisroel and
others, many new hiddurim have been installed.
