Obama to keep Kosher on his Israel trip
US President Barack Obama eats a ‘medianoche’ sandwich while eating lunch at Kasalta Bakery during a visit to San Juan, Puerto Rico, June 14, 2011. The president will not be eating any sandwiches in Israel next week, however.
President Obama will be keeping Kosher for Passover alongside Jews all over the world next week, as his trip to Israel comes just ahead of the breadless Jewish holiday.
The President and his staff will be occupying all 233 rooms of Jerusalem’s prestigious King David Hotel from Wednesday, March 20th until Friday the 22nd.
Though the eight days of Pesach, which begin with a Seder and ban the consumption of all leavened bread products, begin on Monday, the hotel’s staff won’t have enough time to prepare for the holiday over the weekend, Ha’aretz reported.
“We’re used to hosting heads of state and also American presidents, but this situation is very special for us because it’s so close to Pesach,” says hotel manager Dror Danino. “For us it will be double the preparations.”
So what will be on the menu? Well, lots of fruits, veggies, and meat, for one.
“Today, there are replacements – we can do a decent roll that will taste a lot like brioche,” the King David’s head chef Michel Nabet told Ha’aretz. “But I prevent my staff from working with a pasta that is not so good. So, we won’t eat pasta and Obama won’t either, it’s not so bad. We’ll eat more fresh vegetables – we have no shortage of ingredients.”
The spring holiday is in honor of the ancient Israelites’ Exodus from slavery in Egypt, Al Arabiya reported.
The occasion is marked by eight days of eating unleavened bread called “Matzah,” as well of the avoidance of barley, wheat, rye, or oats, because the Jews did not have enough time to bake their bread before leaving Egypt.