Alternative Kosher

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Alternative Kosher refers to a trend in Israel, especially Jerusalem, where some restaurants skip the traditional kosher certification from the Chief Rabbinate and instead use private, non-establishment certification bodies.

For years the Rabbinate had a monopoly on kosher certification, and many eateries felt the fees were high and the rules too strict. In 2012, a Jerusalem restaurant owner resisted new Rabbinate requirements, and a diner posted a sign about the issue on Facebook, helping spark a movement. A Facebook group formed for restaurants that call themselves "Kosher with No Certification."

Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz and the Sulam Yaakov yeshiva started a project called Hashgacha Pratit (Private Supervision) to promote a new, private model of kashrut.

A petition argued that the so-called Kosher Fraud Law prevented private certificates from being shown to customers. The Israeli Attorney General ruled that restaurant owners could display private kashrut certificates even though they aren’t issued by the Rabbinate. However, these certificates cannot be described as "Kosher"—they must be labeled as an alternative kashrut certificate.