22 Dec Kashruth Questions of the Week

Please tell everyone about the OU’s role in making kosher establishments in the UAE?

The OU has been involved in the UAE from when the Jewish community of the UAE began to emerge. Rabbi Yisochor Dov Krokowski, the director of OU Israel, flew to the UAE on many occasions. The first caterer in the UAE, called Eli’s, is OU certified. They were the caterer of the various Israeli delegations that came to the UAE during the historic peace that was developed between the UAE and Israel. There are individuals who are going to the UAE on a regular basis for business or tourism, and want to be able to eat kosher food, and we are there to service those individuals by certifying caterers, hotels, and restaurants where they will be able to eat. We are also working with several manufacturing companies. The UAE is not a country particularly known for food manufacturing; they are more known for oil production, and the oil we put in our cars does not need certification. There are some food manufacturers that we are in talks with that are about to be OU certified. Rabbi Levi Duchman is the local Chabad shaliach in the UAE who we have had a relationship with for many years, and we are working closely with him and his colleagues to achieve kosher programs. We see the UAE as a place where many people will travel to and we see the UAE as a partner with Israel and the USA. When these opportunities come up, we want to make sure that the people who are visiting there have reliable kosher food, and we want to make sure that the food that they export or even use internally are of the highest kosher standards.