The Food Supervision project of the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization which was launched in February 2018 to provide kashrut supervision was awarded special recognition last week at the Israeli Cuisine Awards.
Over the past year, Tzohar’s kashrut services have expanded considerably with interest being felt across the restaurant market. Today, 10% of kosher-supervised establishments in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are certified kosher by Tzohar. Many of those eateries held no kashrut supervision before Tzohar.
Amit Aronson, Chair of the committee that awarded the special recognition to Tzohar said, “When it became apparent that the divisions within Israeli society were now affecting even how we eat and dine, we chose to award this prize to an initiative that is working to address that challenge. We firmly believe that by breaking the monopoly of the Chief Rabbinate over kashrut by introducing such an alternative defined by transparency and accessibility, we are witnessing an important step that helps bring the Israeli kitchen and the kosher kitchen that much closer together. And this is a step that is both important and desirable.”
Yehuda Ziderman, Director of Tzohar’s Food Supervision Project responded to the award saying, “We are deeply moved by this selection. We launched this project out of a desire to make kashrut supervision more accessible and out of a belief that this process should be done hand in hand with the restaurant owners, with compassion and professionalism while never wavering in our commitment to halacha.”
He added, “This award goes to those who dreamed that this project could succeed and fought to realize its success but is most of all a prize for those within Israeli society who want kosher food and prove that our service is something that can be embraced by more and more places around the country. We firmly believe that integrity combined with professionalism and transparency are the best ways to create working partnerships with our businesses and their customers. We thank those who have recognized our achievements and the impact we have been blessed to have.”