Generally the food here is cheap, if you buy only israeli brand food items. The fruits and vegtables are cheaper here than in the states. If you want some good deals; shop at the shuk (open market).

I personally entirely agree with this Idea. Eating Kosher , Maintaining a Kosher home is all fine but it should be a choice. The choice in my opinion would be : -People who are observant and want to eat kosher food should have access to Kosher products , knowing that those necessarily will be more expensive ( Indeed, religious organisation need a source of revenue dont they ? ) -People who are Not observant should be provided the possibility of buying non kosher food at regular market price. The other option would be that the State would subsize systematically Kosher food and lower prices but this would give the idea that the Israeli government ( partially secular ) would endorse the idea that they do impose kashrout to everyone...and that is not feasible. The other option ( The most irrealist ) is that Rabbanout shows some respect for jewish values and find a way to provide Kahsrout at a fraction of the Millions of shekalim collected for the grat honor of having the CSR label on the products. Religion and money do NOT Go together. We all know that Kashrout in Israel is culturally and religiously important BUT we all know also that it has a price !!! and that the tag is very high !!!! A system that cannot afford to feed its seniors due to abuse of religious rules is doomed !

Moshe Aroni has a clear rational point-unfortunately that touches on the position of power of the rabbinate religious establishment.. The Israëli govt should let it's citizens themselves decide as Jews if they want to buy kosher food or not. The same choice applies to shabbat laws, marriages, clothing etc. The majority of Israëlis prefer to have choice and are able to take their own responsability.

Why not abolish health standards too? Why not stick your foreskin back on? Why not just become a goy?

A brilliant idea! Those who choose to eat kosher should certainly have designated stores provided to them. However, non-kosher food as a general standard would decrease prices (not to mention compel many rabbis in the ultra-orthodox sector to get real jobs) and the majority of Israelis (who are secular anyway) would welcome this. As to the NRP's heckling, they do not represent the majority by any means (the last elctions attest to this) and should therefore be dismissed.

If this elderly Chochom is really serious and wants to save the country money, he should refuse his salary or just not eat.

Does sharoni have any independent economic data? Even ,it were true. At best it is naive. Yeah, the food producers will pass on the savings? yeah right. Like all the vendors have passed on the VAT tax cut. Whee does the knesset get these people? Mars.

1. The amount spent on a kashrut certificate is NOT "significant" and adds very little to the price. 2. Since A MAJORITY- 56%, of the country considers themselves either "religious" or "traditional", this move would actually INCREASE the price of the food because of supply and demand issues (Economics 101). 3. Most importantly, Israel is the Jewish homeland. If Sharoni wants to live his treif life and impose it on the rest of us, he can go back to Romania where he came from and live it there.

The "gentleman" said just this morning on the radio that "kosher means clean", which is the same ignorant statement by the anti-Jewish Greeks reported in the Talmud and DISMANTLED by our sages. He is one of those who would like Israel to be a NON JEWISH state and ingores that over 70% of Israelis have KOSHER HOMES and would not eat anything that is not certified KOSHER... No one forces Hotels to have kashruth certificates, however they all have it otherwise they lose most of their customers. He is just another Tommy Lapid, the old ant-religious zionist school.

I have heard them refered to as the A.K. party but i suggest they be referred to as the oiver botel (senilty)party or the Alzheimer's party.I think Mr. Sharoni has lost it! Hey instead of just cancelling kashrut why not cancel the whole Torah and give all the land to the arabs. Without Torah we have absolutely no right to this land! kashrus is a burden Shabbos is a burder, being Jewish is a burden, that's why they say in yiddish Siz Shver Tzu Zein a Yid! If Mr. Sharoni is so concerned with the cost of bread why doesn't he donate his salary and perks as a knesset member back to the Medinah and persuade all his coalition members to do likewise?

AS long as this guy doesnt become an economic minister. American companies pay thousands to become kosher, to increase sales by .5-1%, how many companies would give up their kashrus and lose 50% of their market, economic suicide,

Yes he's right it should be abolished after all the rabbinical "holy industry" is a scam anyway.

I can see why the Pensioners' Party isn't exactly thrilled with this nonsense. What a hare-brained idea!

after all, if he thinks we shoudl abolish one of the most basic precepts of Judiaism, then why not just consider abolishing being Jewish. Although I doubt goyim would really go along with it.

Neo-nazis also like to talk about the 'Kosher tax'. But since the majority in this country still prefer to eat kosher, they'll still demand a kosher certificate. Non-kosher products will merely be a special run, meaning they'll cost MORE. And kosher products will still be cheaper, because they will have a larger market to sell to (kosher and non-kosher consumers). You would think that in a free market like the US then there wouldn't be kosher certification and kosher products everywhere (made by non-Jews). Yet there are because it expands their market significantly and DOESN'T raise the price of the product.

What a foolish suggestion, what will happen is that the majority of people who do want kosher will boycott any company who does not have a kashrut supervison, and those companies will either take back the kashrut supervision or go bankrupt! What does he want to do ruin the economy even more????? Does he think that the major companies will throw away business ? even the goyishe companies in america understand that having kosher certification brings them more business. Besides that, many Muslims look fo rthe kosher sign because for them it is hallal. what did Mr. Sharoni do for a living before he became a pensioner? I doubt that he was a successful businessman. Rule #1 the customer is always right!

Abolishing a hechsher will lower the costs? Right. There is a significant number of Israelis who are not religious who keep kosher. No Hechsher means that the product is not kosher, so they will not buy it. Eliminating 30% (based on a geocartographia survey) of your market is not cost effective. Also, many companies export their products to Europe and America. To the most of the market there, the Hechsher is extremely important. A lower volume of sales abroad and at home will result in increased costs for the finished goods, as well as unemployment. What Mr Sharoni is trying to do is throw sand in our faces. A party that claims to be a social party agreed wholeheartedly to the increase in the price of bread. But this way, apologists for the goverment are quick to look away from the basic issue, that all of these "social" parties are only interested in their own social benefits. Concentrate on the real issues, folks, not the made-up ones by stupid (!) members of knesset.

Moshe Sharoni from Pensioners party is 77 y.o. Very respectful age to retire, of coarse... What? He is NOT retired? He just got elected to the Knesset for the first time? Hey, deskide usha, Moshe ( close the door in Rumanian) and go home to your family, grandpa! We need fresh and young MKs with REAL ideas... Without "kosher" food we can live in Bucharest or LA. This is why we need a Jewish state, to be like everybody else, genious?

Non-kosher products are MORE EXPENSIVE for the simple reason of supply & demand. A minority of anti-religious zealots insist on NO KASHRUT, OK, give them what they want, but manufacturers know that with kashrut certification they can INCREASE THEIR CUSTOMER BASE thereby lowering consumer cost. Even if manufacturers can be persuaded to drop their kosher supervision, what will be the result? Higher prices for those products because fewer consumers. Then socialist-activists will whine for government price controls for more expensive non-kosher products. A couple of years ago, Meretz activists attempted to abolish the Eda Haredit hechsher by boycotting their products. BIG FAILURE. Why do you think that was?