How to serve kosher eating to prisoners
Ultra-orthodox Jewish men share a candle light diner to celebrate the Jewish ritual of "Sheva Brachot" (the seven blessings), also known as the wedding blessings. Photo AFP, Menahem Kahana
Northern Europe
Two Jewish inmates struggled with keeping their food laws in Norwegian prisons. Now, the Equality and Discrimination Ombudsman takes over their battle.
Two Jews who were imprisoned in Norway went hungry because, they claimed, they could not get kosher food. One of them told Vart Land that he lived on canned tuna, crisps, bread and fruit for a long time because warm meals could not be prepared in line with the Mosaic food laws as found in the Torah.
Kosher food includes meat from animals with cloven hooves and chew cud. Animals must be ritually slaughtered to be kosher. Meat and milk may not be mixed and must be prepared with different utensils in the kitchen.
Even though the prisoners have returned to Israel after completing their sentences, their dispute with the Norwegian prison system is not over yet, Vart Land writes. Now, the Equality and Discrimination Ombudsman seeks clarity on whether refusing to provide kosher food breaches the discrimination law. He will send a complaint to the Discrimination Board on behalf of the two inmates. “We are working on a complaint, and it will most likely be submitted before Christmas”, Ingvild Baltzersen Sund, senior advisor of the Ombudsman, confirmed.
Exercise
The Ombudsman explained that the complaint would be filed because of several reasons. First, he points out that the matter is very serious for the two people concerned. Secondly, he emphasises that this issue has to do with the exercise of religion during sentencing, which may apply to several groups of inmates.
However, the Correctional Service and Justice Minister Emilie Mehl do not agree with the complaint. They point out that they did enough to ensure that the two inmates could comply with the kosher laws in prison, Dagen reports. For example, the inmates received their own kitchen utensils so they could prepare their own meals. In addition, they received boxes with food they had approved. In addition, the inmates could buy more food at the prison supermarket.
However, the Jewish men did not think this treatment sufficed, and their families even offered to pay for special catering, which the prison refused.
The two men had been imprisoned for defrauding an Italian oil company in Norway.
Related Articles
