Grapevine: No so kosher

So many people working in kosher restaurants are not really familiar with regulations governing kosher food, could therefore easily make mistakes.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Martha Stewart in Israel (photo credit: Tourism Ministry )
Martha Stewart in Israel
(photo credit: Tourism Ministry )
■ PEOPLE WHO are strict about observance of the Jewish dietary laws do not eat in restaurants, even those certified by the most stringent of rabbinical supervising bodies – and with good reason, it seems. In the absence of a chief rabbi of Jerusalem, responsibility for the supervision of kosher facilities and the granting of kashrut licenses in the capital falls within the province of the Chief Rabbinate of the state.
Not wanting to be a rubber stamp for something that might be questionable, Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, accompanied by several rabbis from the Chief Rabbinate’s office, paid a few surprise visits to kosher eateries in the city’s main artery last week and found several disturbing aspects, one of which has long been a common problem.
Kashrut supervisors are supposed to be present in the kitchens all the time to ensure that specific regulations are upheld, such as the washing of cabbage or lettuce to ensure that there are no tiny insects in the leaves, the double sifting of flour or the sorting of rice for much the same reasons. The supervisor is also expected to inspect the produce that comes into the kitchen to ensure that all of it is fit for kosher consumption. It was found that many supervisors put in a brief appearance if, at all, and one restaurant proprietor told the group of rabbis that he could just as easily serve non-kosher meat and no one would know the difference because the supervisor was not there to check the meat delivery.
Metzger was equally concerned with the needs of vegetarians and vegans, and in one dairy restaurant complained that there was not a sufficient separation between vegan and dairy products. Aside from the lack of proper supervision, the most glaring problem was that so many people working in kosher restaurants are not really familiar with regulations governing kosher food and could therefore easily make mistakes.
■ A LARGE representation of the Leibler family attended services at the Hatzvi Yisrael Synagogue last Saturday. No, it wasn’t a family bar mitzva, the naming of a baby or the Shabbat before a family wedding. But it was a multiple celebration. In honor of the 90th birthday of their uncle Nathan Leibler, the 85th birthday of their aunt Elsa Leibler and Nathan and Elsa’s 65th wedding anniversary, Naomi and Isi Leibler hosted a kiddush after the service. The best part was when Nathan went down to the street to get on to his scooter, which he operates with aplomb. Relatives and friends gathered around him and sang “Happy Birthday” at the top of their voices as he drove off on his Shabbat-licensed scooter with an impish grin on his face.
■ IT’S DOUBTFUL that many people at Mahaneh Yehuda recognized the blonde-haired 70-year-old woman with the American accent who, accompanied by a small group of people, explored the delights of what the shuk has to offer in the hustle and bustle of Shabbat shopping.
Thursday and Friday are the days when the market is most colorful and most crowded, and it was a great way for cooking and lifestyle guru Martha Stewart to see, hear and smell something so authentically Jerusalem in what is arguably the most representative human mosaic of the city. Stewart, who came to Israel at the invitation of the Tourism Ministry to help promote the Dead Sea, was also a guest of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, who hosted her at the PM’s official residence. There, Netanyahu persuaded Stewart to send an SMS vote for the Dead Sea to be listed as one of the Seven Wonders of Nature in the Modern World.
■ MALL PROPRIETORS and their CEOs are constantly looking for new ways to attract people to their enterprises. Sometimes it’s a fashion show, or it’s a cinema opening, a play center for children, a new restaurant or a new international brand name in one of the stores... Whatever it is, the powers-that-be are always ready and willing to try something new to pull in the crowd and boost sales. Liora Ofer, who heads Melisron, the commercial properties and office space branch of Ofer Brothers, and Gad Ze’evi, who heads Israel Malls (which built the Haifa Grand Canyon, owned by Ofer Brothers), plan to open a gallery of modern art in the mall – not only to attract buyers, but to improve the mall’s cultural image. Instead of renting out a vacant space, the two decided to do something that would benefit the community. The gallery will also be a diversion for spouses who do not particularly want to go trekking from one store to another with their significant others, and who would rather contemplate art while they’re waiting. Grand Canyon general manager Israel Savyon says that there will be frequent changes of exhibitions featuring the works of veteran Israeli artists as well as those of lesser known artists who are just breaking into the art world. The gallery is scheduled to open on September 22.
■ WHILE HAIFA is opting for modern art, the Lev Hadera Mall is waxing nostalgic with an exhibition entitled “Our Hadera – Hadera of Old” featuring photographs, documents, farm and household objects and other memorabilia of the city’s first 60 years. Much of the material has been supplied by the Khan Museum Hadera or by descendants of the city’s founding fathers who 120 years ago, as immigrants from Latvia and Lithuania, came as part of the Hovevei Zion movement to establish a farming colony on land purchased by Yehoshua Hankin. In those times, Hadera was full of malaria-infested swamps, and many of the people who came there to live, or merely to work, died of the disease. The exhibition gives added value to the people of Hadera, says Lev Hadera marketing manager Rotem Abucassis, who attaches great importance to making residents aware of the history of the city. The exhibition will be on view from September 15 to October 30.
■ THE THIRD annual Interfaith Conference on Ethics and Tolerance, marking the third anniversary of the dedication of the Tolerance Monument and Park initiated by Polish business tycoon Aleksander Gudzowaty, will be held on September 14 at Mishkenot Sha’ananim. Last year, Gudzowaty was among the recipients of the Jerusalem Foundation’s annual Teddy Kollek Award. He has worked diligently and contributed generously towards the promotion of tolerance and mutual understanding among people of different faiths and nationalities in the holy city of Jerusalem.
Conference speakers will, as always, include Jews, Muslims and Christians. Gudzowaty also makes sure that there are Polish intellectuals among the speakers or the panels. This year there are two, one of whom is familiar with Israel and familiar to many Israelis. A historian turned diplomat, Maciej Kozlowski, who is the deputy director of the Department of Africa and the Middle East in his country’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, is a former Polish ambassador to Israel, who has returned here on several occasions for both personal and official visits.