Let My People’s Fish Go!

In a pleasant break from the usual, this AP wire story has nothing to do with the dreaded Anisakis worm that is the subject of debate within the kashrus community:

Washington – Free the gefilte fish! Just in time for Passover, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will try to resolve a trade dispute holding up a huge shipment of American-caught fish destined for seder dinners in Israel.
Clinton drew chuckles from a congressional panel when she said that getting nine containers of Asian Carp filets from an Illinois fishery to a processing plant in Israel in time for the Jewish holiday “sounds to me like one of those issues that should rise to the highest levels of our government.”

She made the pledge Thursday to Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Ill. Manzullo said Israel slapped a 120-percent import duty on the fish, and he asked for help before the first seder on March 29.

“I will take that mission on,” she said.

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4 Responses

  1. I would think the true state issue is the fate of lox if the latest proposed ban by Rabbi Karp comes to pass. I say “Keep the Salmon Free.” Politically it has the advantage of spanning multiple constituencies from sushi eaters to lox fressers.

  2. Nachshon ben Aminadav says:

    Carpe diem.

  3. Yehoshua Friedman says:

    I detect that Hilary is trying to make Israel look like the bad guy with the 120% tax on the fish. That will play well with the liberal Jewish constituency which supported her in the past in NY and in the presidential primaries. Can anyone get the facts on this? If Obama decides not to run in ’12 she will be an important front-runner.

  4. Contarian says:

    Lucky for Mrs. Clinton and the Seantor from Illinois it was Asian Carp and not wild salmon. Otherwise, the U.S would have to take on Rabbi Karp (no relation) who has forbidden the fish due to his dicovery of worms which were known to everyone else since the times of the gemorah which specifically declared them kosher.

    [YA: Actually – no. The gemara deals with worms that develop specifically in the flesh of the fish. That happens to be true regarding carp (this time, no pun intended); this is why the old and significant literature about gefilte fish does not directly apply. The anisakis worm is found in the gut of the fish, as well as (sometimes) in the flesh. This worm makes its way into the fish from the outside. It is a different question. I haven’t decided whether to write about this yet. I usually don’t do halacha on CC]

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