Please take note. The company under accusation below does not sell Tzitzit with Tekhelet/Techeiles. They just sell Tzitzit garments with white strings. For some reason they have chosen the name Mishkan Techeiles which does not accurately describe the product they are selling.
Class Action Suit: Non-Jewish
Prisoners Tying Tzitzis Which Are
Portrayed As Tied By Avreichim
https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/1330634/class-action-suit-non-jewish-prisoners-tying-tzitzis-portrayed-tied-avreichim.html
It is entirely possible that you have pasul tzitzis; A class action lawsuit for a huge sum was filed against the world’s largest tzitzis factory on the grounds of misleading the consumer in the lawsuit: “This is a gross and grave mistake.” A chareidi prisoner found the fraud. The owner’s response to Bechadrei Chareidim: “There is no tallit that leaves the factory without a hechsher for the tying of tzitzis”.The lawsuit was filed last week in the amount of 100 million shekels against ‘Mishkan Techeiles’ on the grounds of misleading the consumer. On the other hand, the company’s CEO tells Bechadrei Chareidim media there is no deception, and everything is done as per halacha.
The lawsuit claims ‘Mishkan Techeiles’, the largest tzitzis and tallis company in the world, claims to be mehadrin as all its tzitzis and tying are done by “avreichim Yiras Shomayim”. In addition, the lawsuit cites that Shulchan Aruch pasuls tzitzis tied by a non-Jew. Millions of Jews worldwide use Mishkan Techeiles tzitzis daily, relying on its claim, never thinking for a moment that the tying of the tzitzis is actually done by goyim.
“This is a gross, gross, dishonest, and immoral misrepresentation of all consumers who bought the tallitot and tzitzis produced and marketed by the respondent,” wrote a petition filed in the Tel Aviv District Court by attorney Yochi Geva on behalf of Yom Tov Cohen.
The petitioner is a chareidi man who over the years has served a prison term. He says he was shocked to discover that the “Mishkan Techeiles” company uses many non-Jewish prisoners to tie the tzitzis, “in fact hiding it from its customers.” The petition also included an affidavit by Jiyad Abdalla, a prisoner who used to do the tzitzis and an affidavit by Abd al-Rahman as well.
The plaintiff requested the court to approve the claim as a class action and to award compensation in the amount of 100 million shekels or another figure which the court will determine.
On Monday (the eve of Tisha B’Av), the court sent the statement of claim to the Mishkan Techeiles company, which must respond within 90 days. A pre-trial hearing was held before Judge Yechezkel Keiner in February 2018.
Shlomo Avrahami, the founder of the “Mishkan Techeiles” factory, responds to the grave claims and says unequivocally that “there is no tallis that leaves the factory – without a hechsher.” In a conversation with Bechadrei Haredim, Shlomo says that “this claim is fundamentally baseless, and all our tzitzis are tied under different hechsherim including Eida Chareidis, Beis Yosef, Rav Wosner, Rabbanut Tel Aviv, and Rabbi Aryeh Levine is responsible for the kashrus and nothing leaves the factory for sale without a hechsher”.
He acknowledges that prisoners are used as is the case with other tzitzis companies, but they in no way are involved in tying, but rather packaging. He insists the company will prove this in court.
Since the above accusation has not yet been proven, we shouldn’t assume the crime happened but I personally believe it is worthwhile to be suspicious that it might have happened. That is to say, if you know how to tie Tzitzit in accordance with halacha and you have Tzitzit that might have been tied by a Gentile, than take out the Tzitzit from the garment and have them tied in accordance with halacha, by yourself. Of course, I am not issuing any halachic ruling here.
Full disclosure: I personally have to tie my Tzitzit anyway because I use Tekhelet prepared by http://tekhelet.com/ and I need to tie the strings on my own to get what I believe to be the best halachic result. Therefore it is no particular bother to me, to ask people to learn how to tie their Tzitzit and tie them.
So I asked a rabbi who only uses white strings for his Tzitzit if it is a good idea to publicize that it might be good to tie Tzitzit on your own and not rely on companies that have an economic incentive to use questionable tying methods. He said it is a good idea to publicize that it is better to tie your own Tzitzit.
Leave a Reply