“The IDF wishes all its soldiers in the air, at sea and on land, to the reservists, to their families and to all of Israel a kosher and happy Passover!”
By ANNA AHRONHEIMIDF artillery soldier eats matzah in 1975(photo credit: GOVERNMENT PRESS OFFICE)
The IDF’s Food department of the Technological and Logistics Division is preparing for the seven-day Passover holiday, which begins on Friday evening, the military announced.“The IDF wishes all its soldiers in the air, at sea and on land, to the reservists, to their families and to all of Israel a kosher and happy Passover!”“As in previous years, the IDF Food department of the Technological and Logistics Division is preparing to provide bases with a menu for the Seder night and holiday days,” read a statement released by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.According to the military, the IDF purchased some 12,000 kg. of various kinds of kosher flour for Passover, 2,400 kg. of matza flour, 13,000 kg. of fish, 50,000 kg. of beef, 45,000 kg. of turkey, and 130,000 kg. of chicken.Another 65,000 kg. of matzah, 230,000 kosher-for-Passover rolls, and 13,000 charoset units have been purchased, and troops will receive 4,800 food items they chose for the holiday.The military also purchased about 3,500 kg. of dried fruits, 60,000 mousse cakes and 17,500 kg. of cakes and cookies which will be delivered to bases across the country for dessert.Troops will be able raise a glass for the holiday with 17,000 liters of grape juice and 21,000 bottles of soda that will be distributed to the bases.As in previous years, vegan and vegetarian soldiers as well as those who are sensitive to gluten or other allergies will receive food based on their diet needs for the holiday.The military launched for the first time a unique game on the IDF website in cooperation with the Hive (kaveret) network, in which soldiers can win a voucher worth 100 NIS from their website. At the end of the campaign, the 15 soldiers who will achieve the best result will win the prize.In addition, the IDF’s food department of the Technological and Logistics Division is conducting a special project in conjunction with the IDF website, where soldiers are given the opportunity to choose their Seder meal.
Troops were able to enter the IDF site and rank their meal preferences until Thursday. The bases participating in the project were the Golani Brigade, the Home Front Command, the Paratroopers Corps, the School for Border Defense, Training Base 1, the School of Military Engineering, Shivta in the Negev, the Camp Dotan (Camp 80), and the Shizafon, the Kfir, Nahal and Givati Brigades.Seder meal menus across bases include baked salmon with herbs and pickled lemon paste, grilled chicken in garlic and honey, a variety of salads, baked potato, potato and sweet potato pancakes, ratatouille, vegetable stir-fry and a selection of desserts.As part of the Passover cleaning, shelves will be cleaned and uniforms no longer needed by career soldiers can be returned to a military second-hand store at an 80% discount.The project, which is headquartered in the Tel Hashomer store, has seen troops return hundreds of items to date. In anticipation of Passover and in view of the request for the project to last for three days, the military also opened up a location at the Kirya in Tel Aviv.
