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A chain of fruit and nuts stores brings an Israeli-style market concept to NYC
(New York Jewish Week) — On my frequent trips to Israel, I always throw a handful of gallon-sized, zip-top plastic bags into my suitcase. Once there, I fill them with spices, kosher candies and nuts during my pilgrimages to my personal holy sites: Tel Aviv’s Levinsky Market and its open-air market, Shuk HaCarmel.
But thanks to Din Allall, the 29-year-old, Israeli-born CEO of the rapidly expanding Nuts Factory chain, for my next trip to Tel Aviv, I plan to leave those bags behind. That’s because Allal has brought the Israeli market concept to New York.
“The idea is that these stores should feel like the shuk,” Allal told the New York Jewish Week, “but cleaner and neater.”
Allall opened his first Nuts Factory on Manhattan’s Upper East Side three years ago. Since then, 11 more brick-and-mortar stores have popped up around the city — most recently a second Upper East Side location, this one on 74th Street and 3rd Avenue — as well as in New Jersey and Boston, with plans to open a second Boston location and one in Washington, D.C. The company also operates a handful of departments within supermarkets.
The brightly lit shops are well organized, filled with rows of acrylic containers packed with nuts and dried fruit — including pineapple, melon and papaya — a kaleidoscope of jelly candies, mounds of Middle Eastern spices and sheets of chocolates. Customers help themselves by scooping out the desired amount of product into a plastic bag (provided) or a reusable container (brought from home).
Just like visiting an Israeli shuk, entering a Nuts Factory location is a multi-sensory experience: the aromas, colors, andselection create a symphony of sensations. The Nuts Factory ups the ante by dry-roasting nuts in small batches at each store, assuring freshness as well as providing an inviting fragrance.
That’s part of the reason that Allall has invested in physical stores, as opposed to online. (Another successful, Jewish-owned business in the same category, Nuts.com, began as pushcart in Newark — and is now almost exclusively online.)
“You can buy nuts online but you can’t experience what you can in a store,” Allall said. “Most of our business is walk-in. People see what they get. They can try the nuts and candy. It’s a whole experience.”
The idea to roast the nuts on site came from Allall’s grandfather, Shimone, who was born in Iraq and came to Israel as a teenager. Together with Allall’s father, Igal, the pair created a shuk-like indoor store. The family founded Shkedia (Hebrew for almond tree), a nuts and dried fruit business, about 25 years ago and now has 200 departments in major supermarket chains, like Shufersal and Osher Ad, all around Israel. Nuts Factory is a separate, U.S.-based operation.
Din Allall’s U.S.-based fruit and nut stores have the feel of street markets in Israel, like Tel Aviv’s Levinsky Market, above. (Karen Chernick)
“We hadn’t seen anything like it here,” Allall said. “We thought it would be great for Americans to enjoy the ‘shuk’ experience. This generation is leaning towards healthier and less processed products. The quality of the nuts and dried fruit category in America is not as good as ours.”
Allall chose New York as its testing ground because, as he said, “Where else would you do it? We love New York, its energy, its innovation. And I don’t think we were wrong!”
Although there are no signs announcing that the store is an Israeli concept, the sales associates on the floor will tell you which of the products come from Israel — many, perhaps most, of them do. The parve babka, from Tel Aviv’s Antikovich Bakery, is flown in from Israel, as are the store-brand selections of date rolls, sesame, halva and chocolate cookies. The silan and tahini are Israeli, too, and the variety of chocolates — like white chocolate hazelnut bark or milk chocolate coconut bark — come from the family’s chocolate factory in Modi’in, located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
In addition to a typical nut selection, Nuts Factory has special offerings, like pretzel-covered pecans, Nutella-coated cashews and strawberry-covered peanuts. “Everything” cashews — covered with a garlicky spice mixture — is what Allall calls his “weirdest” offering, while their best-selling product, he said, are the Oreo-covered pecans. To understand why, take the store up on its free sample and try one.
“We have a variety that nobody has, that you can’t find anywhere,” Allall said.
All Nuts Factory products are kosher and all of the stores — except for one in Boston and another on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan — have kosher certification. The stores are open on Saturday.
“I was a bit skeptical when I first walked in there — another nut place!” Upper West Sider Sabrina Rosen Salomon told the New York Jewish Week. “But everything was clean and nice, and they have a special offer where you can fill a platter for a fixed price.”
For Tu Bishvat, the Jewish holiday of trees that celebrates all things nuciferous and fruity , the chain is offering a special to its customers: The Nuts Factory’s platters, which they usually sell for $30 and can include up to six items, will be discounted to $24.99. The platter is not based on weight, but whatever fits on it. The special begins two weeks before the holiday, which this year falls on Feb. 6.
And if you can’t make it into one of his stores, you can order the Nuts Factory’s products online. The aroma of warm nuts, however, is not included.
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The post A chain of fruit and nuts stores brings an Israeli-style market concept to NYC appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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9 Israeli Soldiers Injured in Lebanon Fighting, 2 in Serious Condition
Two IDF soldiers. Photo: IDF.
i24 News – Two Israeli officers were seriously wounded and seven additional soldiers injured in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
According to the military, the first incident occurred during the morning hours amid an encounter between Israeli forces and armed militants operating in the area.
During the engagement, an anti-tank missile was launched toward deployed troops, which the IDF said was fired by Hezbollah operatives. Two officers were struck in the attack, with one sustaining serious injuries and the second moderately wounded.
A second incident took place overnight in a separate sector of southern Lebanon, when Israeli forces operating in the area came under rocket fire. In that strike, one officer was seriously wounded and six soldiers were moderately injured, the IDF said.
The incidents come amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, marked by repeated exchanges of fire and periodic ground confrontations in southern Lebanon.
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Report: Some 30 US Troops Injured in Iranian Attacks on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi
Screenshot of video of Saudi Arabia’s Air Force intercepts Iranian drones over Saudi airspace. Photo: Saudi Defense Ministry / Screenshot
i24 News – Over 12 US troops have been injured in Iranian attacks on a Saudi air base in the past week, the Associated Press reported on Saturday citing two people who have been briefed on the matter.
On Friday, the Islamic Republic launched six ballistic missiles and 29 drones at Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan air base, wounding at least 15 troops, including five seriously, according to the sources who spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity.
US officials initially reported that at least 10 US troops were injured, including two seriously wounded.
The base had come under attack twice earlier this week, including an incident that injured 14 US troops, according to the people who had been briefed on the matter.
Located some 100 kilometers from the Saudi capital of Riyadh, the base is run by the Royal Saudi Air Force, but is also used by US troops.
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At CPAC, a Generational Divide Over Republican Support for Israel
Gabriel Khuly, 19, and Joshua-Caleb Barton, 31, pose for a picture outside Generation Zion’s booth at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) USA 2026 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, in Grapevine, Texas, U.S., March 27, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Nathan Layne
When former Congressman Matt Gaetz opened his speech by aligning with a Republican faction “loyal to only one nation,” his message to the Conservative Political Action Conference was clear: It was a veiled swipe at perceived Israeli influence over US politicians, even without naming Israel outright.
A month into the US-Israeli war with Iran, Gaetz’s comments struck a discordant note at the annual CPAC event. They cut against calls for unity and exposed a growing Republican rift largely along generational lines, as younger conservatives increasingly question support for Israel.
That skepticism reflects a broader distrust of military intervention among younger Republicans, fueled in part by conservative figures such as Tucker Carlson, whose allegations of excessive Israeli influence on US policy have drawn accusations that he is stoking antisemitism. Carlson has repeatedly denied accusations of antisemitism.
The Iran war, including Israel’s role in it, emerged as one of the main flashpoints at CPAC, which for decades has served as a central gathering for Republican politicians and activists.
Jack Posobiec, a conservative commentator and online influencer, said age 45 is a dividing line, with the younger cohort more likely to question the party’s steadfast support of Israel.
“People want to paint it off as if it’s antisemitism, but I don’t think that’s what it is,” Posobiec told Reuters. “It’s just a question of: Why? What is the purpose of this relationship? And I hear that a lot from young voters.”
The issue has roiled the Democratic Party in recent weeks, with some lawmakers and primary candidates distancing themselves from the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC amid growing unease over Israel’s military actions.
It is now exposing fault lines among Republicans as well, turning off young voters who helped propel Trump to victory in 2024 and potentially complicating the party’s efforts to defend slim majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives heading into November’s midterm elections.
Noah Bundy, 17, and Ryder Gerrald, 18, conservative friends from Georgia attending their first CPAC, said they opposed the war with Iran and questioned whether the military operation put Israel’s interests ahead of America’s.
“I think they totally pushed us into a war with Iran,” Bundy said. “My whole family is military and none of us is really for it.”
“Our younger generation, we don’t like Israel as much compared to the older generation,” said Gerrald. He said he would prefer redirecting US taxpayer dollars toward domestic priorities, rather than spending to bolster Israel’s military.
EVANGELICAL SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL
The party’s pro-Israel stance, however, resonates strongly with evangelicals – a pillar of Trump’s political base – and with older voters like Harry Strine III, an 83-year-old CPAC attendee who was wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat.
“Israel is God’s people,” Strine said. “The US was founded on the Judeo-Christian belief. I guess I’m a traditionalist.”
On the conference’s opening day, Rev. Franklin Graham said that, by striking Iran to protect Israel, President Donald Trump was like the biblical figure of Esther, a Jewish queen who, according to scripture, was elevated by God to save her people from annihilation in ancient Persia.
“I believe God has raised him up for a time such as this, like Queen Esther,” said Graham, a prominent Christian evangelist, invoking a core evangelical belief that the modern state of Israel represents the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
But unease over the Iran war and rising gasoline prices has pushed Trump’s approval rating down to 36% – its lowest since his return to the White House – a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday found. Support among his core base remains strong, however, with 74% of Republicans backing the strikes on Iran.
The debate over Israel coincides with a broader Republican fight over the future of the MAGA movement and who belongs in it. Allegations of antisemitism flared at a December event organized by Turning Point USA, a nonprofit focused on promoting conservative politics. At its first national event since founder Charlie Kirk’s death, commentator Ben Shapiro criticized fellow conservatives for associating with figures like white nationalist streamer Nick Fuentes, who has praised Hitler.
In his CPAC speech on Thursday, Gaetz said he did not agree with Shapiro and other conservative commentators “that we have some sort of near slavish loyalty to a country in a faraway land,” an apparent reference to Israel.
He argued that conservatives needed to allow for disagreements and that “antisemitism isn’t hiding around every corner and in every bush.”
Visitors to the CPAC booth of Generation Zion, a nonprofit group that trains young Christians and Jews to advocate for Israel and to combat antisemitism, could pick up a sticker reading “Tucker Carlson Hates Me,” a rebuke of the commentator’s recent criticism of Christian Zionism and Israel’s alleged sway over U.S. politics.
Gabriel Khuly, a 19-year-old volunteer for the group, said that while the Republican Party has an antisemitism problem, it is driven by a small minority with an outsized voice online.
“The actual anti-Israel, antisemitic wing of the Republican Party, I think, makes itself seem a lot bigger than it really is.”