The Knesset approved a first-reading bill, 49-34, to repeal a 2021 kashrut reform that would have allowed licensed private bodies to issue official kashrut certificates and transformed the Chief Rabbinate into a regulator. Implementation stalled after ministerial delays, leaving local rabbinates as de facto monopolies over certification. Critics warn repeal could raise kashrut costs, shift thousands of supervisor salaries to the public, and weaken competition. The November 2025 High Court ordered the Rabbinate to consider Tzohar’s licensing request, which Tzohar says remains unanswered.
Knesset Passes First Reading To Repeal 2021 Kashrut Reform — Could Food Prices Rise?
KASHRUT CERTIFICATION at a Jerusalem eatery – will the rabbinate’s monopoly be broken? (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
The Knesset voted 49-34 in a first-reading move to repeal the 2021 kashrut reform, a step that could block efforts to open Israel’s official kashrut certification market to wider competition just before parliament is expected to dissolve.
What the 2021 Reform Sought To Do
The 2021 reform was designed to shift responsibility for official kashrut certification away from the Chief Rabbinate and local rabbinates and toward a regulated marketplace in which licensed private kashrut corporations could also certify food businesses. Under the plan, the Chief Rabbinate would become the regulator that licenses and supervises private certifiers rather than being the dominant provider of kashrut services.
A central goal was to separate regulation from service provision, expand consumer choice, and introduce competition. The reform also aimed to reduce a long-standing conflict of interest by requiring licensed kashrut corporations to employ supervisors, rather than supervisors being paid directly by the businesses they inspect — a practice previously criticized by the High Court of Justice.
Why The Reform Never Fully Took Effect
Although one limited provision took effect — allowing local religious councils to issue kashrut certificates outside their municipal boundaries — the broader licensing mechanism for national private certifiers was never implemented. After Religious Services Minister Michael Malchieli (Shas) took office in December 2022, he delayed wider rollout, and the licensing system remained dormant.
The Competition Authority has warned that because the reform was not fully implemented, local rabbinates continue to be the de facto providers of basic kashrut certification. That structure creates effective geographic monopolies, reduces competition, increases administrative burdens for businesses (especially national chains), and can raise costs and inefficiencies.
REPRESENTATIVES OF the Chief Rabbinate of Israel cross Jaffa Street in Jerusalem as they deliver a kosher certificate to a local restaurant. (credit: HADAS PARUSH/FLASH90)
Legal Battle: Tzohar and the High Court
The organization Tzohar applied in March 2023 for a national license under the law; its application was left unanswered and prompted legal petitions. In November 2025 the High Court of Justice issued an absolute order directing the Rabbinate to examine whether Tzohar qualified for a license under the existing law and, if so, to grant one. Tzohar says it submitted an updated request after that ruling and has still received no decision, prompting repeated petitions and new legal action.
Tzohar has also appealed to the Knesset legal adviser to halt what it calls a "legislative blitz" to repeal the reform, arguing that expedited repeal would retroactively validate years of official inaction and would have wide economic and social consequences.
Potential Consequences If Repeal Proceeds
Opponents of repeal — including the Competition Authority, Tzohar, and policy researchers — warn that canceling the reform would preserve local rabbinates' geographic monopolies, weaken competition, and could push up kashrut costs. Critics also say the proposed replacement approach (moving supervisors onto religious councils' or local authorities' payrolls) would shift thousands of supervisor salaries onto the public purse, worsen the cost of living, and could undermine the quality and independence of supervision.
The Competition Authority has emphasized that regulators who also provide services have incentives and the ability to impede competitors, and that true separation of regulator and provider is important to foster competition and improve service.
Why The First-Reading Vote Matters
Because the vote was taken in first reading, the repeal could be preserved by the next Knesset via the continuity mechanism, allowing the subsequent parliament to resume the bill from this stage rather than starting over. That procedural move is common when the Knesset nears dissolution and can signal to the High Court and the public that the political echelon is actively pursuing repeal.
Bottom line: The first-reading vote keeps alive a high-stakes policy fight over who controls kosher certification in Israel — a battle with legal, economic and social consequences that could affect businesses, consumers and the public budget.
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