Messianic Jew nearly loses bakery license over faith

JERUSALEM — For three long years a Jewish believer in Christ struggled to keep her bakery business alive after the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the country’s highest religious governing body, annulled her Jewish dietary law certificate because of her faith.

Pnina Conforti, 51, finally gave a sigh of relief when the Israeli Supreme Court ruled June 29 that her belief in Jesus Christ was unrelated to her eligibility for a certificate.

While bakeries and restaurants in Israel are not required to obtain the permit, the loss of one often slows the flow of customers who observe Jewish dietary laws and eventually can destroy a business.

Conforti, who describes herself as a Messianic Jew, said that in the last three years her Pnina Pies bakeries in Gan Yavneh and Ashdod had lost nearly 70 percent of their customers.