My reply to "Right of Reply – the kosher labelling submission"

http://galusaustralis.com/2010/05/3073/right-of-reply-the-kosher-labelling-submission/

This is ridiculous.

How often in Australia do we find products that claim to be kosher? Most products don't have kashrut symbols on them, and are just listed in a book. Are we really worried that a marketer might say something is kosher? If that happened, the community would be very quickly informed of the lies without the need for government intervention.

Are you really scared that Food Standards Australia will mandate what is kosher in the future if you don't now? They are not concerned by such claims. Just look at how many times they pushed back requests for standards of vegetarian and other religious labeling.

see here: http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/_srcfiles/A545%20Vegetarian%20Labelling%20Info%20Paper%20FINAL.pdf

You mention the importance of "our community is unable to achieve a consensus on the details of a regulatory system". What makes you think that it is important that we reach a consensus. 2 Jews, 3 opinions. People do or don't follow the Eruv here in Melbourne. Around the world each person has different Kashrut organizations they do or do not trust. I do not think I should have the strictest strictures of "Kosher Australia" foisted upon me and I don't think the community should be forced to follow these rabbis which they themselves don't necessarily trust.

I would think that that ORA would forced glatt and other "mehadrin" ideas that would drive up the price of kosher food making it less available. There is more than one way of keeping kosher, and ORA admits this. There are Halakhic disagreements between different supervising businesses in Australia. However they represent a very narrow band of the spectrum of what is acceptable, and they should not be allowed to legally dictate to Australia's Jewish community what is acceptable to them.

The Tav Hevrati

Social Justice.
What does it mean? Is it worthwhile?

The first question is hard to answer fully without getting into politics.

The second question is very easy to answer. It is an emphatic yes!

Just take a look at Nevi’im(prophets)[נביאים] and the main message you will find is one of tzedek u’mishpat(loosely social justice)[צדק ומשפט]. One of the lessons I learned from some of the rabbis at Gush (Yeshivat Har Etzion) and also since is how the main point of the Torah is tzedek u’mishpat. It is also one of the driving forces of my activism for Darfur. I don’t apologize for helping “goyim.” Non-Jews would deserve our help when facing genocide even if the Holocaust and Purim had not occurred. However the people who ask why I am looking for causes 1000 km away when there are so many problems at home do have a valid point. Of course Darfur activism and social justice in Israel are not mutually exclusive. But what about the normal Israeli scene?

There are so many programs and volunteer opportunities out there and so many causes to donate money to. But lets start with something easy and free.

The Tav Hevrati

It’s a certification that restaurants, caterers, and cafes can receive. What does it mean? It basically means that they treat their workers fairly

Bema'aglei Tzedek’s “Social Seal” initiativeexpands the idea of kashrut certification, which is so widespread in Israeli society, to include a "Social Seal," a certificate of approval that is issued to businesses (whether or not they are kosher in the traditional sense) that commit to deal with people – staff and customers, Jews and non-Jews alike – in accordance with the laws of the State of Israel and with the ethical values of Judaism. The criteria for obtaining a certificate are based on Israeli law and Jewish values stressing the need to preserve the basic rights of workers. Although eateries and catering halls are not yet required by Israeli law to be handicapped-accessible, such accessibility is also a prerequisite for receiving the "Social Seal."

- http://www.mtzedek.org.il/upload/socialse.pdf

More details about the exact requirements are here in Hebrew

For more about the Bema’aglei Tzedek look here

Of course this phenomenon has a facebook group to go with it with at this time over 215 members