Matzo and Oreos: Keeping Kosher in America

Adhering to the strict dietary laws of traditional Judaism, or keeping kosher, used to be extremely challenging. Before a standardized system of certification, before even any kind of mandatory food labeling, how were Americans supposed to keep kosher? The Korean War's “Operation Matzo” is a case in point, writes Jeffrey Yoskowitz: “Matzo was no combat mission; it was part of the Orthodox Union's Passover Food Package Campaign, which consisted of a series of Passover Seders in Seoul and other military bases that supplied much-needed kosher foods—candies, gefilte fish, matzo, and cheeses—to one thousand Jewish servicemen.”