Knesset restores Chief Rabbinate’s monopoly over Kashrut certification

That decision followed a High Court ruling a month ago ordering it to give up its refusal to recognise the group, a decision immediately disputed by the Religious Services Ministry, which argued that the approval of Tzohar had no legal standing and wasn’t properly authorised.

Food labelling in Israel is highly regulated; only organisations recognised by the Rabbinate are allowed to proclaim their food as "kosher”. Tzohar had previously circumvented these rules by labelling its certified goods as “supervised”.

Opponents of the law have said that it will increase costs for businesses and ultimately harm both firms and consumers by reducing competition.

Tzohar said that the bill was “detrimental to the very interests of the public and serves only to deepen divisions within our society… a step in the wrong direction”.

However, its proponents suggest that the stricter regulation allows the Rabbinate to uphold the highest standards.

The new legislation is part of an agreement between the coalition and strictly-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, to further their priorities, including a Basic Law enshrining Torah study as a state value and another bill freezing the arrests of Charedi draft dodgers, both of which passed this week.

In return, the Charedim promised the governing coalition support for key legislation, such as bills limiting the attorney general’s power and overhauling media regulations.

The arrest freeze was, though, subsequently paused by the Supreme Court while it hears petitions on its legality.

Among its opponents is IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, who said the law was “clearly and unequivocally inconsistent with the IDF’s needs” and amounted to “providing mass exemptions from prosecution”.