An independent probe to be conducted into Stan & Pete

NICOLA MILTZ

This was proposed at an urgent meeting, held in Johannesburg last Wednesday between concerned members of the community and the Rosh Beth Din, Rabbi Moshe Kurstag, to address all areas of kashrut following the Stan & Pete drama.

A concerned member of the audience suggested that an independent inquiry be held into the matter rather than an investigation conducted by the Beth Din itself. This was met with applause.

Rabbi Kurtstag seemed in favour of the idea, but expressed concern over costs. This was countered by members of the audience, who suggested that money would be raised as long as a proper independent investigation took place.

It was agreed that this was necessary to get to the truth and stop the countless rumours and conjecture that were negatively affecting perceptions of kashrut standards.

The Union of Orthodox Synagogues of SA (UOS) issued a statement this week, that independent investigators from the forensic division of audit firm Grant Thornton and criminal law attorney Billy Gundelfinger had been asked to conduct a probe.

“We are committed to keeping the community updated with the ongoing response to the Stan & Pete issue,” read the statement.

In addition, the Beth Din has invited two independent kashrut experts from overseas to “investigate and assess all current kashrut supervision systems” of the Beth Din. They are senior executive members of the US-based Association of Kashrus Organisations, which is the international governing and accreditation body of kashrut organisations The experts will arrive shortly after Pesach.

Several frustrated people walked out of the packed meeting, which was called and convened by lawyer David Swartz.

It became heated when questions posed by the audience were not adequately answered by Rabbi Kurtstag. Several snide remarks were heard being made regarding the rabbi’s suitability for the position. “With all due respect, Rabbi, how can you be the head of the SA Beth Din when you live so far away?” asked one woman, to awkward murmurings amongst the crowd.

When kashrut questions were not being answered, one frustrated member of the audience said: “This is a waste of time. We want answers. We want to know how the chickens got into the kitchen. We want to know if treif meat was also served by the caterer. What is the Beth Din keeping from us?”

Following this meeting, the Beth Din established a Rabbinic Advisory Council, comprising senior rabbis. The council will provide “ongoing input and guidance to the Beth Din as it embarks on the process of upgrading its supervision systems”, said the UOS statement.

It was signed by UOS chairperson Harold Novick, Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein and Rabbi Kurtstag, and concluded thus: “We pledge to keep the community fully informed with regard to all the above investigations, and any other developments. We are determined that, as a community, we emerge from this crisis stronger and wiser.”