High Court of Justice Upholds Ban on Shochtim Working After Age 80

Why the Dispute Arose

In 2024, the Chief Rabbinate’s Overseas Slaughter Committee limited the age of shochtim working abroad to 80. Subsequently, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, who also serves as president of the Chief Rabbinate Council, ruled that the head of a slaughter team who is over 80 cannot continue in his position because the Rabbinate cannot guarantee the kosher status of meat produced under his supervision. The Council extended the ban to all positions on slaughter teams, both in Israel and abroad, and refused to establish exceptions.

The Parties’ Arguments

The petitioners argued that the decision discriminates against them on the basis of age and severely infringes the rights to freedom of occupation, property, dignity and equality. They also argued that each shochet’s physical and professional abilities were not assessed individually and that they were not granted a hearing. The Chief Rabbinate countered that the work requires considerable physical and mental effort, and that the age limit falls within its professional and halakhic authority to supervise kosher certification.

The Court’s Ruling

Justice Alex Stein, whose conclusions were joined by Justices Khaled Kabub and Yechiel Kasher, found no grounds for judicial intervention. He held that the Chief Rabbinate has very broad professional-halakhic discretion in matters of food kashrut. In this case, the age distinction was recognized as relevant to the ability to perform the work, given its nature, and therefore there is no violation of the principle of equality and no prohibited discrimination.

Freedom of Occupation and Legal Costs

The Court viewed the restriction as narrow and specific, and the impairment of the ability to practice the profession as negligible and not rising to the level of a constitutional infringement of freedom of occupation. The petitions were dismissed. However, the justices decided not to order the petitioners to pay legal costs and noted their many years of service.

Latest legal news

• Court finds no reasonable suspicion linking Bedouins to theft
• Supreme Court bars Jerusalem funding of private events without tenders
• High Court deletes civil rights petition following its withdrawal
• Court refuses to extend groom’s detention, citing no reasonable suspicion