Attorneys for Gourmet Glatt and the Vaad Hakashrus of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway are negotiating to find a resolution to the crisis that left the supermarket without its Vaad certification and many shoppers without their favorite store. The discussions could be impacted by a published comment by a Gourmet Glatt attorney that seemed to validate complaints voiced by members of the Vaad — namely, that Mark Bolender, one of the owners of Gourmet Glatt, was not inclined to cooperate with the kosher supervisors. Martin Cohen, an attorney from Atlantic Beach, told The Jewish Press that Bolender “felt that the Vaad was adding and changing things that were considered OK for all the previous years.” “There was never an issue of kashrus in the store … it was and remains kosher,” Cohen said.

The removal of the Vaad’s hashgacha has had a dramatic impact on traffic in Gourmet Glatt, which has hurt not only the Bolenders, but the owners of two businesses which have space in the store, providing fish and fresh baked goods. “The Bolenders feel terrible that the situation is hurting the owners of Ossie’s Fish and Korn’s,” Cohen said. “They feel terrible about the loss of money that these people are going through and wish that something can be done quickly to prevent further diminution of their livelihood.”

Once again it’s easy to see from hundreds of miles away that the Star proves it is a hack paper, instead of telling only one side of the story; it should be encouraging the VAAD to tell the truth out in the open

Ain confirms that the Five Towns Vaad has told Gourmet Glatt Emporium that it would resume supervision of the kosher supermarket if the owners brought in a partner it could approve.

And the best part about it is that someone representing the Vaad actually spoke out in the open instead of using the rumor method that they have been practicing over the last few weeks:

“The only way the Vaad will physically supervise the premises wherein Gourmet Glatt is located is if it will have a partner it will trust, [thereby] ensuring kashrut to the Five Towns community,” said Franklyn Snitow, the Vaad’s lawyer.

In the meantime, the once-bustling store is largely empty as area rabbis who make up the Vaad counsel against shopping there — and two other area kosher supermarkets appear to have benefited.

Mark Bolender, a partner in the store, said at the time that the owners acted after the Vaad threatened to pull their supervisors on Feb. 1 unless they sold their store. He attributed the threat to a “personality” conflict.

But Snitow suggested otherwise when asked about an article last week that quoted a family representative as complaining about the “Vaad’s growing stringencies” that Bolender considered unnecessary.

Hey Rabbis which stringencies? Maybe it will help your community trust you more if you explained…and as Rabbis not behind the cloak of an attorny. At the very least it is an opportunity to teach more about Kasrut. How bout it Rabbis? The Talmud is an open document, why isn’t the reason for this ruling made public. Or is there something you are trying to hide?

Some of those shopping at his store recently declined to give their names to a reporter who stopped them to ask about the controversy. But they all appeared indignant about the Vaad’s decision.

“How could the Vaad force them to sell?” said one elderly woman. “They just renovated this store and they are honest. Of course I trust them. My husband was a rabbi and I’ve been shopping here 14 years. … I just feel so badly for them.”

Another person who refused to give his name said simply, “Maybe because the store is bigger they thought they could get more money from him.”

“The ayatollah has come,” another woman said sarcastically as she pushed a basket full of groceries and several rib roasts. “I’m here today just because of this controversy.”

Lenny Koegel of Oceanside said it might have been simply that “the rabbis were insulted” that another kosher supervisor was hired. “The food here is kosher,” he said. “[The conflict is] going to leave a bad taste in the mouths of the more modern people in this community.”

Hey Lenny if I didn’t live a few hundred miles away…I would join you! The Best Comment in Ain’s story was:

“It goes to the sociology and economy of this community and of how you practice your Judaism,” she said. “Integrity is just not about whether you shortchange people, it’s about how you treat people. … It’s an embarrassment to the community because it’s Jew against Jew.”

Do you hear that Vaad Rabbis ! It is an embarrasment to your community, you take away someone’s livelyhood,a family that has been part of the community for 40+ years, you do it in a public manner and you won’t tell your community why!

Rabbi Yosef Eisen, the director of the Five Towns Vaad, related through an intermediary that he has been instructed by his directors not to speak to or answer questions from the press and was therefore not available for comment. Rabbi Aryeh Z. Ginzberg, the rav of Chofetz Chaim Torah Center (and a contributing editor for the Five Towns Jewish Times) and a prominent activist member of the Vaad responded to the question as to whether under any circumstances there could be talks between the Vaad and Gourmet Glatt, saying: “There was much discussion amongst the rabbis in an attempt to avoid this situation, but previous suggestions made to Gourmet Glatt over an extended period of time were all turned aside by Gourmet Glatt.” He added that at some of the meetings as many as 50 community rabbis participated, and that the current policy enjoys the full support of the rabbis in the community.

It gets worse…at one point the article says:

Some of the rabbis involved in the Vaad, who have not been authorized to comment on behalf of the Vaad, have told the 5TJT that there is a file of violations

The story goes on to give some teases about what is in those files. Which I won’t repeat and give more creadence to this Loshen Hora.

Oh my…. Now We are Passing RUMORS !!!! G-d forbid we find out it was passed along as reported , BY RABBIs.

Either the Vaad Rabbis (who are supposed to be teaching against Loshen Hora) or the Five Town Jewish News (or maybe both) have just added Loshen Hora to the Gourmet Glatt controversy. If the 5TJT report is true, and some of Vaad Rabbis (who are also pulpit Rabbis in the community) are fueling rumors about the case, I would urge them to look into to their hearts. They should ask themselves what they would tell one of their congregants who was rumor mongering.

If that report is false, then they should be telling their congregants to avoid the Five Towns Jewish News as a source of Loshen Hora.

Stew Ain of the Jewish Week does an admirable job of of updating the story. Below are some snippits but I urge you to read the entire article.

Five Town Kosher Showdown Intensifies

Vaad pulls supervision from Gourmet Glatt; community seen split.

Stewart Ain – Staff Writer The controversy over Gourmet Glatt Emporium, a popular kosher supermarket in Cedarhurst, grew this week with the decision of the Vaad Hakashrus of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway to withdraw its kosher supervision of the store one hour before the start of the Sabbath last Friday. …… “I feel totally drained from this fiasco,” said Mark Bolender, a partner in the supermarket. “I gave my life and soul to this community and I hope the community does not turn its back on me.”…… “There were no kashrut issues whatsoever,” he said. But in a “message to the community,” the Vaad said it acted after Gourmet Glatt hired the second kosher supervisor, Rabbi Yehuda Kravitz, in “violation of its contract and policies with the Vaad.” In addition, it said Gourmet Glatt had “serious halachic and contractual violations over time” and that it was unable to get the owners to correct them……

My Favorite Part A number of Internet blogs, or online personal journals, on the controversy were critical of the Vaad, with one saying that though the Vaad must be supported and every eatery held to the same standards, the Vaad “is being somewhat vague — perhaps suspiciously vague — on the actual reasoning behind their decision. … They’re careening toward a vote of no confidence if they don’t start discussing why they did what they did. And of Course the soure of the problem Five calls to the Vaad’s office Tuesday were not returned And an outside Rabbi weighs in Rabbi Harry Cohen, an administrator of a different kosher supervisory agency that is not connected to this dispute, said that although Rabbi Kravitz should have sought permission from the Vaad before agreeing to provide kosher supervision, he disagreed with the actions of the Vaad’ “Where do these rabbis come off forcing him to sell?”

Read the whole story here

The Vaad Hakashrus hereby notifies the community that we have terminated our kashruth supervision of Gourmet Glatt. This action was effective as of 4:00 pm on Friday, October 27th, 2006. A unanimous decision was made after the review and confirmation of serious halachic and contractual violations over time. The Vaad had attempted, on numerous occasions, to persuade Gourmet Glatt to rectify these situations but violations continued to occur. The Vaad bears the responsibility of maintaining the highest standard of kashruth. Our Vaad has achieved a reputable standing for its kashruth standards, integrity and reliability. To allow any lowering of these standards would be an abrogation of rabbinic duties and responsibilities.

It should be self evident that such a decision was not taken lightly. We recognize the effect upon the livelihoods of many people but as a Vaad Hakashruth we are primarily charged with the stewardship and maintenance of the highest standards of communal kashruth. After exploring many alternative avenues and solutions over an extended period of time, the Vaad has reluctantly taken the final step of removing its supervision and imprimatur.

Gourmet Glatt’s acquisition of a second Hashgacha, in addition to being a violation of its contract and policies with the Vaad, is an affront to the unity of our community. When there is one universally recognized and accepted Hashgacha in a community, the kashruth standards are clear to all. When one local store takes on multiple hashgachot on their premises, then there is a threat to the uniform standards we have all worked so hard to achieve.

We hope and pray to Hashem that we will all come together as one for the sake of Heaven and for the sake of our wonderful community.

A local story a couple of hundred miles away in suburban NY has caught my attention. It is story of one Kosher Supermarket vs. the local Vaad. Maybe because it has a David vs. Goliath feel but this tale has intrigued me ever since I first saw it on Orthomom’s blog about a week ago.

Apparently, what set the whole thing off, was a mislabeled chicken in the Gourmet Glat Store in Cedarhurst NY (the proprietor has flippantly called it chickengate). The Vaad claims a chicken was mistakenly tagged as a more expensive brand, the proprietor claims that the chicken wasn’t purchased at the store. The Vaad decided that the proprietor should sell his store by February or loose his Hecsher. The storeowner responded by bringing in a second Hechser, and upping the number of masgiachs in the store from 3 to 5.

In the last two weeks there has been tons of comments on websites and stories in the local press such as the Jewish Week. It seems that the story has begun to split the community. Because the Vaad has not explained its decision, many local residents have questioned the decision to close the store, just as many supported it. And it has gotten nasty. I have even seen posts from local Rabbis telling readers that they have no right to question the Vaad. (Sorry but if Abraham could question G-d, certainly the Vaad can be questioned). If you go to Orthomom’s blog or Krumsabagels blog you will see Loshen Hora on both sides of the issue, that brings out the worst in the Jewish community.

The most recent blow occurred this past Friday. In an attempt to silence the community, one hour before Shabbat, NY time, the Five towns Vaad removed their certification. In was a brilliant move the way they did it. It was a Machiavellian move, reminiscent of the when Irsay moved the Colts out of Baltimore secretly in the middle of the night. By making the announcement just before Shabbos, it gave free reign to the local Rabbis to announce the decision on Shabbos morning, without any interference from of the locals who might have questioned the decision. Local blogs such as the ones above and Kosher Nexus ,Still Wonderin’, and Minor Fast Days have all questioned how the Vaad had gone about making ther decision.

Judging from the way it was announced, the removal had nothing to do with Kasrut they told residents they could use the food already purchased and didn’t have to re-kasher their plates.

We are left with this—-a store that will probably speed down the road to chapter 11, and a Vaad whose decision may be entirely legitimate, but whose methods have called into question their authority. Let me say this before I go on, Yes I keep kosher, I believe that the Vaad system we have is the only way I can comfortably go about my food shopping. I also believe that there is less than a one in a million chance of having a disreputable Vaad. But in some cases the appearance of wrongdoing is just as bad as wrongdoing. The way the Vaad has acted during this affair has called into question whether they are being honest. While I believe they truly feel that they are doing the right thing confidence in them must be restored, Isn’t it time for an outside, totally neutral rabbinical court to be brought in, to restore calm and rebuild faith in the Vaad?

The Vaad Response: Still Saying Nothing first saying it was halachic and contractual violations and then talks about Kashrut. The contractual violation was the second Hecksher..they work hard in the letter to say a lot and nothing at the same time.

The Text of the VAAD Letter

The Vaad Hakashrus hereby notifies the community that we have terminated our kashruth supervision of Gourmet Glatt. This action was effective as of 4:00 pm on Friday, October 27th, 2006. A unanimous decision was made after the review and confirmation of serious halachic and contractual violations over time. The Vaad had attempted, on numerous occasions, to persuade Gourmet Glatt to rectify these situations but violations continued to occur. The Vaad bears the responsibility of maintaining the highest standard of kashruth. Our Vaad has achieved a reputable standing for its kashruth standards, integrity and reliability. To allow any lowering of these standards would be an abrogation of rabbinic duties and responsibilities.

It should be self evident that such a decision was not taken lightly. We recognize the effect upon the livelihoods of many people but as a Vaad Hakashruth we are primarily charged with the stewardship and maintenance of the highest standards of communal kashruth. After exploring many alternative avenues and solutions over an extended period of time, the Vaad has reluctantly taken the final step of removing its supervision and imprimatur.

Gourmet Glatt’s acquisition of a second Hashgacha, in addition to being a violation of its contract and policies with the Vaad, is an affront to the unity of our community. When there is one universally recognized and accepted Hashgacha in a community, the kashruth standards are clear to all. When one local store takes on multiple hashgachot on their premises, then there is a threat to the uniform standards we have all worked so hard to achieve.

We hope and pray to Hashem that we will all come together as one for the sake of Heaven and for the sake of our wonderful community.