Controversy over the import of non-kosher meat is continuing to plague Israeli politics as Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin seeks to woo the Shas Party back into his coalition government.
Rabin last week instructed his Labor Party to back a demand by the fervently Orthodox Shas Party for new legislation banning the import of non-kosher meat.
Saying that his party is committed to preserving the status quo on matters of religion, Rabin said that a government decision to allow the import of non- kosher meat would violate the status quo.
Rabin’s intervention followed an announcement by Commerce Minister Michael Harish that Israel will start allowing non-kosher meat imports as part of a privatization of Israel’s meat industry. Harish’s announcement came in the wake of a Supreme Court decision that rejected any ban.
Until recently, the import of meat was essentially a government monopoly. The question of non-kosher imports arose following the liberalization of the meat industry. Non-kosher meat produced in Israel is already available and reportedly would continue to be available despite any new law.
Harish’s announcement triggered an angry response from Shas, which has demanded the enactment of legislation to ban the import of non-kosher meat.
Shas officials declared they would definitely non re-enter the governing coalition without the new legislation.
Rabin wants Shas to rejoin his government to insure wide backing for his peace initiatives. Shas, an original partner in Rabin’s 1992 coalition government, dropped out a year later.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
