- McDonald's Israel
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McDonald's Israel (מקדונלד'ס ישראל)
Alonyal Ltd. (אלוניאל בע"מ)
Industry fast-food restaurant Founded Israel (1993) Headquarters Ga'ash, Israel Number of locations 131 Area served Israel Key people Omri Padan (Owner, Chairman and CEO)
Ariela Padan (Deputy Chair, Owner)
Ruth Sarid (Senior VP Marketing)Products hamburgers, chicken, french fries and soft drinks Employees 3000 Parent McDonald's Inc. Website www.mcdonalds.co.il McDonald's Israel (Hebrew: מקדונלד'ס ישראל McDonald's Israel) is the Israeli branch of the fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. Operated and licensed by Alonyal Limited (Hebrew: אלוניאל בע"מ, Alonyal Ba'am), McDonald's Israel is the largest[1] of Israel's burger chains with a 60% market share.[1] The company sells hamburgers, chicken nuggets, french fries and soft drinks in branches across the country. Since its opening in Israel in 1993, McDonald's Israel has been in competition with Burger Ranch, Israel's second large burger chain.[2] The world's first kosher McDonald's opened in Mevasseret Zion in October 1995.[1]
Contents
History
Due to the Arab League boycott of Israel, McDonald's did not open in Israel until 1993. The first branch was at the Ayalon Mall in Ramat Gan.[3] In the wake of a controversy over importing french fries to Israel, the American fast food chain built a plant to manufacture frozen french fries in Israel at a cost of $5 million US.[4]
In 1994, the Golani Junction branch aroused controversy when the restaurant installed a large 'golden arches' sign in front of the Golani Brigade museum and memorial. Bereaved families and other citizens claimed this desecrated the site. The sign was later reduced in size.[5][6]
In 1997, McDonald's Israel opened its first branch in an Israeli Arab city. The restaurant was in Tamra, 27 kilometers (17 mi) northeast of Nazareth, and the menu was bilingual, in Hebrew and Arabic.[7]
In 1998, McDonald's Israel decided to barbecue hamburgers on charcoal instead of frying.[1] This represented a shift in McDonald's policy, which previously required uniformity at all the locations. In the wake of this decision, grilling equipment was installed at the restaurants, and the size of the patty and bun were increased.[1]
Controversy
McDonald's Israel has refused to open restaurants in the West Bank and Golan Heights.[8] The CEO, Dr. Omri Padan, is a founder of Peace Now. In 2004, McDonald's Israel was criticized for ordering its Arabic and Russian-speaking staff to speak only in Hebrew during work hours to "prevent uncomfortable situations for workers and clients who mostly speak Hebrew,"[9] but the order was subsequently withdrawn.[10]
In 2006, the international chain's trademark yellow and red signs were replaced at two branches in Tel Aviv with blue and white signs with the Hebrew word "kosher" in order to avoid confusion over which branches were kosher.[8][11] This redesign is the most radical departure from McDonald's standard logo although they have made minor changed in places such as the Champs-Elysées (which requires signs in gold) and Hampstead to meet local regulations.[8][11]
Since its inception, McDonald's Israel is owned and run by Israeli businessman Omri Padan. Padan is President of Alonyal Limited which is local licensee for McDonald's.[12] Currently McDonald's has 160 restaurants in Israel,[13] with 36 of them under Kosher supervision (on January 2011), meaning they are closed on Shabbat and Jewish holidays, have no dairy products (such as cheeseburgers), and for Passover serve the meat on Passover buns. In Israel most branches are non-kosher since they serve cheeseburgers (which are non-kosher, i.e. do not conform to traditional Jewish dietary law) and they serve milk-based desserts (ice cream, milkshakes). The kosher branches do not serve either, though some kosher branches do serve them, but in a separate booth, which allows separation of dairy and meat.
McDonald's Israel sources over 80% of its ingredients locally, which 100% kosher beef patties, potatoes, lettuce, buns, and milkshake mix in addition to directly employing 3000 Israelis.[12]
Kashrut
While McDonald's operates several Kosher and non-Kosher restaurants, all the meat served in the restaurants is 100% Kosher beef.[12] The difference is that the non-Kosher branches open on Shabbat and Jewish holidays, in addition to serving dairy products.[12] A kosher McDonald's was also opened in Argentina, at the Abasto de Buenos Aires shopping mall. Argentina and Israel are the only branches in the world that barbecue their burgers on charcoal.[14]
Charities
Similar to McDonald's charitable efforts in the other countries they operate, McDonald's Israel has donated hundreds of thousands of NIS to charities which benefit children such as Schneider Children's Hospital, "Make A Wish Association", and "The Fighting Cancer Association."[12] In 2000, McDonald's Israel participated in the global children's recognition program, McDonald's/Disney Millennium Dreamers, which celebrated 2000 children from around the world for their achievements. Six children represented Israel at a global youth summit in Orlando, Florida, USA.[12] McDonald's Israel also has its own "McSmile Program," which sponsors trips for children recovering from cancer. [12]
Menu
The regular McDonald's menu has some additions catering to local tastes. McShawarma (Hebrew: מקשווארמה) is served in lafa and McKebab (Hebrew: מקקבב) is served on pita. Israeli salad was added to the menu in 2007. In January 2011, McDonald's Israel introduce McFalafel (Hebrew: מקפלאפל) in all its restaurants. [15]
As in Arab and Muslim countries, McDonald's restaurants in Israel do not serve pork products. However, they have been criticized by Jewish religious leaders for serving cheeseburgers and employing Jewish workers on Saturdays, the Jewish Sabbath.[16]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e McDonald's Israel
- ^ Burger chains drop prices, Meirav Crystal, Yedioth Ahronoth, January 9, 2009
- ^ Israel Business Today, October, 1993
- ^ McDonald fries up Israel. (McDonald's to build domestic french fries factory in Israel), Israel Business Today, July 2, 1993
- ^ The Burger They Love to Hate, Jerusalem Post, May 31, 2002
- ^ Azaryahu, Maoz (Spring 2000). "The Golden Arches of McDonald's: On the "Americanization" of Israel". Israel Studies 5 (1): 41–64. doi:10.1353/is.2000.0004.
- ^ Arab area in Israel gets McDonald's, Chicago Sun-Times, March 3, 1997
- ^ a b c McDonald's changes its brand to suit kosher appetites, The Guardian, Chris McGeral, March 13, 2006
- ^ McDonald's bans Arabic, Conal Urquhart, The Guardian, March 11, 2004
- ^ McDonald's Israel reverses its prohibition on speaking Arabic during work hours, Hadith Al-Nass, March 12, 2004
- ^ a b McKosher, now with a new logo, Yedioth Ahronoth, Shoshana Chen, February 27, 2006
- ^ a b c d e f g McDonald's International: McDonald's Israel
- ^ http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/brief/mcfalafel_debuts_israel January 18, 2011.
- ^ "Kosher McDonald's Restaurant Review". Frommers.com. Buenos Aires. http://www.frommers.com/destinations/buenosaires/D55904.html.
- ^ [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4014721,00.html Yedioth Ahronoth, January 18, 2011
- ^ Angry Rabbis Want McDonald's to 'Hold' Cheese and Saturdays, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Bloomberg News, March 6, 1997
External links
McDonald's History • Advertising • Ad programs • Franchises • Legal cases • Products • International variations People Richard and Maurice McDonald · Ray Kroc · Joan Kroc · Ralph Alvarez · Charlie Bell · Jim Cantalupo · George Cohon · Don Gorske · Jack M. Greenberg · Jim Skinner · Donald N. Smith · Fred L. Turner · Michael R. Quinlan · Al Bernardin · Herb Peterson · Willard ScottCompany Products BeefChickenOtherAdvertising CampaignsSponsorshipsRelated subjectsBurger Wars · Fast food advertisingOtherFranchises Canada · IsraelCriticism Legal cases Other Annual revenue
US$24.075 billion (2010) · Employees 400,000 (2010) · Stock symbol NYSE: MCD · Website mcdonalds.comCategories:- Restaurants in Israel
- Fast-food hamburger restaurants
- McDonald's
- Retail companies established in 1993
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