After long weeks of uncertainty at the Jerusalem Rabbinate
regarding the authority to grant kashrus certification, the
Chief Rabbinate decided on Monday to appoint HaRav Binyomin
Adler in charge of kashrus and HaRav Yosef Efrati in charge
of mitzvos hateluyos ba'Aretz.
Ever since HaRav Adler was dismissed several months ago by
the current board of the Religious Council that was installed
by the Likud there has been no rabbinical figure authorized
to grant kashrus certificates for the Jerusalem Rabbinate's
mehadrin products, including restaurants, hotels,
factories, etc.
As a result of the crisis at the Religious Council brought
about when officials began to interfere with the work of the
rabbonim poskim, HaRav Efrati voluntarily withdrew his
responsibility for the Department for Land of Israel Mitzvas
for a period of several weeks.
The absence of rabbonim poskim from the central
kashrus departments at the Jerusalem Rabbinate caused great
pain to maranan verabonon and the rest of the chareidi
public over the harm done to the kashrus organization of
Yerushalayim that had enjoyed an outstanding reputation.
Maran HaRav Eliashiv determined that the politicians do not
have the authority to dismiss rabbonim from their posts.
After all of the attempts of the last several months to
restore the Religious Council to its original standing
failed, gedolei Yisroel worked to have the Chief
Rabbinate, using its legally vested powers, determine who
would be in charge of kashrus at the Jerusalem Rabbinate.
In the absence of a rov for the city, the Chief Rabbinate,
based on the kashrus fraud law, has the authority to appoint
rabbonim in charge of issuing kashrus certificates in that
city. At the behest of gedolei Yisroel, HaRav Yitzchok
Dovid Grossman, rov of Migdal Ha'emek and a member of the
Chief Rabbinical Council, led a move to neutralize the power
of the Jerusalem Religious Council officials over the
rabbonim of the kashrus departments in Yerushalayim.
On Monday the Chief Rabbinical Council convened to confer on
the issue and, following an exhaustive discussion,
unanimously decided to restore HaRav Adler and HaRav Efrati
to their former posts. The decision reads: "The Chief
Rabbinical Council has decided, in the absence of a local rov
for Jerusalem, to use its authority according to Paragraph
2(a)(i) of the Kashrus Fraud Law of 5743-1983 to authorize
rabbonim who will be granted the power to issue kashrus
certificates in Jerusalem: HaRav Binyomin Adler will be
authorized to issue kashrus certificates in every matter, as
required by law. HaRav Yosef Efrati will be authorized to
issue kashrus certificates in all matters related to Land of
Israel Mitzvas as required by law."
In light of this decision, now backed by the weight of law,
it will no longer be possible to issue kashrus certificates
without the signatures of HaRav Adler or HaRav Efrati
respectively, thereby restoring kashrus oversight in
Jerusalem to its previous high standards. Although Monday's
decision is final it will not be implemented immediately and
therefore consumers should rely on mehudar kashrus
only when the signature of HaRav Adler or HaRav Efrati
actually appears on the kashrus stamp or kashrus
certificate.
