Haifa Religious Council Rebuts MK Miki Levi’s Allegations on Kashrut System with Data

During a heated Knesset debate on the national kosher law, senior Yesh Atid MK Miki Levi accused Haifa’s kosher supervision system of corruption and political patronage. Dror David Amos, chairman of Haifa’s Religious Council, strongly denied these claims, presenting data that contradicts Levi’s accusations and portrays a different reality.

David Amos accused those behind the slander of having ulterior motives and emphasized that Rabbi Yitzhak Levi, the chief rabbi of Nesher and Haifa’s kosher supervisor, works voluntarily and with great dedication. He condemned the baseless WhatsApp messages fueling these allegations as crossing a red line.

The Religious Council counterattacked, stating that the sources feeding false information to MK Levi were responsible for past failures that the current administration has since rectified. Official figures show significant success: over 50 new businesses joined the state kosher supervision in Haifa last year, while private kosher certifications dropped from 80 to about 30.

Recently, the Chief Rabbinate revoked the license of the private kosher certification company Tzohar, citing serious flaws in its licensing process, casting doubt on the future of Tzohar’s kosher supervision and signaling a complex legal battle ahead.

David Amos concluded by urging MK Levi to present accurate data in the Knesset and apologize for misleading the public. Meanwhile, Haifa’s Religious Council fully supports the historic kosher law proposed by Shas and its leader Aryeh Deri, which they say will firmly secure kosher standards in Israel.