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Photo: Yaron Brener
Café Café. Serving haredi sector
Photo: Yaron Brener

Café Café promoting religion?

Customer dining at Rishon Lezion branch surprised to receive prayer booklet along with bill. 'This is a glatt kosher café. As part of the service, our customers enjoy prayers and blessings from famous rabbis,' chain's spokesperson says in response

A customer who dined recently at a Café Café branch in Rishon Lezion was surprised to receive a booklet of prayers along with his bill.

 

"As I finished my breakfast, I received a booklet with the bill inside," he says. "It also included two colorful pamphlets on chromo paper, filled with prayers and blessings. There were prayers for good health, rulings of Chief Sephardic Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, a prayer offered upon embarking on a journey, and a special prayer one should say after going to the bathroom.

 

"Should a Café Café customer expect to be flooded with advertisements along with his bill? And is the chain trying to make its customers become newly religious?"

 

The Café Café chain operates kosher and non-kosher cafés. The branch the man dined in is located in an area filled with businesses open on Shabbat.

 

'Waitresses' uniform not modest'

According to the customer, the bill also included a discount voucher for concerts of Suzanne Vega and another artist. He said he did not see any indication of religious affiliation in the café.

 

"This branch is not located in Bnei Brak or Jerusalem, but on a street packed with non-kosher restaurants, which are open on Fridays and Saturdays," he explains. "There are no religious elements in the branch itself, and the waitresses' uniform is definitely not modest. In addition, I am not certain that every religious person would be pleased to receive these pamphlets."

 

A Café Café spokesperson said in response, "Café Café is the largest café chain in Israel, operating more than 100 branches, including 13 successful glatt kosher cafés which appeal to the haredi sector. The glatt kosher cafés have their own unique branding, led by the café's name: 'Kosher Café Café.'

 

"As part of the service given in the glatt kosher cafés, our customers enjoy prayers and blessings from famous rabbis, which are served at the end of the meal. In this spirit, we wish the customer, his family and all of the people of Israel a pleasant and enjoyable summer vacation.

 

"As for the discount voucher for the Suzanne Vega concert, the Café Café chain has an exclusive cooperation deal with the production company bringing the singer to Israel for only one concert, and the discount voucher is given as a token of appreciation to our loyal customers."

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 07.15.10, 08:29
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