Urgent Meeting To Address The Threat to Shechita

The ZCC encourages its members and supporters to attend a meeting on Monday 13 September 2010 at 8:15 PM to discuss the threat to Shechita.

The meeting which will be held at Stenecourt Synagogue, Salford, is being orhanised by the Manchester Rep Council, Manchester Beth Dinand Kashrus Authority, Manchester Rabbinical Council and Manchester District Council of Synagogues.

Guest Speaker, Simon Cohen of Schechita UK, will spell out the threats faced by the Jewish Community.

In should be noted that the ZCC was distressed with New Zealand's recent shocking decision banning Shechita. This decision has now been but on ice pending review.

Shechita UK views the initial announcement in New Zealand with dismay. They believe that the report by the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee was based on inconclusive evidence derived from flimsy, agenda based science which has served only to enhance the campaign to delegitimise Shechita.

Shechita also suffered a further challenge at the end of June when the European Parliament voted in a set of draft proposals calling for all kosher meat and chicken in Europe to be labelled, 'meat from slaughter without stunning'. The meat in question is the 70% of the animal rendered inedible for kosher consumption which, to safeguard Shechita's economic viability, is subsequently sold to the non-kosher meat market.

Henry Grunwald QC the Chairman of Shechita UK said "The European Parliament voted on a proposal for a new regulation on the provision of food information to consumers and in particular voted to include an amendment to the regulation discriminatorily labelling all meat and meat products derived from animals that have been slaughtered by Shechita ‘meat from slaughter without stunning’. “This ill-conceived amendment discriminates against Kosher food and will have a significant impact on the kosher meat industry across Europe.”

“The Jewish Community is fully supportive of providing consumers with information about the origins of their food and we urged MEPs that if they wanted to label meat and meat products, labels should include those killed by electrocution, shooting, gassing or clubbing as well as the many millions of animals that are mis-stunned during the stunning process. To pick on one method is suspicious, troubling and discriminatory.”

Henry Grunwald emphasised that the Jewish Community is an originator of food labelling with its Hechsher saying: “The Jewish Community is clearly supportive of food labelling as all products consumed by Orthodox Jews, whether that be a pint of milk or loaf of bread, must carry a rabbinic seal guaranteeing the origins and kashrut of that product.”

Labelling relating to just one type of slaughter, and omitting others such as electrocution and gassing, would be nothing less than discriminatory. Whilst even a further endorsement of this decision would not necessarily make labelling a legal requirement, the MEPs' next vote in the autumn could still bring such provisions a step closer. To avoid this eventuality, the ZCC, Board of Deputies and Shechita UK will all be lobbying in the European Parliament and will also be urging all members of the British Jewish community to write to their MEPs ahead of the vote.

The ZCC urges you to urgently contact your MEP to stop the proposed labelling of the non Kosher meat and chicken slaughtered by Shechita.

You find your MEP use the website below:

http://www.writetothem.com/