McDonald’s Comes to Masada
Image by iStockphoto
Would you like fries with that mass suicide?
Visitors to Masada can now ponder Jewish martyrdom while eating fast food, thanks to the recent opening of a McDonald’s at the historical site. The latest issue of Time Out Tel Aviv reports that the fast-food chain “just opened a branch inside the visitors center of the sombre ruined fortress,” where a besieged group of Jews killed themselves “rather than face a life of slavery at the hands of their Roman captors.”
Time Out notes a certain irony in the arrival of McDonald’s, long derided by critics as an example of American “cultural imperialism.” Masada has come to symbolize “the refusal to bow down to the evil imperialist,” the magazine says, but is “now home to a branch of everyone’s favorite burger chain.” Some other Israelis have agreed, including one who says the new McDonald’s “shows that the forces of global capitalism are taking the fight to the heart of the Zionist narrative.”
That said, the magazine sees some potential in the new McDonald’s outlet, even if most visitors won’t acknowledge it.
“We bet that, even if you won’t admit it, a nice, cold milkshake at the end of a sightseeing trip might end up being a welcome affair,” Time Out suggests.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
