Under pressure from the city’s chief rabbi, two Tel Aviv branches of the fast food firm McDonald’s have changed the color of their trademark signs to assure diners that their burgers and fries are kosher.
In a first for McDonald’s Corp., the golden arches at the two branches have new blue backgrounds, replacing the trademark red ones. The new signs also display the word “kosher,” both in Hebrew and English.
The changes were made after Tel Aviv’s chief Rabbi, Israel Meir Lau, demanded that a distinction be made.
“I was worried people would be confused, especially tourists who do not know Hebrew,” Lau said.
“Blue is the sky, blue is the flag of Israel and blue is not red,” Lau said. “There must be a clear and sharp difference.”
All meat served at McDonald’s branches in Israel is already kosher. But most of the more than 111 outlets serve dairy and meat items together and are open on the Jewish Sabbath and religious holidays, which is forbidden under Jewish law.
Only 12 branches are considered strictly kosher, where the menu does not include dairy products and the food is prepared to meet religious standards. Those 12 outlets are closed on the Jewish Sabbath and holidays.
Lau said he believed McDonald’s would adopt the new style in other strictly kosher branches over time.
McDonald’s said it hoped the change in Tel Aviv would be adopted in other areas of Israel and clear the way for new kosher restaurants to open.
Michael Kramer, a religious diner relishing a burger at one of the two Tel Aviv branches, welcomed the changes. “I can see from far away whether it is a kosher one,” he said.
Roi Gerstein was unmoved. “I do not like this change because I am used to the red sign,” he said, adding that kosher burgers without cheese were “just not tasty.”
