The continued fight over the kashrut status of the Braekel chicken continues to be very strange. The only part of it that makes any sense to me, and the only part of the debate that I really appreciated, is what was said by Rabbis Meir Mazuz and Moshe Mordechai Karp.
Both of these rabbis are of the opinion that the chicken is perfectly fine and kosher just like the "white" chickens. Rabbi Mazuz spoke about how this was the basic chicken and when they first came to Israel they had to rely on the Ashkenazim for a mesorah on white chickens, as they had never seen them before. Rav Mazuz brings some proofs as to the status of the chickens and added his comment that there is no need to keep adding unnecessary chumros and arguments.
Rav Karp, Rav in Kiryat Sefer, commented on a poster that claimed in the name of many gedolim, including Rav Elyashiv under whom Rav Karp studied, that one should preferably not eat the Braekel chicken but should eat Turkey instead. Rav Karp denies they ever said such a thing and claims Rav Elyashiv himself, and Rav Kanievsky ate Braekel chickens with no concern. Rav Karp then criticizes all the time new halachic decisions are announced that were never discussed by the gedolim and definitely never issued public psak on the matter. He says someone who wants to be machmir for himself and not eat something is fine and good but should not go about announcing it and warning the public. Now they are prohibiting chickens that was always eaten by the gedolim and tomorrow they will prohibit eggs, and it is as if there is no torah and mesorah and there is nobody to protest this.
sources: Kikar, Haredim10
I dont get how they know Rav Elyashiv or Rav Kanievsky or anyone else knew what genre or breed of chicken they were eating. I also find it funny that the pashkevil put out by some claimed in the name of the gedolim that it is better to eat the mehudar turkey than the bdiavad Braekel chicken. Turkey itself never had a mesorah until Jews started eating it despite that, and that is being used as the prime example of mehudar fowl.
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