A Kosherific Up"date"

If you read this you know that my mom was outraged to see a COR designation on a package of Iranian dates. The latest is that she contacted the Kashruth Council, the folks who give products the kosher thumbs up. When she got home the other day, there was a message on her phone not from the head Rabbi, whom she left a message for, but from one of his underlings. His message informed her that the Kashruth Council is above all matters of politics, and thus has no problem deeming things from Iran kosher provided they meet the Council's stringent requirements.

Let me rephrase that: the Toronto-based kosher police believe they have the luxury of ignoring the "politics" of Iran's genocidal plans for the Jewish state. Given that, one wonders if they would have signed off on products from Germany during Hitler's times, so long as they fulfilled "kosher" standards.

As my mother--who is now even more outraged--said to me when she filled me in on the latest: "Where's the morality in that"?

The label on the dates is "Parnoosh." At the Fortinos supermarket when my mom shops there were signs to indicate the origin of two other date brands, one from Tunisia and one from Algeria, but no sign above the Parnoosh dates; obviously, someone at Fortinos realizes that their provenance isn't likely to be a selling point, especially when more than a few customers at this location (which has an extensive kosher section) are Jewish.