March 13, 2006
Fast food giant McDonald's "golden arches" logo will be trumped by the blue and white of Israel's flag after the hamburger chain bowed to pressure from Tel Aviv's chief rabbi Israel Meir Lau to distinguish its kosher restaurants. For the first time, the traditional yellow and red signs have been scrapped at two branches in Tel Aviv in favor of the McDonald's name in blue and white in Hebrew, with the word "kosher" alongside. The change is expected to be made at ten other branches that the Jewish religious authorities have given kosher certificates because they do not include dairy products on their menus. Religious law does not permit the mixing of meat and dairy products in meals.
The redesign is the most radical departure yet from McDonald's standard logo, which has been in use for decades. McDonald's, which opened its first kosher restaurant in Israel in 1995, said that the agreement with Rabbi Lau was the "first of its kind in the world", adding that "the kosher certificate was denied because Israeli rabbis feared a confusion in the public between kosher and non-kosher, so we agreed upon this background color that would be easily identified." McDonald's has 120 restaurants in Israel, of which a dozen have kosher certificates for preparing food in accordance with religious law and for closing on the Sabbath and religious holidays. The chain says it already uses kosher beef, potatoes, buns and milkshake mix in all its restaurants in Israel.
