28 | MARCH 12 • 2020
Jews in the D
continued from page 26
Attorney General’
s office
had learned about Kosher
Michigan during the legal
proceedings and suggested
MDOC contract with it.
“
After receiving notice,
plaintiffs have an opportunity
to inspect the kitchens with
their own expert. Instead of
coming out to inspect the
kitchens, plaintiffs’
counsel
filed a motion to enforce the
settlement agreement,” Gautz
said.
But Manville argued in the
motion that kosher certifica-
tion from a Conservative rabbi
does not comply with the set-
tlement agreement because the
plaintiffs are Orthodox Jews.
Manville is asking the court
to issue an order that “certi-
fication from a Conservative
rabbi will not accommodate
plaintiffs’
sincere, Orthodox
Jewish beliefs and continues to
impose a substantial burden
on their beliefs.”
Manville argues that the
plaintiffs’
Orthodox beliefs rely
exclusively on the Shulchan
Aruch (Code of Jewish Law)
and require a qualified mash-
giach tmidi (continuous kosher
supervisor) during kosher-sen-
sitive production, rather than
the Magen Tzedek protocols
established by prominent lead-
ers of Conservative Judaism.
Kosher Michigan follows
Magen Tzedek in its certifica-
tion process, according to its
website.
Miller objected to Manville’
s
argument.
“The claim that a non-Or-
thodox rabbi cannot establish
a facility or product as cer-
tified kosher is completely
unfounded in Jewish law and
is used as an unfair business
practice to maintain a monop-
oly in the kosher-certification
industry by a handful of estab-
lished kosher-certification
agencies,” Miller told the JN.
He declined further comment
due to the pending litigation.
(Miller is also a JN contribu-
tor.)
MDOC maintains it has
held up its end of the settle-
ment. “The word ‘
Orthodox’
does not appear anywhere in
the document and was not
negotiated by the parties,”
Gautz said.
But Manville said that
when he received notice from
MDOC that several of its
facilities had been certified by
Kosher Michigan, the plain-
tiffs’
expert, an Orthodox
rabbi, said it would be futile to
inspect a kitchen that had not
been certified by an Orthodox
rabbi.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
A hearing on the motion will
be scheduled later this month,
after MDOC has had a chance
to respond and the plaintiffs’
attorney gets the chance to
counter their response.
Manville wrote in the
motion that he realizes
on-site supervision would be
a daunting (and expensive)
task for Michigan’
s prisons.
But he believes the problem
could easily be solved with
pre-packaged kosher meals.
He said he’
s willing to provide
MDOC with a list of potential
Orthodox food providers.
“But if [MDOC] insists on
certifying its kitchens, it must
do so to Orthodox standards,”
he wrote.
MDOC has until March 28
to appeal the court’
s decision
that Jewish prisoners should
be provided meat and dairy
kosher meals, Manville added.
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