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Comments (0)Israel’s chief rabbi has banned the sale of non-koshered meat to Israeli supermarket chains.
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger ordered the halt this week in the importers’ sale of meat that has not been koshered—salted and soaked to remove all blood. Sale of the non-kosher meat had been permitted to reduce the costs for non-Jewish consumers, according to Ynet.
The halt reportedly was ordered after Metzger learned that the non-koshered meat was being purchased and consumed by Jews looking for less expensive meat or those who did not realize that the meat had not been koshered.
The importing of the non-koshered meat has not been banned.
Visit by NBA Players Pumps up Peres’ Office
Ten past and present NBA players visited Israeli President Shimon Peres at his Jerusalem office.
Wednesday’s visit by the hoopsters, under the auspices of the America Israel Public Affairs Committee, generated much excitement in the halls of the President’s Residence, with staff members vying to take photos with the players.
“We’re here to stand in support of Israel,” Allan Houston, a former star with the New York Knicks and now in the team’s front office, told Peres.
Omri Casspi of the Sacramento Kings, the first Israeli to play in the National Basketball Association, was part of the delegation.
AIPAC brought the players to Israel to educate them about the U.S.-Israel relationship, since they are influential with the American public, an AIPAC official told the Jerusalem Post.
Peres was given a basketball autographed by all the players as well as an official game jersey. Peres passed the ball to his aides, who passed it among themselves after the presentation.
Other delegation members included Jerome Williams, David Wood and Dwight Howard Sr., the father of Orlando Magic All-Star Dwight Howard, as well as Memphis Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace.
The players will conduct a basketball workshop and training session for teens on Saturday under the auspices of SportsPower International, a nonprofit organization that uses current and former NBA players as role models to make a positive impact on international youth. Later that day, the Maccabi Haifa professional basketball team will scrimmage against a team of former NBA All-Stars.
Abbas, Netanyahu to Meet Every Two Weeks
Israeli and Palestinian leaders will meet every two weeks to advance peace talks.
George Mitchell, the senior U.S. envoy to the region, said the sides agreed to meet in the region Sept. 14-15, the first concrete outcome of renewed talks launched Thursday in Washington.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met first with Mitchell and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before moving into face-to-face talks.
In the first stage, Mitchell said, the sides would work toward a framework agreement ahead of a comprehensive agreement, which the United States wants to see within a year.
“The parties themselves agreed that the logical way to succeed, to tackle them, is to reach a framework agreement first,” Mitchell said.
“It is less than a full-fledged treaty. Its purpose is to establish the compromises necessary to enable an agreement and to flesh out the issues.”
Netanyahu has suggested that he does not want to make substantial concessions until an agreement is in place and security mechanisms exist that protect Israel from rocket attacks and terrorism.
Working on a framework agreement first would allow Netanyahu the room to postpone territorial concessions.