Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on February 17, 2015

There is no peace in the Mideast or Midtown.

A Jewish kosher-food purveyor says hes being prevented from settling in the heart of Manhattan by the halal mafia.

Yisroel Mordowitz insists he just wants to peacefully peddle sandwiches piled high with brisket or pastrami from his Holy Rollers cart in the lucrative Rockefeller Center area, 48th Street off Sixth Avenue.

But a group of irate Egyptian competitors block the kosher vendor from setting up on the sidewalk, literally squatting on the curb or placing umbrellas and beverage cartons to cordon off the space.

This guy is hungry hungry for money, bellowed 48th Street Sabrett-slinger Mohamed Mossad, who along with nearly a dozen others successfully kept Mordowitz off the block. I have a family, too!

Why doesnt he go to 47th Street? Mossad shouted, referring to the Hasidim-heavy Diamond District. Hes just coming to this particular spot, and he wants to grab it from me and kill me, actually. Kill my business.

The Holy Rollers adhere to strict kosher guidelines, and their Muslim rivals sell halal food prepared in accordance with Islamic law. For both, pork is a no-no, but there are differences in how meat must be slaughtered and prepped.

Escalating tensions so concerned Avram Wolpin, the mashgiach or on-site supervisor who certifies food as kosher that he feared a veritable falafel fatwa. He told Mordowitz he was worried he would disappear.

After two unsuccessful attempts to work on Sixth, Mordowitz made his exodus southwestward to 35th Street and Ninth Avenue, near B&H Photo, the Hasidic-run electronics megastore.

I thought I could bring peace to Midtown, lamented Mordowitz, 30, of Queens. Im not an enemy Im a friend.

Here is the original post:

Kosher food-cart vendor says hes blocked by halal mafia in NYC

Category: Hasidic
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