Kosher Certification is NOT a Kosher Tax

It is unfortunate that my opponent feels the need to lie. He places a quote and adds in Parentheses something the author did not write at all. "Hashem had declared in Devarim 25:17-19 'eternal war' against Amalek (Palestinians), and commanded the Jewish People, once they achieved stability in the Land of Israel, the Promised Land, to erase the name of Amalek" The author was NOT referring to Palestinians. He does not have the word "(Palestinians)" in his text. So a) my opponent misquoted a source which all can see by clicking on the link b) did not end the debate on the side topic he seems desperate to pursue. In addition this quote has NOTHING to do with the side topic to the debate as a) Amalek were not residents of the land of Canaan and b) Only the most extreme right winger would even say the Palestinians are Amalek, and they would be using the term as meaning any group who seeks to destroy the Jewish people (i.e. the Germans were Amalek, the Cossaks were Amalek, etc.) not specifically the Palestinians. So now that we have shown that my opponent is an utter fool in this side topic, let us proceed to the main topic at hand. In order for my opponent to prove that there is a Kosher tax he must: a) show that the consumer pays more. If there is no extra cost there is no tax b) Show that the producers of the items are co-erced or forced in any way in order for this to even be considered a tax. he has not. 1) My opponents "logical analysis" is neither logical nor really even an analysis. He first asks "As there are a similar number of Muslims and Jews in the US (each approximately 1% of the total population), why then don't manufacturers seek to certificate their products as halal (the Islamic equivalent to kosher kashrut) in order to gain a similar "marketing advantage"?" And then answers that it must be b/c the food producers are "fearful" of a Jewish boycott. This is absurd. A) Even if you want to use controversial census data that says Muslims are equal in size to Jews today, 1) they certainly have not been for the past 100 years, and it has taken this long to establish reliable agencies that have been accepted by the entire Jewish community. Even 20 years ago, Kosher certification was 10% of what it is today. In another 100 years, I have no doubt similar organizations for hallal will develop. 2) in general Kosher is more strict than Hallal http://en.wikipedia.org..., and as many Muslim authorities base Hallal status on Kosher certification (in fact, hallal inspectors for many food products exported to Islamic countries simply check for the OU symbol, then change it to hallal) a company would only need to pay for Kosher certification, and both are covered. Basically, as I have been saying REPEATEDLY, more than just Jews rely on Kosher. B) My opponent assumes that these companies are stupid. They feel "threatened" by a boycott of 1% of the population. 1) My opponent shows no proof of any boycott ever being proposed or ever being committed 2) The idea is so ridiculous. No kosher certification organization approaches a company. The company always contacts the kosher certification agency. And what exactly are they threatening? Observant Jews will not eat items without proper supervision. So they don't "threaten a boycott." That would imply that currently Jewish people are buying the product and will stop unless they "agree to pay the Rabbis," when in fact a boycott is not threatened. The corporations are informed that they will open themselves to a new market with this supervision. Also despite low numbers percentage wise, Jews do have a rather large percentage of purchasing power given their relative affluent status, another incentive for food producing companies to tap. 3) As of the last census there were 270,000 Jews in the UK. http://en.wikipedia.org... that is roughly .45% of the country. Not the same size as the United States. Also, In terms of people who identify themselves as Jews, there are roughly 7-8 Million in the US, or 2-3% of the population. http://en.wikipedia.org... Again, to reiterate the main point of argument (1) which my opponent did not even touch. Companies pursue Kosher certification to increase revenue. This generally does not increase prices as a) the price compared to total cost of operation is infinitesimal b) it is pursued b/c the increased revenue will offset extra costs. 2) I am pleased to see that my opponent has some sense, and can admit when he is incorrect in his assumptions. Thank you sir. 3) Unfortunately my opponent returns to his foolish roots starting a side argument on the merits of the OU. This is presumably done b/c I have mentioned i have a close relative who works for the OU, so he will try to mock the organization. His illogical connections and sheer audacity are not even worth discussing as a) they do not not deal with the topic at hand b) are made simply to antagonize his opponent. It is certainly the right of anyone to boycott an organization that they believe does immoral acts, however i would assume the reader would do his due diligence and research all organizations and every facet of every product they purchase to determine which organizations your money goes to. If the Israel issue is an important to you I would recommend viewing this video: http://www.youtube.com... to further help you in this specific search. 4) Organic certification is considerably more expensive than Kosher certification. For most items, the products simply need to be inspected and little or no change to the manufacturing process needs to occur. For organic, the entire manufacturing process must be altered. Again, this is a marketing decision that the companies have freely undertaken to perform, which they have researched and their marketing research tells them would be beneficial. My opponent concludes with another side argument. Unfortunately, despite how logically wrong he clearly is in this case, he will persist to believe there is an organization of Jews who are fooling large companies into believing they can impose a boycott on their products, forcing them to get kosher certification and forcing the poor masses to pa exorbitant fees as a result. He suffers from second generation discrimination and i sincerely hope he gets the help he so desperately needs.