Strictly Kosher | Jewish Culture Documentary – Real Stories

The Jewish community in Manchester is a kaleidoscope of tradition, religion and extravagance. This documentary film opens a window into their lives and shows a wide variety of ritual and celebrations.

I Back Kosher Animal Killing, Says David Cameron: PM Says He Will Defend Religious Slaughter of Animals in Britain During His Trip to Israel

MAIL ONLINE: Prime Minister told Israeli Knesset on his 'watch' there will be no ban on the production of kosher meat / He said his message is clear, Britain 'opposes boycotts of Israel' / His pro-Jewish speech came as leading British vet called for a ban on traditional kosher and halal meat, calling for more humane methods

David Cameron yesterday vowed to defend the religious slaughter of animals in Britain.

In a strongly pro-Jewish speech to the Israeli Knesset, Mr Cameron said he would never allow a ban on the production of kosher meat, despite a call from Britain’s leading vet for it to be replaced by more humane methods.

Earlier this month, John Blackwell, president-elect of the British Veterinary Association, called for a ban on the traditional production of both kosher and halal meat.

He said the practice of slitting animals’ throats and allowing them to bleed to death caused unnecessary suffering - and suggested animals should be stunned first.

Several Tory MPs have also called for a ban on a method of slaughter used to kill an estimated 600,000 animals a week in British abattoirs.

But, to applause from Israeli MPs yesterday, Mr Cameron, who attempted to speak Hebrew, praised the Jewish community’s integration into British society, and said he would never allow a ban on religious slaughter, known as Schechita.

He said: ‘The Jewish community has been an absolute exemplar in integrating into British life in every way but integration doesn’t mean that you have to give up things that you hold very dear in your religion.

'When people challenged kosher Shechita. I have defended it. » | Jason Groves | Thursday, March 13, 2014

End Religious Slaughter of Animals without Stunning First, Urges Top Vet

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The religious slaughter of animals should be banned if Muslims and Jews do not agree to stun all the animals unconscious first to minimise their suffering, Britain's top vet said

Religious slaughter of animals to produce halal and kosher meat should be banned if more humane methods are not adopted, the leader of Britain’s vets has said.

John Blackwell, who took over as president elect of the British Veterinary Association (BVA) last year, claimed killing animals by letting them bleed to death after slitting their throats causes unnecessary suffering.

He called on Muslims and Jews to allow the livestock to be stunned unconscious before they are killed.

The farm vet said the ritual slaughter of poultry, sheep and cattle which are still conscious should be outlawed, as it is in Denmark[.]

“As veterinary surgeons, it is one of the most important issues on our radar. This is something that can be changed in an instant.,” he told The Times [£]. » | Miranda Prynne, News Reporter | Thursday, March 06, 2014

Polens Juden und Muslime bekämpfen Schächtverbot

DIE WELT: Das Verbot des Schächtens erzürnt in Polen die betroffenen Juden und Muslime. Jetzt hoffen die Glaubensgemeinschaften auf einen Kompromiss: koscher und halal produziertes Fleisch für den Eigenbedarf.

Polens Oberrabbiner Michael Schudrich ist kein Freund des Streits. Aber in diesem Fall wählte der aus New York stammende, seit 1990 in Warschau tätige Geistliche deutliche Worte: Er könne nicht länger in seinem Amt verbleiben, er könne seinen "Glaubensgenossen nicht mehr angemessen dienen", wenn das gerade verabschiedete Gesetz nicht geändert werde.

Es geht um das Verbot des Schächtens, das der Sejm, das polnische Abgeordnetenhaus, gerade erlassen hat. Auch Polens Muslime protestieren gegen das Gesetz. Am Freitag hatte das Parlament den Regierungsentwurf, der das Schächten ohne vorherige Betäubung des Tieres erlaubt hätte, mit 222 gegen 178 Stimmen abgeschmettert. Vor allem die konservative Opposition stimmte für ein Schächtverbot, aber auch Abgeordnete quer durch die Bänke, auch aus der regierenden Bürgerplattform. » | Von Gerhard Gnauck, Warschau | Dienstag, 16. Juli 2013

Bangers Ban in Hundreds of Schools
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Pork is being banned from school dinners even where the majority of parents have no religious objection to it.

Head teachers are deciding for “cultural” and “religious” reasons to drop traditional sausages and ham from children’s lunches.

One council has issued "best practice" advice to all schools in its area to “ban all pork products in order to cater for the needs of staff and pupils who are not permitted contact with these for religious reasons”.

The guidance, issued in Haringey, north London, does not specify what proportion of a school’s intake should object to the meat - which is not eaten by devout Muslims or Jews - before it is dropped.

The policy was criticised last night by MPs and farmers’ leaders, who accused head teachers of depriving other children of a choice and pointed out that all schools already offer vegetarian options.

Pabulum, a school caterer in south-east England, said that around 20 of the 48 primary schools it supplied chose only non-pork lunches.

Most serve no halal or kosher meat, however, so many Muslim or Jewish pupils would not be able to eat the dishes anyway.

In Luton, 23 out of 57 schools which contract their dinners from the local authority have a “no pork” policy. In Bradford the figure is 24 out of 160; in Newham, east London, it is 25 out of 75; in Tower Hamlets, east London, it is 85 out of 90. In Haringey’s infant, junior and primary schools, 37 out of 47 serve no pork. Read on and comment » | Julie Henry, Education Correspondent | Sunday, June 17, 2012

Religious Butchering Now Commonplace in Britain, Leading Vet Claims

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Non-Muslim Britons are being forced to eat animals slaughtered in "appalling" pain because religious butchering is becoming so common, a former chief vet has claimed.

Prof Bill Reilly, ex-president of the British Veterinary Association, said cutting the throats of lambs, chickens and other animals without stunning them breaches legal requirements because it causes significant pain, fear and distress.

British and EU law permits the method of religious slaughter to account for Muslim and Jewish dietary practices, but stipulates that the animals must not be caused "unnecessary suffering."

Prof Reilly called for the practice to be dramatically curbed, suggesting that some slaughterhouses are refusing to stun animals simply to cut costs, rather than for religious reasons.

Writing in the Veterinary Record [Full text £], he said the number of animals having their throats slit while still fully conscious – a practice known as non-stun slaughter – was "unacceptable".

Referring to a report by the former Animal Welfare Council he claimed that "such a massive injury could result in very significant pain and distress", particularly because the throat has a large number of nerve endings. Read on and comment » | Nick Collins, Science Correspondent | Friday, May 04, 2012

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Dutch parliament votes to ban ritual slaughter of animals: The Dutch parliament on Tuesday voted to ban ritual slaughter in landmark animal rights legislation that has been compared to Nazi persecution of the Jews by the country's Chief Rabbi. » | Bruno Waterfield | Tuesday, June 28, 2012

THE TELEGRAPH: Ban urged on kosher and halal butchery: Muslim and Jewish methods of slaughter, involving slitting animals' throats and letting them bleed to death, should be banned immediately, Government advisers said yesterday. ¶ The Farm Animal Welfare Council, which advises ministers on livestock cruelty, said in a report published yesterday that the way in which halal and kosher meats are produced was intrinsically cruel and caused severe suffering for sheep, goats and cattle. » | Robert Uhlig, Farming Correspondent | Wednesday, June 11, 2003

Related here, here, and here

French Premier Reaches Out to Jews, Muslims
TIMES UNION: PARIS (AP) — France's prime minister scrambled Wednesday to dispel concerns in the Jewish and Muslim communities after criticizing the ritual slaughter of animals for kosher and halal meat.

Halal meat in particular has emerged as a hot-button issue in the campaign for presidential elections starting next month in France, a country with at least 5 million Muslims, the largest such population in western Europe.

Francois Fillon's call for religions to "reflect" upon what he called outdated traditions has fed a hyper-charged political atmosphere. His boss, conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy, has openly courted far right voters in hopes of boosting his lagging chances of re-election, with digs at Muslim practices and calls to shrink immigration.

But for many, Fillon's comments went too far. He hosted Jewish leaders Wednesday and was expected to meet with Muslim leaders Thursday in what appeared to be an attempt to ease concerns about his comments on French radio this week.

The Jewish leaders he met with Wednesday said Fillon assured them that Judaism wasn't targeted, but insisted they would keep an eye on government policy. France also has a large Jewish community, estimated at about half a million.

Most French are Roman Catholic by heritage, and many French holidays and traditions are linked to Christianity. But for a century the government has professed allegiance to a strict separation of church and state. » | AP | Thursday, March 08, 2012

Lien en relation avec l’article »

François Fillon s'explique à propos des abattages rituels

LE FIGARO: Le premier ministre a reçu le grand rabbin, Gilles Bernheim, et le président du Consistoire central, Joël Mergui, pour revenir sur la polémique liée à sa déclaration à propos du halal et du casher. Ce dernier estime «l'incident clos» mais «reste en alerte».

«L'incident est clos». Au sortir de sa réunion avec François Fillon, le président du Consistoire central, Joël Mergui, a calmé la polémique née des propos du chef du gouvernement concernant l'abattage rituel des animaux. S'exprimant mardi sur Europe 1, le premier ministre avait déclaré que les abattages casher et halal étaient «des traditions ancestrales, qui ne correspondent plus à grand-chose alors qu'elles correspondaient dans le passé à des problèmes d'hygiène». » | Par lefigaro.fr | mercredi 07 mars 2012

Liens en relation avec l’article »

François Fillon s'en prend au halal et au casher
LE POINT: Le Premier ministre a suggéré aux juifs et aux musulmans de revenir sur des "traditions ancestrales".

En pleine polémique sur la viande halal, François Fillon a provoqué lundi la colère du Crif en suggérant aux juifs et aux musulmans de revenir sur les "traditions ancestrales" d'abattage rituel des animaux, qui ne correspondent plus aujourd'hui "à grand-chose". Lundi matin, le Premier ministre, s'exprimant à titre personnel, a estimé sur Europe 1 que "les religions devaient réfléchir au maintien de traditions qui n'ont plus grand-chose à voir avec l'état aujourd'hui de la science, l'état de la technologie, les problèmes de santé".

Ces déclarations ont suscité le mécontentement du président du Conseil représentatif des institutions juives de France (Crif), Richard Prasquier, dont l'organisation entretient de bonnes relations avec Nicolas Sarkozy. "J'ai été choqué de l'entendre s'exprimer ainsi", "la déclaration de François Fillon est stupéfiante", a déclaré Richard Prasquier. "Même s'il dit que c'est à titre personnel qu'il s'exprime, quand on est Premier ministre, on a une parole officielle. Nous sommes dans un pays de séparation de l'Église et de l'État", a rappelé Richard Prasquier. » | Le Point.fr | mardi 06 mars 2012

EUROPE 1: Abattage rituel : juifs et musulmans en colère – Les représentants de ces deux religions regrettent les propos de François Fillon. » | Par Europe1.fr avec Stéphane Grand et AFP | mardi 06 mars 2012

Dutch Parliament Votes to Ban Ritual Slaughter of Animals

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Dutch parliament on Tuesday voted to ban ritual slaughter in landmark animal rights legislation that has been compared to Nazi persecution of the Jews by the country's Chief Rabbi.

In a rare show of unity, representatives of one million Dutch Muslims and 40,000 Jews have condemned the prohibition of halal and kosher meat as a violation of their religious freedom.

The legislation was tabled by the tiny Animal Rights Party but it quickly won cross-party support in a country where traditional religion, especially Islam, has been accused of being out of step with liberal Dutch values.

"This way of killing causes unnecessary pain to animals. Religious freedom cannot be unlimited," said Marianne Thieme, the party's leader.

"For us religious freedom stops where human or animal suffering begins."

The new ban requires that livestock must be stunned before being killed, contrary to the Muslim and Jewish "ritual slaughter" customs that require animals to be fully conscious. » | Bruno Waterfield | Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Dutch Calls for Ban on Religious Slaughter
In the Netherlands, an animal rights party and the far-right Freedom Party are pushing for a ban on kosher and halal slaughter methods which critics say inflict unacceptable suffering on animals.

The parties say ritual slaughter should only be allowed on the proviso that Jewish and Muslim groups can prove the process is humane.

Al Jazeera's Tania Page reports from Amsterdam.

Dutch Ritual Slaughter Ban a Step Closer

EURONEWS: In Holland, a proposal to ban Kosher and Halal slaughter methods has moved a step closer to reality, with a majority of the country’s MPs now supporting the ban.

In order to reduce stress, in the EU animals slaughtered for meat are normally stunned before they are killed. But Kosher and Halal butchery requires the animals to be fully conscious when their throats are cut. » | © Euronews | Friday, April 08, 2011

Jews to Pay the Price
YNET NEWS: Op-ed: Dutch bill against ritual slaughter will end up mostly harming Jews, as usual

A few weeks ago, the Party for the Animals submitted a private law to the Dutch parliament to prohibit religious slaughter without stunning the animal first. The party has two seats in Parliament. This should not be surprising in a country where - according to a National Geographic study - the average dog owner prefers the relationship to his pet above that of his human partner.

Almost all ritual slaughter of an estimated two million animals in the Netherlands is performed by Muslims. The number of kosher slaughtered cows, sheep and goats is between 1,500 and 3,000. Jews, however, would be the sole victims if the law passes, as kosher slaughter does not permit prior stunning. Most and perhaps even all Muslims accept eating meat of Halal-slaughtered animals that have been stunned before.

Thus, as in so many cases in contemporary Europe, the small organized Jewish community was sucked into a debate that originated from the size of the Muslim community, attitudes toward it and the way some Muslims conduct themselves.

The arguments in the parliamentary debate reflect the state of norms and values in the partly post-Christian Netherlands. The discussion was permeated by a highly selective focus on one element of animal welfare, statements on the borders of freedom of religion, and how obsolescent it is. Included also were specific anti-Islam feelings, as well as observations on the misconduct of mainly Muslims in their slaughter practices. >>> Manfred Gerstenfeld | Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Religious Slaughter: Halal, Kosher

Jewish Women May Rule the Kitchen - But Who Makes It Kosher?
HAARETZ: Religious Jewish women, the primary cooks in Orthodox families, have long ruled kosher kitchens and served as crucial, informal kosher watchdogs for their families and guests. But those women are rarely trusted with the even more powerful, formal task of professionally supervising the production of kosher food.

This may be starting to change. For the first time, both the Orthodox Union and Star-K, two large Orthodox kosher agencies, are offering courses for women in the Jewish dietary laws of kashrut this year. Neither course will explicitly train women to be mashgichot, official kosher supervisors, even though there is no religious prohibition against it, and the move has caused some debate and friction within religious circles.

Still, around 25 women came to the New York area in August to attend a five-day advanced course organized by the O.U. that included visits to industrial kosher kitchens and classroom sessions intended to provide "a comprehensive, in-depth overview of the entire kashrut industry, including the home kitchen," said Rabbi Yosef Grossman, education director of the O.U., which is the largest kosher-supervising body in the United States Star-K will offer for the first time a two-day course in the fall "to women who are already in the kashrus field, a chance to enhance their knowledge," said Rabbi Mayer Kurcfeld, Star-K's assistant director of supervision. He said that about 20 percent of Star-K's mashgichot, in local businesses such as restaurants and hospitals, are women. >>> The Jewish Daily Forward | Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Chicken Injected with Beef Waste Sold in UK
Image: Google Images
THE INDEPENDENT: Muslims and Jews conned into eating meat bulked out with cow and pig products

Cafes and restaurants across Britain have been selling chicken secretly injected with beef and pork waste, The Independent can reveal today.

In a hi-tech fraud run by firms in three EU states, food manufacturers are making bulking agents out of porcine and bovine gristle and bones that help inflate chicken breasts, so that they fetch a higher price.

The swindle was only detected by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) using new scientific techniques because the non-chicken material had been so highly processed it passed standard DNA tests.

Thousands of restaurateurs and cafe owners are likely to have been conned into buying chicken containing the powder – which binds water into chicken breasts – while diners have been unwittingly consuming traces of other animals when eating out.

Britain's two million Muslims, Jews and Hindus are forbidden from eating either pork or beef. Muslims would ordinarily eat halal chicken and Jews kosher chicken sold through approved caterers and butchers. >>> By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent | Thursday, June 04, 2009

Iowa Kosher Slaughterhouse Supervisor to Be Sentenced on Federal Immigration Charges
SEATTLE TIMES: A supervisor arrested after a massive immigration raid at an Iowa kosher slaughterhouse is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday afternoon in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

DES MOINES, Iowa — A supervisor arrested after a massive immigration raid at an Iowa kosher slaughterhouse is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday afternoon in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza, who supervised four departments at Agriprocessors Inc. in Postville, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to hire illegal immigrants and one count of aiding and abetting the hiring of illegal immigrants.

He was arrested last summer following a May raid in which 389 people were arrested. A few months later he struck a plea deal with prosecutors and faces up to 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

Another supervisor, Martin De La Rosa-Loera, was sentenced earlier this month to 23 months in prison followed by two years supervised release. [Source: Seattle Times] Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company | Thursday, March 19, 2009

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