The news that the Chief Rabbinate withdrew kosher supervisors from Turkish plants in the face of Israel’s war in Gaza is part of what some kashrus organizations call “working in a more dangerous world.”
They recall the murder of two kosher supervisors in Mumbai in December 2008, and extremists have recently threatened more terror in Mumbai.
In Europe, growing anti-Semitism has also rung the alarm bells. According to sources in the Chief Rabbinate’s office, one direct result of the turmoil in many places in the world is to restrict the travel of kashrus officials in trouble spots.
The Orthodox Union’s Kashrus Division director Rabbi Moshe Elefant whose office certifies companies in 99 nations, says that the organization relies heavily on local rabbinic authorities in many parts of the world, many within the Chabad worldwide network.
Kashrus officials think twice before dispatching a rabbi into a part of the world that they may not be familiar with. Relying on local rabbis who “understand the lay of the land” seems to be the new modus operandi of may kashrus organizations.
The caution has extended even to Israel where some food plants are located in Sderot and other border towns.
The above article was published by Kosher Today.