Commercial exploitation of needy Jews during the annual Passover celebration has been denounced in a statement by the Committee on Religious Affairs of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies which said it had met with manufacturers and suppliers of Passover products over “the spiralling costs of kosher foods, especially at Passover.”
Rabbi Gilbert Rosenthal, referring in the statement to such pricing practices, added that “this practice will, as in the past, cause untold suffering to poor, old and middle-class Jews.”
The statement said that the Federation Committee joined with the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the New York Board of Rabbis to express “profound concern” over such price boosts.
WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE SITUATION
“The Committee has met with manufacturers of kosher foods and meat and poultry suppliers and will continue to monitor the situation to alleviate the plight of harried consumers who are finding it exceedingly difficult to make ends meet,” the statement said.
The statement called “upon wholesalers and retailers to hold the line on kosher food prices for Passover,” and urged homemakers and shoppers “to exercise good judgment and selectivity in purchasing Passover products while shunning over-priced, non-essential items.
Rosenthal said the Federation committee was grateful that other organizations such as Young Israel, an association of Orthodox congregations, and the Rabbinical Alliance of America “are also concerned about this serious situation and are making their voices heard.”
Young Israel set up the first Kashruth Consumer Protective Commission to spotlight kosher product price abuses. The Rabbinical Alliance recently issued a statement denouncing “greedy” producers and vendors of kosher-for-Passover products, urging shoppers to persistently protest such increases.
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.
