Donald Trump and J. D. Vance have been promoting the lie that Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio have eaten neighbors’ pets. During his debate with Kamala Harris, Trump uttered the absurd statement that “They’re eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.” Of course, according to Jewish law, one would not eat pets such as cats and dogs under any circumstance, as these are not kosher animals. Judaism has many laws governing what animals are kosher and what rules apply to preparation of kosher food. But Judaism also has rules regarding the feeding of pets, including which of the following?

‍ Racist Springfield, Ohio cat-eating hoax  is in the public domain via Wikimedia Commons 

A. It is forbidden to derive benefit from chametz during Passover. Therefore we can only feed our pets kosher-for-Passover food during that holiday.

B. It is forbidden for meat and milk to be cooked together, but that only applies to kosher meat. So we can feed our pets a Reuben sandwich if the corn beef isn’t certified kosher.

C. It is forbidden for meat and milk to be cooked together, but that only applies to meat from “kosher” animals. So we can feed our pets a ham and cheese sandwich.

D. It is forbidden for meat and milk to be cooked together, but that only applies to meat from “kosher” land animals. So we can feed our pets chicken quesadillas but not beef quesadillas.

E. It is forbidden to serve our pets Milk Bones, as bones are considered to be meat, and therefore can’t be mixed with milk.

Click here for the answer.

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