McDonald's Changes Its Brand to Suit Kosher Appetites

McDonald’s iconic "golden arches" are being trumped by the blue and white of Israel’s flag after the hamburger chain bowed to pressure from Tel Aviv’s chief rabbi to distinguish its kosher restaurants and save religious Jews from accidentally chomping on a cheeseburger.

The international chain’s instantly recognizable 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 10 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 restaurant chain agreed to the change under pressure from the chief rabbi of Tel Aviv, Yisrael Meir Lau, who refused to sign kosher certificates for McDonald’s branches in the city and at its university. "When I assumed my position 10 months ago and I had to sign kashrut certificates for two [McDonald’s] restaurants in Tel Aviv, I refused because my conscience wouldn’t let me," he told the Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth. "I was mainly concerned that tourists or adolescents who visit one kosher branch may jump to the conclusion that all McDonald’s branches in Israel are kosher."

The redesign is the most radical departure yet from McDonald’s standard logo although it has made minor changes in places such as the Champs-Elysées and Hampstead to meet local regulations.

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".

"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," it said.

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.

McDonald’s also maintains a restaurant at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport that remains kosher by not selling meat. Instead it offers eggs, potatoes, salads and bagels.

McDonald’s has trod a tight political line over the years, including refusing to open restaurants in Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. In 1999, its main rival, Burger King, was forced to close a branch in the settlement of Maale Adumim after an international boycott.

Two years ago, McDonald’s was accused of racism by human rights groups for banning the use of Arabic by its staff, even though it is an official language in Israel spoken by one in five of the population. The fast food chain said it insisted that Arab-speaking workers only use Hebrew among themselves because Arabic made some customers "uncomfortable".

McDonald’s has also come under pressure from some religious campaigners for employing Jews on the sabbath, which is illegal in Israel if rarely punished, and for continuing to serve cheeseburgers at all.

In 2003, an American court ordered McDonald’s to pay $1m (£570,000) to five Jewish groups for education about kosher laws as part of a settlement for advertising its chips as vegetarian when they contained beef flavoring.

International chains struggle to make their mark in Israel, in part because they are unable to compete with local outlets.