Shamir Medical Center Faces Kashrut Fraud Ultimatum from Chief Rabbinate, Denies Allegations

The National Unit for Enforcement of Kashrut Fraud issued a sharp ultimatum to Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh), accusing it of operating without a valid kosher certification from the authorized local rabbinate. The letter, addressed to the hospital director Prof. Osnat Lev-Zion Korach, warned that the hospital continues to present itself as kosher despite lacking official certification, violating the law against kashrut fraud. The unit highlighted that the hospital's website still details kosher supervision procedures, including internal supervision and strict dairy and pastry standards, without holding a valid certificate. The Chief Rabbinate emphasized this is not an isolated incident but a persistent disregard for legal directives and threatened legal measures and public disclosure if the issue is not urgently addressed.

In response, Shamir Medical Center's management strongly rejected the claims, calling the letter misleading and false. They stated the hospital maintains the highest kosher standards in line with Ministry of Health guidelines and in close cooperation with the Ministry's kosher supervisor, Rabbi Pinchas Frankel. The hospital stressed it follows strict religious and kosher protocols and condemned attempts to mislead the public.

Rabbi Pinchas Frankel, the Ministry of Health's appointed kosher supervisor for medical institutions, maintains close contact with the hospital's management and is familiar with its kosher procedures. The dramatic warning letter was also shared with senior rabbinate officials, including Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Kalman Maier Bar, the rabbi of Be'er Yaakov Rabbi Avraham Yakubzon, members of the National Kashrut Committee, the Ministry of Health's national religious affairs supervisor Rabbi Frankel, the rabbinate's legal advisor Ofer Yaakov, and the head of medical institutions at the Chief Rabbinate Yaakov Aburmad.

This controversy follows recent tensions at Shamir Medical Center after considerations to dismiss the hospital's rabbi, Harel Fadida, which sparked strong reactions in the ultra-Orthodox community.