ByJERUSALEM POST STAFFJULY 2, 2026 17:32Director General of Religious Services Ministry, Yehuda Avidan, demanded that the kashrut authorization granted to Tzohar Kashrut be revoked, stating that the approval had not gone through the proper legal process, Kan News reported on Thursday. “The approval was granted unlawfully and did not go through the Chief Rabbinate Council as required,” Avidan said.Director General of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate Yehuda Cohen had granted the authorization earlier in the day, according to a statement from the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization. “The decision was reached following years of efforts by Tzohar to ensure its kashrut supervision should be established as a recognized certifying agency based on the perspectives of justice and impartiality,” the statement read. KASHRUT CERTIFICATION at a Jerusalem eatery – will the rabbinate’s monopoly be broken? (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)Council refuses authorizationHowever, shortly afterward, the Chief Rabbinate Council said it would not approve the authorization at this stage, echoing Avidan’s claim that it had not gone through the council.“The director general did not inform us at all of his intention to grant the license,” Kan cited the council as stating.“In light of this, the Chief Rabbinate Council is not approving the license for the Tzohar organization at this stage,” it added.Follow us on Google