Meir Gershon (don’t forget the middle name) Rabi has responded to my post about his business transmogrifying Wrigleys into ‘it’s okay’ by describing the post and learned comments that followed as
‘Brainless Judaism’
He even failed the detect sarcasm test.
I won’t stoop to calling him names or describing his learned decisions with invective. He craves this publicity.
As we say in Australia, I will let this ball through to the keeper. He’s been smashed for so many sixes, the opposing side has declared at 0/1000
What a sad story this private business has become
pitputim 
Just keeps on getting stranger and stranger
http://pickeringpost.com/story/arab-israeli-enmity-solved-/4981
Not sure if the new business partners actually do send money to Hamas but at the very least this is a strange bedfellow
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Any way to make a buck. Remember NEVER eat from a Hechsher where the rabbi is in the business. It’s not Halal but Chillul.
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To know what a pure Rav is, read the story of Rav Soloveitchik and Boston Kashrus. We are such a poor generation with maverick iconoclast businessmen … Enough
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Perhaps, though, despite letting it through to the keeper, you might clarify your ‘3 minute’ comment- better not to allow many to be misled…
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Nadav, thanks for your comments, I will think it through
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I appreciate it- quite often, these things are seized on and become the excuse not to address a core argument.
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The Pickering article is the same antisemitic propaganda we all remember from the ’80s and earlier, with “Hamas” stuck in. The same economic pig-ignorance, insisting that the hechsher has to increase the price, despite every manufacturer and ecconomist telling them it doesn’t, because they know better. And it’s motivated by the same xenophobia.
Yes, there are Moslem terrorists, and a lot of Moslem charity ends up with them, just as a lot of our tzedaka ends up in places where it supports Israel. But we all know that there are no huge profits in the kashrus business, not nearly enough to make a significant contribution to any outside entity. Sure, mashgichim get paid, and they give maaser, and some of that maaser ends up in Israel. And halal mashgichim get paid, and give zakat, and some of that ends up with Hamas, just as it would if they were working as plumbers or newsagents. But just as kashrus barely pays its costs and rarely if ever turns a profit, and the laxer hechsherim compete by being cheaper, and therefore bringing in less money, so it must also be with halal. The certification fees pay the inspectors’ and administrators’ salaries and little else.
It makes perfect sense for kashrus and halal agencies to coordinate and cooperate, and every significant kashrus agency does so. From the article you’d think it was just Rabi, but that’s just because the antisemite has no idea how little Rabi is regarded in the kashrus world. He thinks Rabi is the big macher of kashrus, almost the chief rabbi of Australia, and that’s why he featured him. But ask the two KAs how much information they share with the halal people, or ask the OU, and I’m sure you’ll hear it’s significant, because it makes no sense at all for them not to work together.
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I actually think they should share information.
I think they should cease if it is shown that money flows to terrorism.
I don’t think that M. Gershon though should in any way, shape or form delude himself that he speaks for anyone other than his and Kalman’s back pocket.
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A refusal to work with Moslem agencies would damage kosher consumers by making things like meat etc. more expensive. That doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be considered, but if anyone’s money flows to terrorism it is a matter for Australian law as well as possibly being a halachic issue. If Australian law enforcement doesn’t think it’s a real issue then I don’t suppose we should pretend that we have better information.
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