In a letter to ICANN, several Kosher certification organizations, responsible for certification of approximately 63% of kosher ingredients worldwide, objected to the “unequal treatment of the new gTLD applications for .Kosher and .halal
The letter was sent on “behalf of leading kosher certification organizations the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (OU Kosher), STAR-K Kosher Certification, Inc. (STAR-K), Chicago Rabbinical Council, Inc. (cRc), Kosher Supervision Service, Inc. (Kof-K), and The Kashruth Council of Canada (COR) who wrote:
“We were surprised and disappointed that the GAC, and ICANN in response, rightly raised concerns about the .halal gTLD application without raising those same concerns about the .kosher application.
“The purpose of this letter is to urge ICANN to afford equal treatment to these similarly situated cases and not to provide preferred treatment to one religious group over another.”
“The GAC Beijing Communiqué issued on April 11, 2013 included, in relevant part, the following advice to the ICANN Board:”
“The GAC recognizes that Religious terms are sensitive issues.”
“Some GAC members have raised sensitivities on the applications that relate to Islamic terms, specifically .islam and .halal.
“The GAC members concerned have noted that the applications for .islam and .halal lack community involvement and support. It is the view of these GAC members that these applications should not proceed.”
“The Communications and Information Technology Commission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has urged ICANN to deny the .halal gTLD application and provided public comments to ICANN indicating the following: “Halal . . . is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food or actions deemed permissible according to Islamic law.”
“The word “kosher” is an adaptation of the Hebrew word meaning “fit” or “proper.”
“It refers to foodstuffs that meet the dietary requirements of Jewish Law. These dietary laws originate in the Bible and have been observed by Jews for more than 3,000 years. In contrast to the longstanding use of the word kosher by the undersigned kosher certification organizations, and the understanding of such usage by Jews from around the world, the .kosher gTLD application specifically states that the applicant intends to limit the registration and use of second-level .kosher domain names to use by only the applicant or those persons or entities that are affiliated with the applicant
“The proposed operation of .kosher also violates the GAC’s Advice to the ICANN Board pertaining to both Restricted Access and Exclusive Access gTLDs.”
“The .kosher applicant has reserved the option of operating, without transparency and non-discriminatory registration policies, as a closed or highly restricted registry.”
“The application even brazenly describes in part the mission of the .kosher gTLD as promoting the applicant and its clients.”
“As with the .halal gTLD application identified in the GAC Communiqué, the .kosher gTLD application is comprised of a religious term and the application lacks legitimate community involvement and support.”
“In accordance with ICANN’s longstanding commitment to rendering decisions objectively and fairly, and providing equal treatment of parties in equivalent positions, it is appropriate for ICANN to provide equal treatment of the .halal and .kosher gTLD applications by denying both applications.”
“The .kosher gTLD application raises the same religious sensitivities referenced in the GAC Beijing Communiqué related to the .halal gTLD application.…
