The organization of hotels in Israel is now complaining about the expense of kashrut via the Rabbanut monopoly over the kashrut systems in Israel. They are complaining about the new proposed law that would make it illegal to have any display of Judaism that might indicate kashrut, without a Rabbanut hechsher.
In a letter sent to the Knesset, they ask for the ability to choose a supervising body for kashrut and not be forced to use the Rabbanut monopoly. According to them, the monopoly the Rabbanut holds on kashrut causes prices to be 3% higher. Tourism in Israel is considered very expensive, and one of the reasons, they say, is kashrut. The proposed law would strengthen the Rabbanut monopoly, rather than open the market and make things cheaper.
source: Kikar
I am not sure what direction they are trying to go... Are they looking to get the hechsher of private organizations instead of the Rabbanut? The private hechshers are generally significantly more expensive than the Rabbanut, so what will they have gained? How will they have brought prices down?
Are they looking to use some model of Hashgacha Pratit in the hotels? I don't know that that would work. Hotels seem far more complicated than restaurants.
If they want to use no hechsher at all now, they already can do that. They just cannot claim kashrut without it.
The Rabbanut is a monopoly, but it is not a business. It is a government service provided by a government body. Perhaps it might be open to discussion whether the government should be involved in this, but it is a monopoly on kashrut just like the government is a monopoly on foreign affairs, on defense issues, on legislation and on every other service the State provides.
I guess they won't need two hechshers - such as Rabbanut + Badatz or Rabbanut + Mahfoud, or whatever other combination is common in hotels... If kashrut increases the costs by 3%, it does not mean they will save 3% by getting rid of the Rabbanut, as they will mostly still want kashrut from some other organization. Are the 1%-2% savings so significant, that they blame the expensive tourism on kashrut?
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