Danon Lobbying for More Kosher U.N.

Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon has requested that the organization improve its kosher food offerings, which are currently the province of a single supplier at an exorbitant price, Ynet reported on Wednesday.

In a letter to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Danon said that the kosher food available to the many Jewish diplomats who keep kosher do not meet their needs. As it is a responsibility of the U.N. to make the representatives of all the world’s countries feel welcome, it is an issue that should be addressed.

Danon noted that the U.N. to date works with only one kosher supplier, who charges 40 percent more than other, non-kosher suppliers when catering a U.N. event. Accordingly, he asked that other kosher companies be invited to compete.

Sources in the U.N. say that the kosher initiative will likely succeed, if the recent decision to recognize Yom Kippur as an official holiday at the U.N. can be taken as indication of a more sympathetic attitude toward Jewish religious practice.