Cockroach closes down Knesset cafeteria
Just as Shas MKs dine in parliament's eatery, pest pops up and snatches away establishment's kosher certificate. But don't worry too much about elected representatives going hungry
The Knesset's meat cafeteria was closed Tuesday until further notice after a cockroach found its way onto one of the diner's plates.
The afflicted diner recounted, "All of a sudden, I saw a cockroach on my plate. This is a very disheartening feeling. This has never happened to me anywhere in the world."
The notorious meal took place Monday. "I almost never eat in the Knesset cafeteria," said the appalled diner. "One of the Shas ministers invited me for lunch, so I came. We all sat there together, Knesset Member Yitzhak Vaknin (Shas), Deputy Finance Minister Yitzhak Cohen (Shas), and some others."
Knesset's dairy buffet to remain open (Archive photo: Dan Balilti)
MK Vaknin also recounted the incident: "I sat with this person who had a cockroach on his plate. He pointed it out to us. I saw the cockroach – it was no longer alive, it was cooked. This is very bad. There is a halachic issue here. This is an issue of insects, vermin, and unclean creatures. I called the kosher supervisors to come and see."
According to one of the cafeteria's owners, "Following a debate that arose after the cockroach was found on one of the diner's plates, the kosher overseer decided to revoke the kosher certificate. Therefore, at this stage, the buffets are closed."
Only the meat lunchrooms, however, have been closed, and the dairy cafeteria as of now remains open.
This is not the first time a Knesset cafeteria has been closed following sanitary violations. Two years ago, the buffet was closed when external suppliers delivered food ingredients suspected of being contaminated with the listeria bacteria.
