Eida Chareidis Nabs Jerusalem Pizza Scam

(Thursday, March 11th, 2010)

Earlier in the week, Jerusalem Kosher News reported the Eida Chareidis removed its supervision from two Jerusalem pizza shops, Pizza Lahit (44 Yirmiyahu Street) and Pizza Shai (1 Amos Street), both in the Geula area.

Now for the explanation – About a year ago, the Eida learned the stores used the ‘call forwarding’ feature during busy hours, referring phone orders to other stores owned by the same entrepreneur in the capital, but those stores are not under the Eida Chareidit, but the Jerusalem Rabbinate, non-mehadrin.

The kashrut agency picked up on what was taking place and decided to offer the store an alternative, to pay for a mashgiach timidi (full-time) or give up the hechsher. They opted for the full-time mashgiach.

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On Purim, both stores were closed. An Eida official decided to test the integrity of his client, phoning the pizza shops and ordering many pies. They pies were delivered, piping hot, fresh from the Jerusalem Rabbanut stores with the customer supposed to believe they were from the Eida Chareidit stores.

The kashrut agency promptly removed the hecsher from both.

(Jerusalem Kosher News – http://www.jerusalemkoshernews.com/)

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18 Comments

  1. baruchgershom says:

    So what happened to the pizza they ordered?

  2. farfrumt says:

    NICE DETECTIVE WORK

  3. LBK says:

    I guess the scam itself was kind of smart to use during busy times, but how stupid was it to try it when the stores were actually closed? Did they think nobody would ever notice?

  4. TOHIGHSCHOOLGUY says:

    does anyone know about the one in bais yisrael?

  5. aries2756 says:

    I totally appreciate when a Kashrus organization truly watches out for our best interest instead of just for the bottom line.

  6. Daniel Breslauer says:

    This is why ordering pizza is a risky business. I rarely order pizza (maybe once a year).

  7. WellInformedYid says:

    Daniel,
    So traif pizza is ok if its only once a year?!

  8. hereorthere says:

    That picture is making me hungry.

  9. charvona says:

    #7 So rabbanut hechsher = treif for pizza?

  10. RavBaruch says:

    I once worked in a cafe under the Rabbanut Yerushaliam. It is true that the mashgiach only came every few days and for just a few minutes. We didn’t have the money to pay for Mehadrin, but the owner and myself are very frum. We made sure everything was mehadrin. However I have no doubt that if the staff of the restaurant is not honorable then a lot of treif can happen.

  11. speaktruth says:

    this article has nothing to do with whether or not rabbanut mehadrin is acceptable or not- which a lot of ppl do hold by it.

    The point is if s/o thinks they are ordering edah charedit and wants something with that hechsher its wrong to swap it with a less strict hechsher without telling them what u r doing.

  12. pi=shakai=314 says:

    EVERY KNOWS RABANUT HECHSHER ISNT WORTH MUCH !!!!

  13. matok says:

    Did they throw away all those pizzas? Mamash baal taashchit!

  14. speaktruth says:

    Sorry- I didn’t read this properly. I thought it was talking about rabanut mihadrin which is accepted by a lot of ppl.
    To do with non mehadrin is really wrong of them.

  15. smart2 says:

    so that means that for an entire year till purim the pizza was from the rabanut that doesent sound like good oversite

  16. israelibachur says:

    Pizza Shai rocked! oh well i guess the mir will have to settle for dans bagel

  17. knowit says:

    #6
    I hope the one time a year is Erev Yom Kipur, so you can do Tshuva right away..

  18. mirguy2 says:

    PIZZA SHAI IN BEIS YISROEL (NEAR THE MIR) IS OWNED BY A DIFFERENT GUY, AND CONTINUES TO HAVE THE HECHSHER OF THE EIDAH HACHAREDIS.

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