jerusalm kashrus #5

29 Tevet 5769Monday, February 23, 2009

Some quick updates pertaining to a number of Jerusalem establishments.
1. About 10 days ago, the Jerusalem Rabbinate removed the mehadrincertification from the Yossi Pekin meat restaurant in the Bet HaKeremarea of the capital. The mehadrin certification has since beenreturned, with the religious council kashrut officials carefullymonitoring the status of the store, which is now ‘on trial’ untilPesach, at which time the Jerusalem Rabbinate will review the case andmake a determination regarding the future. The kashrut certificate wasremoved for major kashrus violations.
2. Moshiko Shwarma at 5 Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem was mentionedearlier in one of my reports, having two bogus hechsherim. The bogushechsherim are now gone, replaced by Jerusalem Rabbinate Mehadrin andOU Israel.
3. The Chef, a new meat restaurant located at 9 HaDfus Street in GivatShaul area of Jerusalem has Jerusalem Rabbinate Mehadrin supervision.
4. I met today with Rav Yitzchak Iluitzsky, who directs the JerusalemReligious Council Kashrut Division. I learned a great deal regardingthe general operation of the Jerusalem Rabbinate. One point worthmentioning is the fact that some time ago, the rabbi changed the fontof the date on certificates, making it considerably larger, anddisplaying not only the Hebrew expiration date, but also the Gregoriandate alongside to assist visitors and locals unfamiliar with theHebrew calendar. The rabbinate’s certificates also display the storename and address in red. Therefore, these three main features, name,address, and expiration date, are easily seen on their certificates.
5. HaMarush Shwarma – 2 Ben-Yehuda Street in Jerusalem – the signstates mehadrin but the certification is regular Jerusalem rabbinate.(There are a growing number of stores with signs stating “mehadrin”while the certification is not. You MUST look at the kashrutcertificate and you MAY NOT rely on store signs or advertisements tomake such a determination).

****Please pass this along and encourage a friend to sign up, for free, to assist in getting the word out to as many people as possible.Thanks for listeningYechiel SpiraJerusalem Kosher Newsjerusalemkn@gmail.com