In protest of the Chief Rabbinate's policy regarding the "shmita" or sabbatical agricultural year, the chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee has threatened to establish a separate authority to grant kashrut certification for produce.

"If the Chief Rabbinate does not get its act together in the near future, the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee will advance the establishment of an alternative kashrut authority in Israel, which will provide fitting solutions for the general public," committee chairman Menachem Ben Sasson (Kadima) said.

According to religious Jewish law, land must lie fallow every seven years - the shmita year - to allow it to rest. Jews worldwide may eat fruit and vegetables from Israel during the sabbatical year only if they were grown on land owned by non-Jews.