It has come to our attention that Rabbinical Assembly materials have been misused by the Party for Animals in their debate in The Netherlands regarding legislation seeking to ban schechitah. The paper in question, “A Stunning Matter” by Rabbi Mayer Rabinowitz was written in 2001 and is intended to be a resource for individual rabbis making determinations for their communities. It does not reflect the public policy of the Rabbinical Assembly and it is a mistake to cite it this way in political discourse.
Furthermore the way the paper was depicted is inaccurate. The paper addresses the question “Is it permitted to stun/bolt an animal after schechitah." The conclusion is that post-schechitah stunning is permitted. The paper does not, as implied by the Party for Animals, endorse the practice of pre-schechitah stunning.
We request that the Party for Animals retract their statement regarding our support for their legislation and refrain from using Rabbinical Assembly materials to mislead people in making their case.
The original CJLS paper can be read here