JEWISH GROUP SUPPORTS ISRAELI KNESSET
BILL TO PROHIBIT FUR INDUSTRY IN
For Immediate Release:
March 24, 2009
Contact:
Richard H. Schwartz, President of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America
(JVNA)
President@JewishVeg.com
Phone: (718) 761-5876 Cell: 917-576-0344
Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) issued the following statement
today:
We strongly endorse the efforts of the International Anti-Fur Coalition (their
statement is below) to support the new Knesset bill (posted at the end of this
message) to prohibit the fur industry in Israel.
“Passage of this bill would be a Kiddush Hashem
(sanctification of God's Name),” stated JVNA president Richard Schwartz, “in
showing the applicability of Judaism's strong messages on compassion for
animals, and would be a valuable example to other countries to also end abuses
of animals.”
Jewish teachings that can be used to argue that Jews should not wear fur can be
found at the end of the Knesset bill below and in the JVNA article “Is Fur a
Jewish Issue?” in the section on animals at www.JewishVeg.com/schwartz.
JVNA is a group that argues that the production and consumption of animal
products violate basic Jewish mandates to preserve human health, treat animals
with compassion, protect the environment, conserve natural resources, help
hungry people and pursue peace.
JVNA urges rabbis and other Jewish leaders to increase awareness that a major
shift toward plant-based diets is essential to avoid the unparalleled disaster
that the world is rapidly approaching and to help move our precious, but
imperiled, planet to a sustainable path.
JVNA would very much welcome respectful dialogues/debates with rabbis and other
Jewish leaders on “Should Jews be Vegetarians?” Such discussions would also
constitute a kiddush Hashem because it would show the applicability of eternal
Jewish teachings to dietary issues.
Further information about these issues can be found at the JVNA web site
www.JewishVeg.com. We will provide complimentary copies of its new documentary
A SACRED DUTY: APPLYING JEWISH VALUES TO HELP HEAL THE WORLD to rabbis and
other Jewish leaders who will contact us (president@JewishVeg.com) and indicate how they might use
them to involve their congregations on the issues. The entire movie can be seen
and further information about it can be found at ASacredDuty.com.
=========================
STATEMENT BY THE INTERNATIONAL ANTI-FUR COALITION
INTERNATIONAL ANTI-FUR COALITION WELCOMES A NEW BILL TO PROHIBIT THE FUR
INDUSTRY IN ISRAEL
Israel - Israel creates a precedent by submitting the world's first
nationwide bill “Prohibiting the Industry of Fur”. Knesset member Nitzan Horowitz proposed on March, 18th 2009 a bill to
prohibit the fur industry in its entirety, including all importation,
production and all sales in Israel; illuminating that his intention is
"not to lend a hand to this cruelty towards animals.”
In light of this bill,
The" International Anti-Fur Coalition"thanks
MK Nitzan Horowitz for his proposal and calls on all MKs to support
this bill:said Jane Halevy,
Director of the 'International Anti-Fur Coalition'. "We hope that
Last month, a report on
Each year millions of animals are brutally killed for their fur throughout the
world. Animals live in tiny cages made only of wire, before being gassed,
electrocuted or even skinned alive! Footage shows that some of them fight
against death for up to 10 minutes in total anguish after being skinned alive!
About the International Anti-Fur Coalition
The International Anti-Fur Coalition is a collective of more than 50
organizations from around the world that fight against the fur industry. This
coalition, created in 2006, organizes on a regular basis international days of
action against the fur industry.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.antifurcoalition.org
Contact: info@antifurcoalition.org
Jane Halevy
International Anti-Fur Coalition
http://www.antifurcoalition.org
-------------------------------------------------------
THE KNESSET BILL
The 18th Knesset
A private bill by Member of Knesset: Nitzan Horovitz
Fur Industry Prohibition, 5769-2009
Definitions
1. In this law-
"Fur" - the body
cover of a mammal, which was skinned from it for the purpose of producing fur
products
"Fur Products" - any item which is made, predominantly
or partly, of fur, for the purpose of being worn or for any other purpose
"Artificial Fur" - a product similar to fur in its
properties or looks, yet which isn't made of fur, but of exclusively synthetic
materials
"Research" -
ecological, zoological or biological research only, and which is conducted by a
research institution, and not for profit
"Research
Institution" - a scientific, research-based, medical, educational or
higher-education institution where ecological, zoological or biological
research is being conducted
"The Commissioner"
- as defined in the Animal Welfare Law (Protection of Animals) 5754-1994
"The Minister" -
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor
Aims 2. The purpose of this law
is to prohibit the production of, and industry in, fur and
fur products in
Prohibition on fur manufacturing and trade
3. (a) No one in Israel is permitted to rear animals with the purpose of
producing fur products
(b) No one in Israel is
permitted to produce fur products
(c) No one in Israel is
permitted to trade in fur products
(d) Should anyone trade
in artificial furs - he must be in possession of a lab certificate proving it
is not made of real fur
(e) Such certificates as
mentioned in clause 3(d) will be kept for any artificial fur product line in
the trader's possession
Prohibition on imports
4. No one is permitted to import fur or fur products
from foreign countries
Scientific research exception
5. (a) The Commissioner may grant permits to trade in fur for research
purposes
(b)
Any such permit will be given to a research institution, on
an individual basis for a specific research project, and said permit will be
valid for one year only from the day it was granted. The Commissioner will grant the individual permit only after he is
convinced that the requestor keeps in his possession the minimal number of furs
required for said research. Any renewals of the permit the
following year will be subject these same conditions.
(c)
Once the research was concluded, or once the permit allowing
its continuation was revoked, the fur items will be taken for safe keeping in
the State of Israel's national natural history collections
Punishment 6. (a)
Any person found in breach of the provisions of this law is
liable to one-year imprisonment or to the fine prescribed in section 61(a)(2)
of the Penal Law
(b)
Any business trading in fur or fur products will be closed
and its merchandise confiscated
(c)
Any and all furs and fur products confiscated according to
clause 6(b) above will be destroyed
Explanations
The fur industry is a cruel one, which inflicts terrible and unnecessary
suffering on many mammals in order to provide luxuries aimed at only a very
small section of the population. It is estimated that
75 million animals are skinned alive annually for this industry.
On fur farms around the world many animals are reared in
terrible conditions, including dogs, cats, minks, foxes, rabbits, chinchillas
and others. Once they reach the right size, these
animals are killed for their fur. In order not to hurt
the raw material, in many cases the animal is electrocuted, gassed, or even
skinned alive.
Other furs come from wild animals hunted specifically for
that purpose. One good example is the seal pups, half
a million of which are hunted each spring (the birthing season) in countries
such as
Recently it was revealed that fur trimmed items sold at
Israeli fashion chains as synthetic fur, actually came from dogs and rabbits
reared in
27 EU countries, as well as the
Once
=========================
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus,
Author of "Judaism and Vegetarianism," "Judaism and Global
Survival," and "Mathematics and Global Survival," and over 130
articles at www.JewishVeg.com/schwartz
President of Jewish Vegetarians
of North America (JVNA) www.JewishVeg.com
and
Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV) www.serv-online.org
Associate Producer of A SACRED
DUTY (asacredduty.com)
Director of Veg Climate Alliance (www.vegclimatealliance.org)
president@JewishVeg.com