New kosher supermarket opening in Berlin

Despite Jewish security concerns throughout Europe, Berlin is about to get a new kosher supermarket, this one serving customers located in the former West Berlin.

The “Daily Markt” kosher supermarket in the Charlottenburg district adds a new option to those already existing in Berlin, including the
Kosher Life supermarket, which opened in 2008 in the former East Berlin, as well as a few smaller shops and bakeries.

They are designed to meet the needs of small but growing communities of observant Jews in the German capital, but draw non-Jewish customers as well, owners say.

A partner in the Daily Markt, store manager Evgeny Bort, says in a statement that he was optimistic that, despite security concerns and the recent European Union decision to require relabeling of products made in the West Bank and Golan Heights, people would patronize the shop.

“We can’t let terrorism stop us and interfere with our lives,” Bort says. He also says that he does not worry about the politics of labeling, and is only concerned with making it easier to purchase kosher food in Berlin.

— JTA