Jewish Organization Says It Never Threatened Restaurant's Kosher Certification Over Lesbian Performer
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A Jewish organization is responding to a comedian's allegation her act was cancelled because she's a lesbian.
Leah Forster, 36, told CBS2's Lisa Rozner she lives in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community where she keeps kosher, runs a business and performs on the side. Her act is clean and makes no mention of her sexual orientation.
She organized a New Year's show at the kosher restaurant Garden of Eat-In in Flatbush, Brooklyn. The owner later called her to cancel, telling her his business was at stake and the kosher-certifying rabbi was threatening to revoke his certification.
The owner claimed the rabbi said that hosting Forster's show would violate Torah law, Rozner reported.
Another kosher restaurant, Orchidea in Borough Park, took on the show, but the rabbi allegedly threatened to decertify it, too.
On Friday, the organization that provides kosher certification put out a statement. Vaad Hakashrus of Flatbush said in its statement they never threatened to revoke the kosher certification.
"The Vaad made no such threat. At no time did the Vaad, or any representative of the Vaad, threaten to remove the Vaad's kashrus certification (i.e., it's 'religious stamp of approval') because of the sexual orientation of a performer at a supervised restaurant," the group said.
Further, the group said that another statement put out Thursday night attributed to Vaad Harabinim was a forgery.
Forster told CBS2 she's been rebooked at Garden of Eat-In for her New Years's show and it is already sold out.