Kosher meat. Photo: Marecheth Ho'eElohuth.

Reuters – Israel criticized on Monday the extension of Poland’s ban on kosher meat production, saying it damaged efforts to rehabilitate Jewish life in a country whose large Jewish community was all but wiped out in the Holocaust. Citing animal cruelty, Warsaw lawmakers on Friday rejected a government-backed bill that would have allowed slaughterhouses to produce meat in accordance with Jewish ritual law. The practice was halted last year by a constitutional court ruling.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it was disappointed by the parliamentary vote, which it called “totally unacceptable”. “Poland’s history is intertwined with the history of the Jewish people. This decision seriously harms the process of restoring Jewish life in Poland,” it said in a statement. “We call on the parliament to reassess its decision and expect the relevant authorities to find the way to prevent a crude blow to the religious tradition of the Jewish people.”

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