The final report of the Winograd Committee examining the government's performance in the Second Lebanon War was delivered to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Wednesday evening. Winograd then read aloud its conclusions at a press conference in Jerusalem's Binyanei HaUmah Conference Center.

The 500-page report (click here for full report - in Hebrew) found "serious faults and defects in the decision making processes in both the political and the military levels and the interface between them" in the course of the Second Lebanon War. "Israel entered a prolonged war, which it initiated, that ended without a clear victory militarily."

The report summed up the war with the phrase "a great missed opportunity" and laid the blame "mostly with the military." It continued, however, by saying, "Partially responsible was the weakness projected by the political echelon."

The committee stood by its original commitment to refrain from issuing personal recommendations and does not mention PM Olmert by name, though it states: "It should be emphasized that the fact that we avoided laying personal blame does not mean that there was no such blame."  It says it refrained from naming names in order not to deter any futureleaders from making tough decisions during war time.

Report Summary
* Failures began before the war, the report said. The decision to go to war was made without strategy. The government had to choose between a quick, decisive air offensive followed by withdrawal or a full-blown ground war that would involve a call-up of the reserves. The government delayed the decision and ended up in a drawn-out conflict with ground-troops unprepared for deployment until the very end.

* It has been pointed out that a 'code word' used in the report whenever the committee wished to say that somebody erred so significantly that something ought to be done is "keshel" (failure). The report explains in Chapter 17, Paragraph 25 that "failure" is not the same as mere faulty judgment.

*  The army was criticized for a lack of organization of ground forces and failure to request the call-up of the reserves for a ground invasion until the first week of August. Clear objectives were lacking commanders lacked faith in their superiors, as well as their subordinates in certain cases.

* The report sees the United Nations' Resolution 1701 - the ceasefire - as an accomplishment.

* Contrary to the recent focus of reservists' criticism, the report said that the final ground operation was "practically a necessity." It said that although its goals were legitimate, it was not conducted properly and therefore did not contribute anything positive.

* The report criticized the emphasis on protecting soldiers at the expense of the Home Front. "The IDF comported itself in the war as if the fear of suffering casualties among its soldiers served as a central element in the planning processes and in its operational considerations," the report stated. The committee went so far as to say that "the IDF's most basic values came undone in the war. Much of what had been seen as a basic foundation of the military organization remained, in some of the operations, empty verbiage." In this context, the committee lists "the tenacity in pursuing the target and dedication to accomplishing the mission; strict operational discipline; combat leadership and the role of commanders in battle; the avoiding of taking personal responsibility and a willingness to obey, while giving constructive criticism to those in charge." The report cites a connection between the aversion to suffering casualties and a feeling that the missions were routine security missions (batash) as opposed to actual warfare.
 
* There were severe failures in the defense of the home front. "Hizbullah rocket fire on the Israeli home front continued throughout the war and the IDF failed to provide an effective response. Daily life was disrupted, residents left their homes and entered bomb shelters...These results had far-reaching consequences for us and our enemies."

* The report cites positive aspects of the conduct of the Second Lebanon War, in addition to criticism of it. The accomplishments cited were, first and foremost, the volunteer spirit of the reservists who were called up for the war, and the heroism exhibited by individual soldiers. It also says that the Air Force had impressive accomplishments.

Conclusion
Winograd summed up his 30-minute oral summary of his commission's report on the Second Lebanon War with a statement that Israel "cannot survive in this region unless the people within it and outside it believe that it has political leadership, military capabilities and social strength that will enable it to prevent their enemies from realizing their goals – even by force."

This basic truth, the committee states, is common to all political approaches. "Attempts to reach peace or an agreement must come from a place of military might and of ability and willingness to fight for the country, its values and residents," the committee stated. "This has deep ramifications, well beyond the Second Lebanon War," it said.

Olmert's Response
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office released statements leading up to the Committee's press conference saying that Olmert is "relieved" and believes the report spares him the harsh criticism many expected, particularly regarding the final offensive of the war.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert released a short reaction to the report Wednesday evening. Olmert's statement said that he has faith "in the IDF, in its commanders, in its soldiers and abilities." The statement did not include any reaction to the criticism leveled at Olmert in the report, but said that he was treating it "with full seriousness," just as he had treated the interim report.

Cabinet Secretary Oved Yechezkel told Army Radio shortly after the press conference that Olmert has no plans to step down. "The prime minister and the government take responsibility and will make the required rectifications," Yechezkel said. "Taking responsibility means staying on the job to fix and improve - continuing to lead the way forward."

IDF Response
IDF officials are noting that the army has not waited until the publication of the report to take action to correct its mistakes in the war. More than 70 committees were appointed within the IDF to examine various aspects and make recommendations that are already being implemented. Those recommendations match those reached by Winograd, for the most part.

Nevertheless, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi has appointed a special team to read the Winograd Commission's report on the Second Lebanon War and to come up with conclusions and recommendations. The crew includes the IDF Spokesman, the Chief Military Attorney and three members of the General Staff.

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The Winograd Committee
The Winograd Committee was appointed and hand-picked by Prime Minister Olmert as a compromise response to demands for a State Commission of Inquiry, which would have had more authority to investigate and use its results in court proceedings. The committee was headed by retired Justice Eliyahu Winograd. The other committee members were Prof. Ruth Gavison, Prof. Yehezkel Dror, and retired IDF Major-Generals Menachem Einan and Chaim Nadel.

The Movement for Quality Government (MQG) maintained that an independent inquiry was necessary, and was joined in its demand by IDF reservists, including senior officers who accused the government and General Staff of behaving irresponsibly. The groups announced in response to the prime minster's decision to put retired Judge Eliyahu Winograd at the head of the commission of inquiry that "Only a commission of inquiry headed by a judge with legal jurisdiction appointed by the president of the Supreme Court, not by the prime minister, is the solution."

All eyes are now turned towards Ehud Barak, the Defense Minister and head of the Labor Party.  Barak will have to decide in the coming days whether to stand by his word to quit the government after the release of the final Winograd Report, or to remain in the government despite the report's findings.

If Barak chooses to leave the coalition, the result will be the toppling of the government and new elections anywhere from three months from now to next November.

What About Olmert?
The resignation of Olmert himself does not appear to be on the horizon, based on statements his aides have made since the release of the Winograd report.  Interior Minister Roni Bar-On, a close friend of Olmert and the most outspoken Kadima spokesman regarding the Winograd Report, was asked why Olmert should not take responsibility and resign - and responded, "Taking responsibility doesn't always mean quitting; sometimes it means remaining in order to repair, as the Winograd Report implies as well."

Regarding Barak, Bar-On said, "The report gives Barak a very strong basis on which to decide to remain in the government, and I hope that he will do so."

Barak spent Wednesday night reading the Winograd report - including the secret chapter, which he called "grave."  This morning, he went to Kerem Maharal to pay a "shiva" consolation visit to fellow Labor Party Minister Ami Ayalon, whose father died this week.  The Defense Minister is expected to announce his final decision next week.

Within Labor, most Cabinet ministers support remaining in the government, while a small but vocal group of MKs think otherwise.  MKs Shelly Yechimovitch, Ophir Pines-Paz, Danny Yatom and Eitan Cabel are meeting on the topic, and have called upon Barak to take the party out of the government.

Yechimovitch told Voice of Israel Radio, "I agree that Barak has a genuine dilemma. But I believe that our partnership with Kadima is wrong, and that he should leave.  Despite the fear that Netanyahu might form the next government, I believe we must proceed towards new elections." 

Yechimovitch, a former outspoken left-wing radio personality, had harsh words for Olmert: "I didn't need Winograd to tell me that Olmert is not a suitable Prime Minister, in the deep sense of the word.  But the report told me much about the arrogant and superficial way in which the decisions were made... [In response to a question:] Yes, I am quite apprehensive that my son, who is enlisting in the army next week, will be in the hands of Olmert.  It has been said that the main test of an Israeli Prime Minister is if Jewish mothers are willing to entrust their sons to him, and I think Olmert does not pass this test.  He is a talented man, but not worthy morally.  He sees the Prime Ministership as a job, and not as a national mission; a job without an agenda and without Zionism.  He is also up to his neck in cases of corruption, and also happened to get to this job by a series of flukes which almost could have been a subject of a comedy series..."

Olmert is said not to enjoy great support within his party as well, though it has not surfaced as of yet.  One Knesset Member, however, has made his opposition clear.  MK Avigdor Yitzchaki of Kadima announced Thursday morning that he would quit the Knesset "if there are no political developments in three weeks."  Last May, Yitzchaki resigned as the chairman of the Kadima faction in the Knesset in protest of Olmert's refusal to resign following the interim Winograd report.

In light of the danger that Labor might quit, as well as threats by the Shas party to leave the coalition, Kadima officials have opened talks with the hareidi-religious United Torah Judaism party.  UTJ officials say they have no plans to join the government, however.

Former IDF Intelligence Chief Gen. (res.) Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash weighed in with a post-Winograd comment, saying, "Olmert will have to decide whether to set a national norm regarding Prime Ministers taking responsibility, just like Golda Meir and Yitzchak Rabin did in the past."

If Judge Eliyahu Winograd and the members of his committee - who were charged with investigating the government's handling of the Second Lebanon War - hoped to put the matter to rest once and for all with their final report, they have failed.

Following the release of their 500-page report Wednesday evening, and after a half-hour press conference in which the main conclusions were announced, both sides say their position has been strengthened.  The PM's Office and Olmert supporters say that Winograd has vindicated their man, while the right-wing is saying the report means Olmert must resign. 

MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union) said, "The interim report [issued in April '07] found that Olmert failed in the first week of the war.  Already then it was clear that he failed and must resign.  Olmert cannot hide now behind the vague formulations that were forced upon the Winograd Committee [in the final report].  It is clear that his decision to push off the ground offensive until the end of the war stemmed from his political needs."

MK Uri Ariel (National Union): "The Prime Minister's people are ignoring the clear statements by Justice Winograd [in last year's interim report] that the war was handled poorly, and that the Prime Minister ran it without experience or knowledge, without seriously relating to the details, and without serious staff work.  Prime Minister Olmert is not suitable to continue to lead Israel in the face of the grave challenges and threats that face her."

On the other hand, MK Yoel Hasson, of Olmert's Kadima party, said, "The conclusions are clear and absolute, and determine that the war was not a failure and that the final-battle decisions were reasonable and considered."

Hasson said that the "de-legitimization and mud-slinging campaign against the Prime Minister was unacceptable from the outset.  The opposition must ask forgiveness."

The Likud Party issued a statement calling on Olmert to take responsibility for his handling of the war and resign.  "The Winograd Report is very grave and places clear responsibility on the government, which is headed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert," the Likud announced.  "Olmert must take personal responsibility and resign.  Defense Minister Ehud Barak [of Labor, Kadima's largest coalition partner - ed.], who promised [several months ago] to quit the government when the final report was published, must fulfill his promise.  If Barak is looking for an excuse in the report to avoid resigning, he won't find any."

MK Zevulun Orlev (National Religious Party) also said Olmert must quit: "The Winograd Report's determination regarding the grave faults and deficiencies in the government and the army mean that Olmert must go the way of [ex-Defense Minister Amir] Peretz and [ex-IDF Chief of Staff Dan] Halutz.  If Olmert evades taking responsibility, then it is incumbent upon Barak to stand by his word and dismantle the government."

Labor MK Eitan Cabel, who has been pushing his party to quit the government, said that the latest findings must not erase the impression of the earlier findings, which were very critical of the Prime Minister.

Cabinet Minister Ruhama Avraham-Belila (Kadima) said, "The members of the commission did their work well, and presented an accurate report of failings and faults that were found.  The opposition's attempt to find fault with the way the decisions were made received a resolute response in the words of Winograd.  The opposition must apologize to the public, the Prime Minister, and the bereaved families."

The Media
Media analysis was mixed as well: Army Radio commentators speculated that the report was a "softening" of the interim report, while Voice of Israel's broadcasters wasted no time in asserting that Olmert had passed the crisis and was vindicated by Winograd.

Arutz-7 bloggers Michael Freund and Yitzhak Klein both weighed in on the post-Winograd spins. Freund claims Olmert;s aides are grasping at straws to try to spin the report positively, while Klein doubts Shas or Labor will bring down the government and calls on citizens to obliterate all parties involved when the next elections finally arrive.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called on the world to come to terms with the demise of the “filthy” Jewish state.

Ahmadinejad made his latest statements in a speech given in the southern Iranian town of Bushehr, where Iran’s first light-water nuclear reactor is being built by Russia. The speech was broadcast live on Iran’s state-run television. He addressed world nations, advising them to "abandon the filthy Zionist entity which has reached the end of the line."

Seeming to search for various synonyms to remove doubt sown by apologists that question the translation of his call to erase Israel “off the map,” the Persian leader said: "[Israel] has lost its reason to exist and will sooner or later fall. The ones who still support the criminal Zionists should know that the occupiers' days are numbered…Accept that the life of the Zionists will sooner or later come to an end."
 
Ahmadinejad said that the “final chapter” has begun in which the Arabs of Israel, together with “regional nations” will confront Israel and bring about “Palestine.”

In the same speech, Ahmadinejad declared that nothing will stop his nation from pursuing nuclear capabilities. "[Iranians] will not back down one iota in defense of their rights," he said. "The nuclear issue was the most important challenge since the revolution but with the help of G-d and your resistance, it is ending in favor of the Iranian nation."

"I am addressing leaders of two or three powers,” Ahamdinejad said, who invited other nations to assist Iran in becoming a nuclear power. “Do you remember I sent you a message and told you to stop be stubborn? If you think that you can block the movement of the Iranian nation, you are wrong…If you will not come, this nation will build nuclear plants based on its own resources and when you come some four years later it will reject your request and not then give you any opportunity.”

Iranian Energy Commission chairman Kamal Daneshyar announced Wednesday that his nation plans to operate 20 nuclear facilities in the coming years.

Representatives of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are in Israel for a six-day visit this week in honor of fallen Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. On Thursday, the delegation will take part in a memorial service organized by the Ramon family.
The official visit marks five years since the death of Ramon and six fellow astronauts aboard the space shuttle Columbia.

The official visit marks five years since the death of Ramon and six fellow astronauts aboard the space shuttle Columbia. The spacecraft was damaged and burned up on re-entry into the atmosphere over Texas on February 1, 2003. All members of the crew were killed in the accident.

Colonel Ramon, a highly experienced IDF fighter pilot, was selected from among the air force's top soldiers to take part in the NASA shuttle mission. He was trained in the US for the flight and was designated a payload specialist.

In addition to Ilan Ramon's widow Rona, the NASA delegation included Lani and Cameron McCool, widow and son of William McCool, Jonathan Clark, widower of Laurel Clark, NASA astronauts Mike Lopez Alegria and Sunita William, NASA scientist Nagin Cox, and Gerhardt Thieli, a German astronaut and friend of Ilan Ramon.

During their visit to Israel, hosted by the Ministry of Science, Culture and Sport, the NASA delegation is participating in the Third International Space Congress in Herzliya. They will also attend Israeli high schools, research universities and leading scientific institutions. Among other cities, the NASA representatives will be going to the ORT school in Kiryat Yam, which has been officially designated as a “Science City.” NASA astronaut Alegria is scheduled to speak to ORT students about current space research.

The NASA visit was the initiative of World ORT, as part of its Forward Science project, and was arranged with the help of Rona Ramon and the Israeli government.

Israel is Ready to Send Another Astronaut
The guests from NASA took part in a special session of the Knesset Science and Technology Committee on Tuesday. Committee chairman MK Benny Elon (National Union) told the delegates that Israel is ready to send another astronaut into space.

Knesset Speaker MK Dalia Itzik met with the visiting group on Monday. Addressing the NASA representatives and the families of the fallen, Itzik said:

“I thank you all for your and your family's contribution to science, to humanity, to progress, and to the world. I am deeply sorry and pained for the tragedy that befell you and all of us due to the Columbia space shuttle tragedy. While our loss is still felt, the spirit of the Columbia Seven fuels our spirit of exploration. All of you here, representing different backgrounds and different countries, represent our future, and our ability to together reach new frontiers and the next frontier."

The NASA representatives are also scheduled to meet with President Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

An official of the United Nations was even-handedly “disturbed” by the level of religious freedom in Israel and the Palestinian Authority. A second UN official praised Arab states for ratifying a human rights document denigrating Zionism. And Canada was sufficiently convinced that the UN would fail to uproot anti-Semitism from the upcoming Durban Conference on Racism that it announced it would not take part.

United Nations Special Rappoteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Asma Jahangir, completed an eight-day visit
Jahangir only alluded to “problems of access to holy places revered by Jews.”
to Israel and the PA this week. In a statement delivered in Jerusalem on January 27, Jahangir said her time here was “ both fascinating and disturbing.” In formulating her report, soon to be released, she met with government officials, representatives of religious organizations, non-governmental organizations and individual worshipers.

Jahangir detailed measures taken by Israel to provide security, including the separation barrier in Judea and Samaria, and said they unjustifiably limit access to religious sites of Christians and Muslims. The “intrusive restrictions” imposed by Israel, she said, are “disproportionate to their aim as well as discriminatory and arbitrary in their implementation.” Without explicitly mentioning the danger to life and limb for Jews who would venture into PA areas for religious worship, Jahangir only alluded to “problems of access to holy places revered by Jews.”

Jahangir had praise for Israel's Supreme Court and said, “During my talks with members of religious minorities in Israel, my interlocutors have by and large acknowledged that there is no religious persecution by the State.” At the same time, she cited examples of what she claimed were specific practices of religious discrimination. She further expressed dismay that conversion, divorce and marriage in Israel is exclusively in the hands of Orthodox Jewish religious authorities.

Regarding the Palestinian Authority, Jahangir noted “serious tensions and in some cases violence” that ensues from conversion. “Some small Christian groups” and other religious minorities “fear a rising level of religious intolerance,” she said, but then gave an example of a Christian man murdered for his beliefs. She also cited Arab “honor killings carried out with impunity” and that “some women in Gaza have recently felt coerced to cover their heads not out of religious conviction but out of fear.”

In addition, “impunity for incitement is a concern,” Jahangir said. “Any violence committed in the name of religion, whether violent acts by zealous settlers or even worse in the form of suicide bombings by militant Islamists, should be denounced, investigated and sanctioned. Furthermore, it is particularly worrying when children are being incited to express hatred toward those with a different religious affiliation.”

Arab Charter on Human Rights Denigrates Zionism
UN Human Rights Commissioner Louise Arbour last week praised the ratification of an agreement called the Arab Charter on Human Rights. Arbour called it "an important step forward" in strengthening the protection of human rights in the Arab world. However, as noted by the UN Watch organization in a January 28 letter to the Human Rights Commissioner, the Arab League document "contains several provisions that promote classically anti-Semitic themes."

UN Watch, which is affiliated with the American Jewish Committee, quoted a clause in the Arab Charter on Human Rights "rejecting all forms of racism and Zionism, which constitute a violation of human rights and a threat to international peace and security." Another part of the charter, ratified by seven Arab states, calls for the elimination of the Jewish State, saying that "all forms of racism, Zionism and foreign occupation and domination constitute an impediment to human dignity.... All such practices must be condemned and efforts must be deployed for their elimination."

The letter from UN Watch said: "A text that equates Zionism with racism, describes it as a threat to world peace, as an enemy of human rights and human dignity, and then urges its elimination, is blatantly anti-Semitic. Even if the Arab Charter may contain other, constructive provisions, nothing can justify any endorsement of a text with such hateful language."

The Arab League originally adopted the Arab Charter on Human Rights in 1994, but it was never enforced as it was not ratified by the required seven member states. This month, it was officially approved by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Algeria, Syria, Libya, and the Palestinian Authority.

Canada: Next Durban Conference Will Be No Better
In a related development, Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier and the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity, Jason Kenney, issued a statement on January 23 in which they announced that their country would not be taking part in the UN's 2009 World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban, South Africa. The reason for their decision, they
The conference would again degenerate into a festival of anti-Semitism.
said, was the prospect that the conference would again degenerate into a festival of anti-Semitism, as occurred in 2001.

“Canada has a long and proud history of fighting racism, discrimination and intolerance in all its forms,” said Minister Bernier. “It was for this reason, and its promise of concerted global action against racism, that we participated in the 2001  in Durban, South Africa. Unfortunately, that conference degenerated into open and divisive expressions of intolerance and anti-Semitism that undermined the principles of the United Nations and the very goals the conference sought to achieve.

“Secretary of State Kenney and I had hoped that the preparatory process for the 2009 Durban Review Conference would remedy the mistakes of the past,” Bernier explained. “We have concluded that, despite our efforts, it will not. Canada will therefore not participate in the 2009 conference.”

“Canada will continue to focus its efforts on genuine anti-racism initiatives that make a difference,” added Kenney. “Our government’s decision to seek full membership on the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research demonstrates that we remain committed to the fight against racism and to the promotion of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law at home and around the world.”

The Ethiopian Jewish holiday of Sigd will soon become a national holiday. Preliminary legislation submitted by MK Uri Ariel (National Union) was approved Wednesday.

The proposal was supported by MKs from National Union, NRP, Shas and Likud, as well as Labor and Meretz.

The ramifications of adopting Sigd as a national holiday would be that the Education Ministry would teach about it in schools and employees would be given the option to take the day off, such as is currently the practice for days like Jerusalem Day and the holiday of Purim. The Prime Minister’s Office would also be assigned the responsibility of funding the yearly Sigt festivities in Jerusalem.

Sigd takes place on the 29th of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, exactly fifty days after Yom Kippur. The holiday is pronounced Sigd (one syllable), which means prostration in Amharic and shares its root with the word for temple. The ceremony resembles the one held for the renewal of the Divine covenant by Ezra the Scribe during the Second Commonwealth, described in the Book of Nechemia. "All the people gathered themselves together as one man into the broad place that was before the water gate; and they spoke unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel" (Nehemiah 8:1)

Prior to their immigration to Israel, the Beta Israel (meaning 'House of Israel') or Falasha (meaning ‘strangers,’ a term used by their non-Jewish neighbors in Africa) community would observe Sigd each year on mountaintops outside their villages. The Kessim, the community's rabbis and ritual leaders, would ascend the mountain, which was meant to represent Mount Sinai.

Upon the Aliyah (immigration to Israel) of Ethiopia’s Jews, the holiday has become both a celebration of returning to Zion and a longing for the rebuilding of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Ethiopian Jews gather from all across Israel at the Armon HaNetziv Promenade, overlooking the Temple Mount.

MK Ariel says he submitted the bill to share the beauty of the holiday with all of Israel, as well as to give the Ethiopian Jewish community the recognition it deserves. “The Ethiopian community has preserved customs dating back to the days of the Holy Temple and even Biblical times,” the bill states. “The acceptance of this holiday by the Knesset and the State of Israel will allow for the revival of an age-old tradition and the strengthening of the Ethiopian community's identification with and involvement in the Israeli community at large.”

The bill will next be voted upon by the Knesset’s Labor and Welfare Committee.

Click here for an Arutz Sheva photo feature on Sigd.

Kosher diners won’t have to bring their own food to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

A new kosher restaurant opened within the past year in the Chinese capital, catering to foreign Jewish residents, tourists, a handful of Muslims and even a few Chinese citizens.
   
Dini's Kosher Restaurant owner Lewis Sperber told the Associated Press this week that he might also set up a second restaurant in the northern section of Beijing, closer to the area in which the Olympic Games will be held.
 
"If people leave the Olympics and want a kosher meal, we could have a place for them," said Sperber. The Games are expected to draw some 55,000 tourists to the city, a potential bonanza for the new kosher start-up.
 
A growing number of Chinese food manufacturers have joined the kosher certification bandwagon due to international concerns over the safety of Chinese products.
 
 Recent contamination scares have significantly affected exports such as toothpaste, seafood and pet food. The financial impact of stores around the world pulling their products off the shelves has also made a dent in the credibility of other Chinese manufacturers as well.
 
As a result, a growing number of Asian food products factory owners seeking a way to boost the credibility of their safety standards have begun to seek kosher certification as the international standard in quality assurance.

Kosher certification involves a rigorous process in which rabbis experienced in the Jewish laws relating to food inspect the production facilities as well as the ingredients used in the manufacturing process.

According to the Mintel market research firm, 4,719 new kosher items made their debut in the US market in 2007. The data underscores figures showing that showed kosher food sales rose by an estimated 15 percent per year over the past decade. 

US News and World Report weekly magazine quoted Mintel senior research analyst Marcia Mogelonsky, who agreed that consumers view kosher certification as the gold standard in quality assurance.

“It’s the belief among all consumers that kosher food is safer, a critical thing right now with worries about the integrity of the food supply,” said Mogelonsky.