K A S H R U T . C O M_©

October 16, 2025 from Israel National News:

"MK Tzvi Succot (Religious Zionism), chairman of the Knesset Subcommittee on Judea and Samaria Affairs, sent an unusual letter this week to the Chief Rabbis and members of the Chief Rabbinate Council, warning of a serious loophole in the kashrut (kosher supervision) system.

"According to Succot, importers purchase meat in Palestinian Authority territories, obtain a kashrut certificate from the Chief Rabbinate to pass customs - and then sell some of the meat back to Jews.

"Last Thursday, the Chief Rabbinate’s Kashrut Committee held a special meeting on the topic of kosher meat imports to the Palestinian Authority.

"Succot explained that he has dealt several times with the issue of meat smuggling into the State of Israel's territory, under the label “goods transferred to the Palestinian Authority.” He noted that according to the State Comptroller’s report, 57% of meat destined for the PA from abroad never actually entered PA territory - and was instead sold within the sovereign territory of the State of Israel.

"Succot emphasized to the rabbis: 'According to the law, once a kosher certificate is issued for the imported meat, the importer can legally sell it as ‘kosher’ within the State of Israel’s borders without violating the "Kosher Fraud Prohibition Law."'

"He added, 'Since the matter under discussion was brought to my attention, I felt it appropriate to share with the esteemed rabbis the serious concern that issuing kashrut certificates for meat supposedly intended for the Palestinian Authority could, God forbid, worsen the problem of meat being smuggled and marketed as kosher - thereby creating a de facto bypass of the Chief Rabbinate’s oversight of meat entering Israel.'"