Just under half of all food businesses in the Tel Aviv District are kosher compared to 66% of all businesses across the country. Among those businesses with kosher certificates, 79% are certified mehadrin, the most stringent level of kosher supervision, according to a new study carried out by Ariel Finklestein and Gabriel Abensour of the Israel Democracy Institute.
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The study comes as the government has announced plans to implement comprehensive reform in the kashrut market that will make the Chief Rabbinate a regulator of independent organizations that provide kashrut supervisory services, rather than the body controlling the process as a whole. The measure aims to improve the level of services provided as well as create competition in the field, often criticized by small businesses as being corrupt.
At 90%, the study found that food businesses in the Jerusalem District and Judea and Samaria were the most likely to have kashrut certification. In the center of the country, the study found 81% of food businesses were certified kosher.
In the Tel Aviv district, 49% of businesses were certified kosher. Eighty-one percent of food businesses in the north of the country had kosher certificates compared to 72% in the south.
"This data corresponds to the traditional-religious profile of the Jerusalem District and Judea and Samaria, in contrast to the more secular profile of the Tel Aviv District. Also, in the Northern and Southern Districts, where the traditional-religious population resides at a relatively higher rate, a relatively higher rate of kosher food businesses can be seen."
In 2019, a majority of food businesses, 79%, had been certified kosher by the Chief Rabbinate, compared to 21% who were certified mehadrin (glatt) kosher by the Chief Rabbinate. Just 9% of restaurants that offer meat were certified mehadrin kosher.
According to Finkelstein, the study clearly indicates high demand for kashrut certification, and as a result, a need for a shift in the way in which kashrut supervision is carried out. "The number of kosher businesses indicates the great potential for necessary reform in the field, which the state comptroller noted, and how significant this can be for consumers and business owners in the field."
Although the study relied on data from 2019, it nevertheless reflects a growing trend in recent years. In addition to the many business certified kosher by the Chief Rabbinate, some businesses have opted to receive kosher certification from Tzohar, an Orthodox organization that aims to bridge the gaps between religious and secular Jews in Israel.
Noting the organization's certification of two branches of a Tel Aviv falafel chain this week, Tzohar's Kashrut Director Yehuda Ziderman said, "There is great satisfaction in that this is another business that operated without formal kashrut [certification] and chose to become kosher under Tzohar's supervision, thereby helping us to increase kashrut in Israel."
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