Israeli Foods not for Israelis Anymore

New York…Azi is a regular shopper at an Israeli grocery store in Brooklyn that also happens to sell many Middle Eastern foods such as kubeh and the sweet sugar flowered pastries that have adorned his grandmother’s house. Although Azi is of Syrian descent, his grandparents having come from Aleppo, he regularly patronizes the Israeli and Middle Eastern stores. Distributors of Israeli products say that many of the products distributed to such stores in New York, Miami and Los Angeles are not destined for more mainstream stores. One distributor said that he sells “more halva to two stores in Flatbush, than he does to all kosher stores in Brooklyn.” What appears to be somewhat of a new trend, say the retailers, is the growing number of younger Jews who are neither Israeli or of Middle Eastern origin that come into the stores. “They simply like everything spicy and believe me you can find it here,” said a saleswoman. There are no accurate numbers on what percentage of Israeli imports are sold in these stores but there are certainly items like Israeli pickles and olives that are only sold in the Israeli stores. At Buyisrael.org dozens of stores are listed that purport to sell Israeli foods, but only the Israeli and Middle Eastern stores sell the unique Israeli items, most with their Hebrew packaging. Estimates of Israelis living in the US range from 250,000 to as many as 750,000, most by now naturalized citizens. While many Israelis have been in the country for two or three decades, they still tend to covet products produced in Israel. Tziyona, a mother of 4 has been in Miami since 1978, but still drinks only Elite Coffee. In Flatbush, a popular kosher food market, Mountain Fruit, recently opened a “Mini Israel” opposite its existing store on Avenue M in Midwood.

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Israeli Foods not for Israelis Anymore

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Exhibit at the world's largest kosher food and beverage trade show.

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