Mayor of Tel Aviv Ron Huldai announced to the world that he has eaten dog meat and it is delicious. He says that why should it be any different than eating chicken or shrimp? He did this when he was in Vietnam. And when he was in Africa he ate termites and locust.
And I think he is right. Why should it be any different. From one pet-eater to another, besides for the kashrut issue, I see nothing wrong with eating an animal that was or could be a pet.
Huldai definitely got the headlines today with that admission.
I don't know if this should be a big deal or not, though many people are making a big deal out of it - from both an animal rights perspective and from a religious and Jewish state perspective. Huldai is a big boy and I do not feel like I need to tell him what he can and cannot eat. The Torah gave us all free will to choose to follow the Torah or not. I do not think it is my job to force him to follow the rules of the Torah just because I adhere to them. I feel bad that he so chooses, but it is his choice to make. And I do not think the fact that he ate dog meat negatively impacts the character of the Jewish state.
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