The present-day Mexican Jewish community boasts a population of over 40,000. In Mexico City, alone, where the majority of Mexican Jews live, there are 23 synagogues and more than a dozen Jewish schools, where over 90% of its Jewish youth receive their education. To serve this rapidly growing Torah community, there are 19 kosher restaurants, 19 kosher butcher shops, 15 kosher bakeries, and 13 kosher grocery stores.
Jews are no strangers to Mexico. Although the Jewish presence in Mexico dates back to the Spanish Conquest, it was not until the final years of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century that a mass immigration of Jews from Syria, Greece, Turkey, the Balkans, and Eastern Europe, fleeing from persecution and poverty, gave way to the initial stages of a modern Jewish Mexican community.
Today, the Maguen David Community, formed by descendents of the Jewish immigrants from Aleppo, Syria, provides welfare, religious and educational services to its associates. Among its institutions, KMD is responsible for providing kashrus services.
To facilitate the ever-growing kashrus demands in Mexico, a newly formed alliance between STAR-K CERTIFICATION and the KMD was recently announced by STAR-K President, Dr. Avrom Pollak. “STAR-K has a history of sharing its expertise in kashrus with other communities,” explains Dr. Pollak.
“We look forward to this new partnership which promises to have a positive affect on the volume of kosher meat and other food products not only in both the United States and Mexico, but throughout the world. It will be mutually beneficial for both organizations and communities, as well as the greater kosher community, especially during these challenging economic times.”
“KMD is honored to announce this alliance, since it serves as an important launching pad for Mexican kashrus”, said Salomon Dichi, treasurer of the Maguen David in Mexico “It means being able to provide foreign markets with Mexican-made products, showing both KMD and Star-K certifications. I would like to stress that these two companies have very similar certification standards. We hope that this alliance will be a big success in Mexico and the United States.”
{Matzav.com Newscenter}
