Paper short abstract:

This paper will explore how Palestinian food-spaces owners in Israel perceive the concept of kashrut, how it changes the food they serve, and what meanings they attribute to the process. I will suggest three patterns of assimilation of kashrut laws (in the broad sense) in Palestinian businesses.

Paper long abstract:

Kashrut, the Jewish dietary regulations, is a central feature of food in Israel, even in places inhabited by non-Jews. About one-fifth of Israel's citizens are Palestinians, most of whom are Muslims who observe the halal laws. Israeli Jews have become increasingly interested in Palestinian food in recent years. In many Palestinian restaurants, bakeries, and other food-spaces in Israel, negotiations are held over the concept of kashrut. Business owners adjust their foods to the Israeli-Jewish "taste" while presenting different shades of kashrut.

This paper will explore how Palestinian food-spaces owners perceive the concept of kashrut, how it changes the food they serve, and what meanings they attribute to the process. Although Palestinian food business owners explain that the main reason for dealing with kashrut issues is economical, it also reflects the question of the belonging of the Palestinian minority in Israel.

Following ethnographic research in Palestinian city in Israel, I will suggest three patterns of assimilation of kashrut laws (in the broad sense) in Palestinian businesses. The three are Official Kashrut, where the business operates under the supervision of HaRabanut HaRashit (The Chief Rabbinate of Israel) and holds a formal certificate. Declarative kashrut, in which a great effort is made to act according to kashrut laws, but the business does not meet the formal conditions and does not hold an official certificate. Finally, Interceding Kashrut, the most common pattern in which there are minor intentional adjustments to kashrut laws.