McDonald's Israel

McDonald's Israel
מקדונלד'ס ישראל
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryFast food
FoundedOctober 14, 1993; 31 years ago (1993-10-14) in Ramat Gan, Israel
FounderOmri Padan
HeadquartersGa'ash,
Israel
Number of locations
161 standard non kosher restaurants
68 kosher restaurants (2023)
Area served
Israel
ServicesMaster franchise
OwnerAlonyal Limited (sale to McDonald's Corporation pending)
Number of employees
6,000+ (2015)
Websitewww.mcdonalds.co.il

McDonald's Israel (Hebrew: מקדונלד'ס ישראל, romanized: McDonald's Yisra'el) is the Israeli master franchise of the fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. Previously operated and licensed by Alonyal Limited (Hebrew: אלוניאל בע"מ, Alonyal Ba'am), McDonald's Israel is the largest[1] of Israel's burger chains with a 60% market share.[1] It was the first Israeli outlet to be opened in 1993 and a major competitor of the local restaurant chain Burger Ranch.[2] The world's first kosher McDonald's was opened in Mevaseret Zion in October 1995.[1] After a sales decline attributed to consumer boycotts as part of the BDS movement, McDonald's Corporation announced in 2024 that it would buy Alonyal pending regulatory approval.[3][4][5]

McDonald's Israel was founded by Israeli businessman Omri Padan.[6] Currently McDonald's has 228 restaurants in Israel, with 69 of them under Kosher supervision.[7] This means that they are closed on Shabbat and Jewish holidays, have no mixed meat and dairy products (such as cheeseburgers), and for Passover serve the meat on Passover buns. In Israel, most branches are non-kosher since they serve cheeseburgers (which are non-kosher, i.e. do not conform to traditional Jewish dietary law) by special request (they are not on the menu) and serve milk-based desserts (ice cream, milkshakes). Some of the kosher branches serve milk products in a separate section of the restaurant. McDonald's Israel does not operate restaurants in the West Bank and Golan Heights.[8]

McDonald's Israel claims to source over 80% of its ingredients locally. This includes kosher beef patties, potatoes, lettuce, buns and milkshake mix.[6]

McTouch - McDonald's Israel
McTouch - McDonald's Israel
  1. ^ a b c McDonald's Israel
  2. ^ Burger chains drop prices, Meirav Crystal, Yedioth Ahronoth, January 9, 2009
  3. ^ "Alonyal Limited Announces Agreement to Sell McDonald's Business in Israel to McDonald's Corporation". McDonald's Corporation. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  4. ^ Turak, Natasha (2024-04-05). "McDonald's will buy all 225 restaurants from Israel franchise following pro-Palestinian boycott fallout". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  5. ^ Zitser, Joshua. "McDonald's is reclaiming all its Israeli restaurants, exposing the cracks in its global-franchise model". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  6. ^ a b McDonald's International: McDonald's Israel Archived 2009-01-29 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "מקדונלד'ס ישראל | restaurant locator".
  8. ^ McDonald's changes its brand to suit kosher appetites, The Guardian, Chris McGeral, March 13, 2006