Rami Levy and the Fogels

March 15, 2011 - 9:05 PM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: General 

It’s been a tough week, grappling with the horrors of the Fogel family massacre in Itamar, and the stories and images coming from Japan. I find it difficult to turn away from the news, whether in the pages of the newspaper or on my computer screen.

Rami Levy and his one-shekel chicken deal

But tonight, I shook my head in appreciation of local supermarket mogul Rami Levy, who — I read on Facebook — has been stocking the shelves of the Fogel family kitchen himself all week during shiva, and has pledged to provide groceries to the three surviving Fogel children until they turn 18, wherever they may live.

Levy is a Jerusalem phenomenon, who turned one Machane Yehuda stall into one of the country’s most successful discount supermarket chains. Granted, it’s a supermarket I try not to frequent — although they have the best prices on cereal — because it’s an aggressive shopping scenario out there, and I’ve been trying to lower my stressful situations.

Whatever one might think of the guy, including his recent politically-motivated real estate deal in East Jerusalem, he’s acting on what many of us are thinking about this week, doing something to help this broken and bereaved family, the three children left to live life without their mother, father and three siblings.

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Supermarket scavenging

March 27, 2009 - 8:36 AM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Business, Food, General, Israeliness 

shopping_cart_2Just back from a food shopping trip, which is an unusual event for me, as I generally dislike supermarket experiences. (Not counting Eden Teva Market.) It’s not just that food shopping in Jerusalem can be a third world experience, but the supermarket on Thursday nights offers a sensation of the world coming to an end, or at the very least, the sense of impending war with Iran, as all shoppers fill their carts to overflowing and checkout lines are long, very long. And that’s without mentioning — although I will — the search for a shopping cart, and then seeing if you have one of the plastic tzuptziks that you need to ‘rent’ the cart, unless you keep a supply of five-shekel coins.

But what is fun about food shopping in Israel, and particularly in the chain stores, is the search for unusual products, ones that you wouldn’t expect to see in your neighborhood Supersol Deal, Rami Levy or Mega Bool. I’m talking about the excitement in sighting ShopRite Brown Rice Crispy Rice cereal, a new Ben & Jerry’s flavor, or a package of Aspen Products Cool Shades paper plates in “4 assorted colors.” It’s finding the Czech beer you like amid all the Goldstar and Tuborg bottles, discovering that scallions can be purple, spotting decent-looking tuna steaks in the frozen foods section and — this is a major one — seeing that American-style brown paper lunch bags are now available.

To those of you from the real western world, these kinds of discoveries are ho-hum, and happen all the time in the local supermarket. But for those of us here, on the Middle Eastern front, it can often be a wondrous occasion, and not one to pass off flippantly. It explains why so many local Israeli papers have a consumer products section, briefing readers about food news. Consider Greer Fay Cashman’s Market Wise column in the Jerusalem Post business section, as well as Eva Ben-David in other sections of the paper. It’s always sort of funny to read those columns, because does one really care if Strauss has a new ice cream flavor? Then again, I always make sure to skim those columns.

It’s not that there aren’t great offerings from the local manufacturing industry. There are. I’d say it’s more about the thrill of the scavenger hunt, finding those unexpected treats during what is often a mundane chore. Happy hunting.

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Milo, the Israeli wonder dog

March 25, 2009 - 8:32 AM by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Food, General, Life 

Milo says Rami Levy is better than Mister Zol

Milo says Rami Levy is better than Mister Zol

It began as another routine supermarket journey for my wife to Rami Levy, located in the industrial area a few miles from our home.

Ever since it opened a few years ago, despite its location in the desert, Rami Levy has become a welcome alternative to the more crowded and cramped Mister Zol, located in our local mall with parking problems.

Upon leaving the supermarket after stalking up, she encountered one of the Bedouin staff people holding a box next to the row of grocery carts. And inside the box was one of the cutest, smallest puppies she had ever seen.

“I found it,” said the worker. “Someone left six of them to die off in the desert, but I was able to only save this one. I don’t think he’s doing very well.”

How cruel. How sad. How I’m going to pay for this. The dog was breathing slightly, had matted hair and closed eyes. That image about did it for my wife.

We once had a dog, but had given it away after six years due to the overwhelming responsibilities of a new baby in the house. And ever since, we had felt guilty about it, even though she went to a warm, loving home.

Given the choice of saving the life of this puppy, or likely letting him die, my wife scooped him up and brought him home. And that’s how Milo came to live with us.

The idea was to nurse him back to health, and then find a good home for him. Well, the health part worked out great. Milo’s robust and playful. But it’s been five months now, and he’s still with us.

My wife’s mitzva of saving a life has turned us into reluctant dog owners once again. So, if there’s anyone out there – even you, that one Israelity reader in Honduras – that wants to continue the mitzvah trail, let us know. We’ll get Milo to you somehow.

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