Forget the herring, pass the grasshoppers..
As Israel is fighting the swarm of locusts which entered Israel from Egypt this week, one ultra-Orthodox Jewish man is happy to be able to collect bags of grasshoppers in order to enjoy them as breakfast and for snacks, according to press reports in Israel.
Farmers in southern Israel are hurting after swarms of locusts caused damage to crops, estimated at millions of shekels, but some there are very happy with the arrival of the locusts.
Mayer Rene, a ultra-Orthodox Jewish resident of Tel Aviv, told an Israeli newspaper that he arrived early morning to Kibbutz Be'er Milka to see the locusts up close and catch some locusts to eat.
"I started to collect them and was able to fill an entire sack. This is a desert grasshopper, which according to Jewish law is kosher,” Rene said. "Since I was little I've heard stories that Jews ate locusts in Yemen. They used to collect bags of locusts, put them into the oven and eat them. I ate some years ago and it was delicious," Rene added.
He also said: "A few years ago, I baked it in the oven. I cut its head off, pulled the legs and wings out and I ate the remains."
Meanwhile, the Israeli authorities said that calm winds and pesticide spraying reduced the threat of the locusts spreading to other areas of the country.
Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, the son of Sephardi leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, ruled today that it is forbidden to eat the locusts. "It is the custom not to eat any grasshoppers, even when there are signs that they are kosher.
Some rabbis however, disagree and allowed eating the grasshoppers.
Farmers in southern Israel are hurting after swarms of locusts caused damage to crops, estimated at millions of shekels, but some there are very happy with the arrival of the locusts.
Mayer Rene, a ultra-Orthodox Jewish resident of Tel Aviv, told an Israeli newspaper that he arrived early morning to Kibbutz Be'er Milka to see the locusts up close and catch some locusts to eat.
"I started to collect them and was able to fill an entire sack. This is a desert grasshopper, which according to Jewish law is kosher,” Rene said. "Since I was little I've heard stories that Jews ate locusts in Yemen. They used to collect bags of locusts, put them into the oven and eat them. I ate some years ago and it was delicious," Rene added.
He also said: "A few years ago, I baked it in the oven. I cut its head off, pulled the legs and wings out and I ate the remains."
Meanwhile, the Israeli authorities said that calm winds and pesticide spraying reduced the threat of the locusts spreading to other areas of the country.
Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, the son of Sephardi leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, ruled today that it is forbidden to eat the locusts. "It is the custom not to eat any grasshoppers, even when there are signs that they are kosher.
Some rabbis however, disagree and allowed eating the grasshoppers.
Whenever possible, one name that should be applied to invasive pests is "Dinner".
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