Tzohar Kashrut License Sparks Clash Inside Chief Rabbinate

A major clash broke out inside Israel’s state kashrut system today after Rabbi Yehuda Cohen, director-general of the Chief Rabbinate, issued a license allowing Tzohar to operate as an official kashrut-certifying body.

The license would allow Tzohar Food Supervision Ltd. to issue kashrut certificates to food businesses across Israel, subject to the Rabbinate’s rules. That means restaurants and food businesses could use Tzohar certificates as legally recognized kosher certification, instead of relying only on local rabbinates or other approved channels.

If upheld, the move would shift Tzohar from private supervision into Israel’s official state-recognized kashrut system. For decades, that system has operated under the Kashrut Fraud Law, which prevents businesses from presenting themselves as kosher without certification recognized by the Rabbinate system.

Background

Tzohar, a Religious-Zionist organization considered more liberal than the Rabbinate establishment, has operated for years as a private kashrut-supervision body, using alternative language such as “under supervision” rather than issuing standard Rabbinate-style kosher certificates. In practice, that meant Tzohar could supervise food businesses, but its certificates did not have the same legal status as Rabbinate-recognized kashrut certificates.

Supporters say official recognition for Tzohar would increase competition, lower costs and give businesses another option. Opponents say kashrut standards must remain under the authority of the Chief Rabbinate Council and that Tzohar should not be approved through an administrative decision that bypassed the council.

The institutions involved are separate but connected. Cohen is the senior administrative official of the Chief Rabbinate. The Chief Rabbinate Council is the Rabbinate’s rabbinic governing body, led by the chief rabbis. It is separate from the Rabbinate’s director-general, who manages the administrative side. The Religious Services Ministry is a separate government ministry which oversees much of the state religious-services system and is involved in the legal and administrative framework around kashrut.

What Happened

Shortly after Cohen issued the license, the Chief Rabbinate Council released a letter saying the matter had not been brought before it and that it did not approve the move. The letter was issued from the office of Rabbi Kalman Ber, Chief Rabbi of Israel and president of the Chief Rabbinate Council, and was signed by Rabbi Rafael Frank, secretary of the council. 

“The council does not approve at this stage the granting of a license to the Tzohar organization,” the council wrote.

The council said Cohen had not properly updated its members about his intention to grant the license. It said the issue should have been brought for discussion before the council or its kashrut committee before any approval was issued.

Avidan, director-general of the Religious Services Ministry, then joined the effort to block the license. In a letter to legal advisers, he argued that Cohen’s approval was issued without authority because the Chief Rabbinate Council had not approved it. He asked them to notify Tzohar that the certificate cannot be used.

“I ask you to instruct them immediately that the certificate was given without authority and has no validity,” Avidan wrote.

During the Bennett-Lapid government, a kashrut reform was passed creating a path for approved private kashrut bodies to receive official recognition within the Rabbinate system. Tzohar applied under that framework, but the process stalled after the government changed. The Israeli Supreme Court later told the Rabbinate it had to decide whether Tzohar met the legal requirements for a license.

Hebrew media reports described the decision as taking place amid tensions between Cohen and Avidan. Cohen is expected to leave his position in about two weeks, making the timing of the approval politically sensitive inside the religious-services system.

The practical status of the license is now contested. If Cohen’s approval stands, Tzohar could become a recognized player in Israel’s official kashrut market. If the Chief Rabbinate Council and Religious Services Ministry succeed in blocking it, the issue may return to another legal or administrative battle.