I work in two places. One hotel and one coffee shop. Both of them are officially kosher and both of them have their mashgiahim and teudot. But none of them are actually completely kosher. The hotel I work during the week, allows guests to come with their own food inside the hotel, mixing meats and milk with no problem. In the coffee shop, we work friday evenings and the whole saturdays selling products like sandwiches containing meat that have been stored in the "lacto-fridge". Once in Pessach, the mashgiah came and told me there was hametz in the kitchen. He told me to keep the door locked and the problem was solved. Both the hotel and the coffee shop are in big cities and well known to the Israeli public - both being from chains. So people it's about time you wake up and smell the coffee. You have been sold a lie big time!

relationship with Judaism as the singular religion for which its government would oversee. In no other nation do its police office oversee kashrut. This is a good move, as it indicates to other religions that government revenues will not be spent on their religious rituals.

In the rest of the world Kashrut certificates are only issued to those who themselves keep the Shabbat and are religious Jews let the secular go their way religious Jews will eventually out number them' You simply cant trust Kashrut to people who are not themselves serious Jews. Religious Jews should only eat in restaurants of other religious Jews period

"kashrut criminals" - well said, but those are Mashgihim and Rabbinate that is fraud by itself. Next step in unholy war against sanity would be Hevrat Kadisha fighting "dead criminals*

to the Haredim and their Rabbis and leaders, the more people will hate them and the more tensions will be created and what is worse people will leave the country in ever increasing numbers as things become more intolerable. Freedom is a value, not to be tampered with, certainly not by religion and brainwashed cult leaders. Freedom is the highest value to which Man can aspire.

as every business need to be in free competition in free econmomy, if it's free.

Kashrut will not eat in places such as you described.They know exactly on which Mashgiah they can rely.you won't find them in the restaurants where you work. Relax.

Moshe, you are correct that no other nation has police to oversee kashrut. But nations such as Iran and Saudia Arabia do have police enforce religious laws of Islam. Is this the example we want Israel to follow?

Well, if you're committing fraud, then you already are a criminal. Just because you pay for the kosher certification, does not mean your facilities and food are now "magically kosher". If you want the business of people who keep kosher, you must comply with the rules of kashrut. that is what the certificate is supposed to guarantee to your customers. Otherwise it's meaningless. Whether it means anything to your or not is immaterial. People whom it does mean something to depend upon the certifications. Without enforcement authority for the inspectors, you really can't trust non-religious and non-Jewish workers to keep the laws of kashrut voluntarily.

Freedom may be the highest value for man to aspire to, but always its power that wins out. This is what history teaches us and this fact never seems to change.

By saying that they are kosher without certificate they are telling more truth than those who pay for one but do not actually follow the rules.

like those who care for 100 %. Some will ask wether there is a valid certificate, some wether there is a certificate; Some will assume that if it is written kosher, it must be so and not check for a certificate. All those might be cheated if there are no controls. Even so, anybody who eats out takes a risk, like nr 2 says. That's one of the reasons why few haredim go to restaurants

for the rabbinate but it has little/nothing to do with true religious spirit. and probably contradicts it.

Many American states also have Kashruth Laws, such that those without supervision use the term 'kosher style' to avoid prosecution.

You should remember that Israel is not Iran wher there is police for modesty, halal etc etc. Better mizva is to deal with povrety of Israeli children. Isn't it?

Should we make a distinct sign for non Jewish workers so it will be easy to recognise them or shoul we ban non Jewish workers from kosher places? Should we have a religious police in Israel?

I can see signs that The meat is hallal and all laws of Moses are kept, but we are not kosher. We cannot say we are kosher, but we follow all the rules. We don't say we are kosher - we would have to raise our prices

I worked as a waitress in 4 'kosher' establishments, all of them Mehadrin. Two of these establishments were owned by supposedly religious Jews. In all four of these restaurants, I saw things that violate kashrut, or at the very least, Mehadrin stringency. 1) Teaneck - coffee shop - the non-Jewish worker brought in a sandwich from outside and heated it on the panini press. I of course put everything he used aside and asked my boss what needed to be done, kashrut-wise. He fired me. 2) Jerusalem - meat restaurant - saw cook eating yogurt in the kitchen (disposable spoon, no dishes touched, but the clientele would have been bothered by this I'm sure). 3) Dairy rest, Jslm - Kitchen mngr his the fact that the cook wasn't Jewish because he wanted her. (She has since converted...) 4) Meat restaurant, Jslm - Re-use of food. Owner brought in stuff grown in his garden, which may be perfectly fine, but has no hechsher!

Soon we will also of Modeste police These Jewish ayatollah should be thrown out of the country immediately

Restaurants can be kosher without certificate . If I remember it well the Ikea restaurant in Nethanya was Kosher [ as they said ] without certificate . A mashiach is expensive , and those expenses are added to the bill . Now , TRUE fraud has to be punished , harshly .

In New York and California there have been cases of observant meat suppliers, under recognized supervision -- selling non-kosher meat or non-glatt meat but charging for Glatt. It's one thing for a coffee shop not to have supervision if their cake and rolls come from a kosher bakery, but quite another to have a meaty restaurant with vegetables that require bedika, with no supervision.

This has nothing to do with ayatollahs! In the UK -- and possibly Canada -- there is a Trades Description Act, under which you can be prosecuted for falsely describing your product. If you put up a sign saying your restaurant is Kosher and you're selling treifus, you can be prosecuted. Honesty in advetising cuts across whatever is placed for sale. Here in England a few months back they found horsemeat in products labelled beef. It all had to be removed from supermarkets and disposed of. Protecting the public from false advertising is universal and not a religious issue.

What to do when a mashgiach takes "special" t'rumos or ask you to donate money for this or that project and the business owner does not object since the following day his products would no longer be kosher? I wish such a "police" would protect both sides, the religious consumers from fraudulent kosher certificates AND the business owners from the rabbanut mafiosos.

You are 100% free to eat in non-kosher restaurants. Many of us who observe Kashrut have not always relied on the Israeli Rabbinate because we felt some of its standards were not strict enough. We have looked to Bedatz, Chasam Sofer, KAJ and Kedassia. Rabbi Lau is bringing Rabbinate Kashrut up to the proper international standard, and should be applauded. Fraud is fraud whether it involves Kashrut or any other product for sale.

Please clarify. What is a lacto fridge. Do you mean the dairy fridge? If the sandwiches are properly wrapped it's probably not a big problem. People staying in a hotel can bring whatever they want into their own rooms, but not into the hotel kitchen. Regarding hometz on Pesah, locking the kitchen door is the initial step, depending on whether it is Chag or Moed.