US/World News

Kosher agency says statement regarding lesbian comic is forgery

By Josefin Dolsten/JTA – The lesbian comic who said her shows at two kosher Brooklyn restaurants were canceled over her sexual orientation said she obtained a statement from the local rabbinical authorities acknowledging their role in the cancellations. The Vaad Harabanim of Flatbush, however, denied releasing the statement, calling it a forgery. Late Thursday, Dec. 13, comedian Leah Forster contacted JTA and shared a statement signed by kashrut administrator Rabbi Tzvi Shaul Goldberg, said that a “single rabbinical kashrus supervisor” had cautioned one of the restaurants against hosting her performance, then called on its supervised restaurants “not to discriminate in any way against people based on sexual orientation.” However, when JTA reached out to Goldberg on Friday, he denied signing the letter and referred to the statement as a “forgery.” Two days earlier, in a statement to JTA, the Vaad Harabanim had said it never threatened to revoke the restaurants’ kosher certification. “The issuance of this forgery is being reported to the office of the District Attorney of Kings County,” the Vaad said Friday, Dec. 14 in an email to JTA.

Forster said she initially received the letter late Thursday in a Jewish conversation group with more than 250 members on the messaging app WhatsApp. Forster said she did not personally know the user who shared it in the group but shared the user’s phone number with JTA. When contacted by JTA, the user would not identify himself or herself.

Forster said that shortly after initially receiving the message, friends and people in other group chats also shared the letter with her. JTA reached out to others who had shared the letter on social media but they either did not respond or directed JTA to people who did not respond.

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