neighborhood. Roni Milo, the mayor of Tel Aviv, even called for a boycott of the shopping mall and Dan Darin, the deputy mayor, stated that the city would not grant Africa Israel new building permits if they were to close the mall on weekends. This caused Africa Israel's stock to drop by 20 percent. On May 7, 1997, Africa Israel decided to allow the McDonald's restaurant in the mall to be non-kosher. The mall and the office building above it opened on September 5, 1997. An arbitrator, Dov Levin, a retired Israeli Supreme Court Justice, was given the right to decide whether or not the cinemas and the restaurants would open on Sabbath. He ruled that they would remain closed because the Tel Aviv bylaws, although rarely enforced, state that entertainment spots and eateries must close on Sabbath. The controversy actually pleased the other store owners, who, because of the mass exposure of the mall, profited more than they expected. In 2006, the McDonald's branch in the mall became kosher. The decision was initiated by McDonald's itself. In late 2007, the administration of the mall announced that it was going to close down the Lev Cinema. This led to some protests. On its place some stores were built, including the first Apple store in Israel. In April 2009, Africa Israel, which owned 73.4% of the mall, sold its part to Melisron, a company owned by the Ofer Brothers Group, for 1.5 billion shekels. The insurance company Migdal owns the remaining 26.6%. Description of the mall Ramat Aviv Mall stretches on an area of 80,876 square meters. This area includes the retail areas, the office areas, the underground and upper parking lots, and the public spaces and parks surrounding the mall. The main entrance of the mall is in Einstein Street 40, and there are two other entrances in Brazil Street and in Brodetsky Street. Approximately 24,000 people visit the mall each day and it is considered one of the most successful shopping malls in Israel, if not the most successful. About 140 stores operate in the shopping mall. There are 3 anchor stores—Hamashbir Lazarchan, Super-Pharm, and Zara. The fashion stores Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, and Guess opened their first stores in Israel in Ramat Aviv Mall. Food companies in the mall include McDonald's, Burger King, Arcaffe, Sbarro, Boston Deli, and Ilan's House of Coffee. The parking lot contains about 1,550