In response to haredi attempts to crush heter mechira – the pro forma land sale that allows Israeli farmers to farm (and therefore to survive) the Sabbatical year – Israeli Religious Zionist rabbis are moving to break the haredi-controlled Chief Rabbinate's monopoly over kosher food certification. The Jerusalem Post reports:
In a move that threatens to split the Chief Rabbinate, a group of religious Zionist rabbis rebelled against the state's supreme rabbinic authority and announced Tuesday that they would set up an alternative kosher supervision apparatus during the shmita (sabbatical) year.
"If local rabbis refuse to recognize fruits and vegetables grown [using heter mechira] by Jewish farmers during the shmita year as kosher, then we will," said Rabbi Rafi Freuerstein, chairman of the Tzohar organization.
"We believe it is important to strengthen Jewish farmers and Jewish agriculture and provide reasonably-priced produce to the Jewish nation," he said.
"The Chief Rabbinate is not fulfilling its function as a rabbinic authority for the entire Jewish nation," said Rabbi David Stav, a member of Tzohar, during a press conference Tuesday. "Rather, it has been taken over by Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv and Lithuanian haredi interests. We are trying to save the Chief Rabbinate from itself."
Members of the Chief Rabbinate's governing council attacked Tzohar for undermining state-recognized rabbinic authority and risking a break between religion and state. [We should only be so lucky – Shmarya.]
"If the rabbinate is dismantled as a result of internal fighting, we risk losing national recognition for rabbinic authority," said Rabbi Ratzon Arussi, chief rabbi of Kiryat Ono and a member of the Chief Rabbinate's governing council.
Rabbi Moshe Rauchverger, another council member, said that Tzohar threatened to break the rabbinate's monopoly over religious services and open it up to Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism.
"If Tzohar starts providing kosher supervision, what is to stop Reform and Conservative from doing the same?" said Rauchverger.
Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger, who is the supreme authority on issues of kosher supervision, declined to comment.…
But can this work? Maybe not:
However, Tzohar might run into legal difficulties. According to the law, the Chief Rabbinate is the only body authorized to provide kosher supervision in Israel. Private kosher supervision firms can provide their services only after the rabbinate has already provided supervision.
In an attempt to get around this legal obstacle, Tzohar intends to refrain from calling its service kosher supervision. The group said that several business have already requested a Tzohar kosher certificate, including a large wholesaler.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has tried to get the Chief Rabbinate to act responsibly and legally, but to no avail. In a response to a petition from Israeli farmers, the court asked the Chief Rabbis to certify businesses that sell heter mechira produce. The Chief Rabbinate refused. Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz, who believes the Chief Rabbinate is violating the law, also recently pointed out that the Chief Rabbinate itself has recognized heter mechira as a legitimate solution to shmita restrictions by appointing Rabbi Ze'ev Weitman to supervise heter mechira under
the rabbinate's auspices. The Jerusalem Post notes the Supreme Court is expected to reach a decision regarding this in the next few weeks.