While Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s visit to Israel ran smoothly for the most part, one segment of it turned out not to be Kosher — his food. The Mashgiah, who supervises kashrut at the Dan Camel Hotel where Sadat stayed, was shocked when he spotted the Egyptian President’s personal cook in the Kitchen preparing one of Sadat’s favorite dishes — mutton. The meat was brought from Egypt and thus not kosher.
The mashgiah was faced with a dilemma since the meat would be placed on hotel dishes which were being used for the two banquets given for Sadat. He could have declared, both dinners treifah. But first he checked with the head of the Haifa Kashrut Department, who in turn consulted the city’s two chief rabbis. Their solution was that the dishes used by Sadat would not be used by the hotel any longer Everyone was happy, including the Egyptian cook who could take the dishes back to Egypt with him as souvenirs.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
