Upscale Tel Aviv restaurants go kosher for the first time due to Hamas invasion

Elite non-kosher Tel Aviv eateries get temporary kosher certification to provide meals for IDF soldiers.

By World Israel News Staff

Restaurants in Tel Aviv catering to the city’s largely secular diners have become kosher – albeit temporarily – to aid in the war effort against Hamas and other Gaza terrorist organizations.

Among them is the “Ha’Achim” Israeli-style bistro on Tel Aviv’s Ibn Gabriol Street, founded by brothers Assaf and Yotam Doktor twelve years ago.

A decidedly un-kosher establishment, Ha’Achim was issued a temporary kosher certification, after its kitchen underwent a special process to render it fit to prepare kosher food for the war effort.

Along with other restaurants, Ha’Achim is preparing and packing meals for soldiers.

After initial shipments were declined at the Nevatim base, due to the soldiers’ religious needs, multiple elite Tel Aviv restaurants decided to kasher their kitchens, rendering them suitable for cooking kosher meals. In some cases, restaurants were assisted by the Tzohar outreach organization.

Aware that the change is temporary, Tel Aviv’s chief rabbinate is provided oversight and kosher certification through Friday.

Other restaurants in Tel Aviv who have gone kosher for the war include “a,” a Japanese-style restaurant in the Azrieli Sarona Tower, and Taizu, which specializes in Southeast Asian cuisine.

“On Sunday, we turned the restaurant into a logistical center for preparing and distributing food for everyone who needs it,” Ha’Achim co-owner Yotam Doktor told Globes.

“Since Sunday, we’ve been sending out about 20,000 meals per day.”

“This arrangement worked without a problem until Monday evening, when a truck carrying 2,000 meals to the Nevatim base was not allowed in. The food was thrown away and the soldiers went hungry.”

“It was very frustrating for us and we did not understand why it happened.”

Yotam said that in the name of Israeli unity, particularly after the divisive national debate over the judicial reform, he and his brother decided the restaurant would become kosher.

“This war, like all the wars until now, will be won by Israeli society. One of the reasons we got into this situation is because Israeli society wasn’t united. If we don’t wake up and come together, our situation will get even worse. The IDF reflects all of Israeli society.”

“Let’s work together, let’s cooperate.”