KOSHER STORES IN FRANCE DECLINING IN NUMBER

This story appeared in this week’s edition of Kosher Today:

Kosher Paris in decline as more Jews leave
Paris…One of Europe’s busiest kosher strips is slowly succumbing to decline. At one point, the rue des Rosiers was a kosher haven with many bakeries, restaurants, and food stores. But of late, some of the stores have shut and their owners have made aliya to Israel or have moved elsewhere. There are still a number of kosher eateries in the area and tourists still frequent some of the restaurants, but area residents who affectionately used to refer to the area as “the pletzel,” a name given when Ashkenazi Jews dominated the Jewish population. In fact, rue de Rosiers has become a mini-fashion strip as the food stores are replaced with clothing stores. While France still boasts Europe’s largest Jewish population, Israeli officials say that a growing number have made aliyah to Israel. One of the biggest hits for the neighborhood was the closure of Goldenberg’s, which was the target of a terrorist attack in 1982, and closed its doors in 2006. There are still several areas in Paris that boast large number of restaurants, namely in the rue Rue Richer area with its many synagogues and restaurants and even the Les Aisles Restaurants which offers Shabbat meals. One former Paris resident who moved to Miami a year ago said: “When Ilan Halimi (a 23-year old Jew who was bludgeoned to death by a mob) was murdered, it was a signal for me and my family that we were no longer welcome.”