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Rabbi Arthur Segal’s love of people, humanity, and Judaism has him sharing with others “The Wisdom of the Ages” that has been passed on to him. His writings for modern Jews offer Spiritual, Ethical, and eco-Judaic lessons in plain English and with relevance to contemporary lifestyles. He is the author of countless articles, editorials, letters, and blog posts, and he has recently published two books:

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Sunday, September 21, 2008

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:PART 2:AGRIPROCESSORS

 RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:PART 2:AGRIPROCESSORS
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: AGRIPROCESSORS:
 WHEN KOSHER IS
TRAIF: HEKSHER TZEDEK'S NEED:PART TWO 
Recall of Aaron's Best Beef and Chicken Products
Release Date: July 17, 2007

NJLINCS Health Alert Network
Public Health Info
Distributed by the New Jersey Department of Health

and Senior Services

Subject:

Recall of Aaron's Best Beef and Chicken Products

Date:

7/9/2007; 09:19:20

Message #:

100540-7-9-2007-PHIN

Contact Inf  

Alan L. Talarsky, NJDHSS/CEHS/

Food and Drug Safety Program
Phone: 609-588-3123; Email: at2@njlincs.net

Attachments:

Aaron's_Best_Recall.doc

Please review the following messages from Alan Talarsky,

 Environmental Scientist 1,

 Food and Drug Safety Program, DHSS regarding the U.S.

 Department of Agriculture's

Food Safety and Inspection Service's Class 1 Recall

of various beef and chicken

 products produced by Agriprocessors, Inc., of Postville, Iowa.

Approximately 35,860 pounds of frozen beef and chicken products are

being recalled because they may contain egg albumen, a known

 allergen, which is not declared on the label.

The following products are subject to recall: [View Labels]
20-pound bulk boxes of "AARON'S BEST NUGGET SHAPED

 CHICKEN BREAST PATTIES, GLATT KOSHER, FULLY

COOKED." Each box contains the code "8692-1" and establishment

number "P 4653A" inside the USDA mark of inspection.
20-pound bulk boxes of "AARON'S BEST MEATBALLS, MADE

 WITH BEEF, GLATT KOSHER, FULLY COOKED." Each box

 contains the code "8698-1" and the establishment number

 "EST. 4653A" inside the USDA mark of inspection.
12-pound boxes of "RUBASHKIN'S, AARON'S BEST, GLATT

 KOSHER Kishka, Fully Cooked." Each box contains the code

"3852-1" and the establishment number "EST. 4653A" inside

 the USDA mark of inspection.
1-pound packages of "RUBASHKIN'S, AARON'S BEST, GLATT

 KOSHER Kishka, Fully Cooked." Each package contains the

 establishment number "EST. 4653A" inside the USDA mark

 of inspection and a date code of "014-07," "015-07," "040-07" or "042-07."

The frozen chicken and beef products were produced on various

 dates between Jan. 14 and July 3 and were distributed to food

 service establishments and institutions nationwide. In addition,

the one-pound packages of Kishka were also distributed through retail stores.

Agriprocessor's web site states the following:

As a business, Agriprocessors, Inc. strives to be second to none in

producing the finest quality beef and poultry products at a reasonable

price. We are devoted to our customers and are committed to following

 and upholding the federal, state, and local laws and regulations governing

our business.

As a producer of kosher meat products, we approach our business in the

context of a deep religious tradition. The nine rabbinic authorities that use

 Agriprocessors to serve the needs to their congregations define the

requirements for kosher meat production at our plant, and train and supervise

 the rabbis who conduct the religious rituals. The values expressed in the kosher

 rituals and requirements are a part of the values shared by our employees,

 regardless of their religious beliefs. They include a commitment to:

  • Cleanliness and health
  • The safety and welfare of our employees, colleagues and neighbors
  • Stewardship of the environment
  • The humane treatment of our animals
  • The success of our community

These values and commitments are reflected in everything that Agriprocessors does.

It appears from the reports they failed on all of their values and commitments.

They give their history on the web site as:

In the mid-1980s, the future of local kosher butcher shops looked bleak. The growing

cost of bringing livestock to the butcher for preparation was making it more difficult

for independent kosher and non-kosher butchers alike to stay in business.

Aaron Rubashkin already has innovated the kosher beef and poultry industry by

 introducing the self serve beef and poultry case that the future of quality meat

 production lay in bringing the butcher to the livestock instead of bringing the

 livestock all the way to the city butcher. He also saw a business opportunity

that served the needs not only of his religious community,

 but for consumers everywhere.

Knowing that Iowa's family farms are known to raise the

 best cattle in the world,

 Aaron purchased the former HyGrade meat processing plant in Postville,

Iowa in 1987. The plant had been closed for seven years and the city's

 leaders were eager to see it brought back to life for the benefit of the local

economy and its farmers.

Aaron wanted Agriprocessors to be different. Most other large meat

 processors added kosher meat production as an afterthought. But Aaron

 designed the beef harvesting process in a way that would fully accommodate

 every rabbinical standard glatt kosher and regular kosher. Even the rabbinate

of the state of Israel is accommodated in the process. He trusted that kosher

customers would be reassured by his family's commitment to kosher standards

 and that non-kosher customers would appreciate the better meat produced

 under kosher requirements.

Aaron also knew it would not be enough for his family to run the business

from a distance. His sons, Sholom and Heshy Rubashkin, and his daughter

and son in law Yossie Gourarie moved to Postville with their families and

serve as Agriprocessors' senior officers at the Postville plant. Many other

 families followed them and joined with local employees and their families

 to transform Agriprocessors' Postville plant into a leading producer of kosher

 and non-kosher beef, veal, lamb, turkey and chicken products

 sold throughout the world.

From that beginning, Agriprocessors has grown to be the producer of choice, of

many fine kosher beef products as well as chicken, turkey, veal and lamb.

These products can be found in many supermarkets nationally such as

 Albertson's Kroger, Shop Rite, Wal-Mart, Trader Joe's, Ralph's, Pathmark,

 H.E. Butt, etc.

While Jewish law forbids us from cutting the corners of our fields and leaving

those crops for the poor, it appears that the success of Agriprocessors has

come from the greed of cutting many corners, legal, Talmudic, Torah, Judaic,

 animal humane laws, and human fair labor practices.

If it has not become obvious to the read yet, the Yetzer Ha Ra, one's

evil inclination, can be alive and well, even in the most pious and orthodox of Jew,

 and the Talmud actually tells us that the closer we come to God, the more the

 Yetzer Ha Ra will try its best to deter us. The worship of money and profit has

 been the evil inclination's play ground long before their were even rules about

 kosher. It is obvious that while rabbis may be on site checking kosher slaughtering,

 we need as Jews, of all sects, to demand, that a Heksher Tzedek, a seal of ethics

, be given by an independent body, not tainted with money from the meat processor.

Agriprocessor  is the USA's largest kosher meat supplier, from beef to poultry, yet

 look at its history, that no Rabbinic organization, did the successful mitzvoth of

 reproving   them when they have a history of doing  wrong. Worse, when other

 organizations, like PETA approached Jewish organizations for help for the animals

and the human workers, they were dismissed. Judaism ''stood idly by'', breaking

 another commandment.

Wikipedia states that  Agriprocessors is the corporate identity of a slaughterhouse

and meat-packaging factory that is in an incorporated area of Postville, Iowa 

 best known as a facility for the glatt kosher processing of cattle, as well as

 chicken, turkey, duck, lamb and veal It is the largest kosher meatpacking

plant in the United States.

It was founded by Aaron Rubashkin. Rubashkin is regarded as an innovator

 in the kosher meat industry, bringing modern industrial methods to what has

historically been a small, almost boutique craft. Two-thirds of its output, however,

 is non-kosher and is marketed under the brand Iowa Best Beef.. Its kosher

products are marketed under the brand names Aaron's Best and Rubashkins.

 The current CEO is the founder's son Sholom Rubashkin and another son,

Heshy  Rubashkin is also active in the organization. Agriprocessors, the

Rubashkin family, and their supporters are surrounded by controversy and bad publicity.

Rubashkin purchased the meat packing facility in 1987. Agriprocessors was

 subjected to serious charges of using inhumane methods of slaughter, of

being unsanitary, of maintaining an unsafe work environment and of

mistreating its employees. All of this was propelled by a secret video

 released by PETA, leading to further attention. PETA ineffectively

 picketed the Allamakee  County District Attorney to start an investigation ,

something that received more coverage elsewhere than locally.

Temple Grandin , recognized as one of the world's foremost authorities

 on the design of cattle containment and slaughter, is said to have been

 appalled at what she saw on the tape. Jewish commentators stated,

 based on what was seen on the tape, that the practices violated Jewish law,

and thus the products' kosherness were suspect. After the initial controversy,

 however, audits by competent private firms as well as governmental agencies

 passed favorably on Agriprocessors' practices. In particular, Temple Grandin

 toured the facility on June 27, 2006, and by Agriprocessors own statement,

 she is stated to have approved of everything she saw.

In 2000 the book Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America 

 was written about the sometimes uneasy relationship between the plant and the local community.

In a news release dated January 23, 2007, 2,700 pounds of frankfurters

 offered for sale in the Northeast were voluntarily recalled as having been

 under-processed. In September 2005, the company's employees voted

to join the United Food and Commercial Workers union. When the company

refused to bargain, the union filed an unfair labor practice charge with the

National Labor Relations Board. The company claimed that most of those

 who voted are undocumented aliens, arguing that undocumented aliens

 are prohibited from unionizing because they do not qualify as "employees"

protected by the National Labor Relations Act. "Because the company's

argument ignores both the Act's plain language and binding Supreme Court

precedent," the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia

Circuit, in a case argued October 19, 2007 and Decided January 4, 2008,

 denied the company's petition for review.

On August 31, 2006. Agriprocessors signed a consent decree where

they essentially admitted discharging untreated sewage into the

 Postville system, in violation of Federal and Iowa State law and paid

 a $600,000 fine for violating waste-water regulations.

Starting in 2004, city authorities started an investigation against

Agriprocessors due to complaints from local residents that they

 routinely deposited untreated effluence into local rivers in breach

 of regulations. On August 31, 2006. Agriprocessors signed a consent decree 

 and paid a $600,000 fine for violating waste-water regulations.

On 12 May 2008 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") staged

 a raid on the plant which was described as the largest in the history

 of the United States. Federal authorities arrested hundreds of illegal

 immigrant workers during the raid. ICE spokesman Tim Counts said

that "The raid was aimed at seeking evidence of identity theft, stolen

Social Security numbers and for people who are in the country illegally" .

 According to the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of Iowa,

 those arrested "include 290 Guatemalans, 93 Mexicans, 2 Israelis

 and 4 Ukrainians" . Federal immigration authorities also asserted

that "a methamphetamine laboratory was operating at the slaughterhouse"

 and that "employees carried weapons to work.''

 
Now at first glace I wondered why a meth lab was needed,
but when I saw how many hours a day the workers
were forced to work, it made sense.
 

The JTA Jewish News agency stated: Federal authorities charged

that a methamphetamine laboratory was operating

at the nation's largest kosher slaughterhouse and that

employees carried weapons to work.

The charges were among the most explosive details to emerge

 following the massive raid Monday at

Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa.

In a 60-page application for a search warrant, federal agents revealed

 details of their six-month probe of

Agriprocessors. The investigation involved 12 federal agencies, including

 the Drug Enforcement Administration,

 the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the departments

 of labor and agriculture.

According to the application, a former plant supervisor

told investigators that some 80 percent of the

workforce was illegal. They included rabbis responsible

for kosher supervision, who the source believed

entered the United States from Canada without

 proper immigration documents. The source did not provide evidence

for his suspicion about the rabbis.

The source also claimed to have confronted a human resources

 manager with Social Security cards from three

 employees that had the same number. The manager laughed

 when the matter was raised, the source said.

At least 300 people were arrested Monday during the raid,

 for which federal authorities had rented an expansive

fairground nearby to serve as a processing center for detainees.

The search warrant application said that 697 plant employees

 were believed to have violated federal laws.

Agriprocessors officials did not return calls from JTA

seeking comment.

SO with illegal Rabbis watching the literal Hen House

 of course the foxes will be let in .

An Iowa businessman with ties to the kosher slaughterhouse

targeted in last week's immigration raid was

summoned to appear in June before a grand jury,

 the Des Moines Register reported May 23, 2008. 

Ron Wahls, a guidance counselor in the Postville public

schools and the owner of several rental properties in town,

 said he received the subpoena Thursday, the Des

 Moines Register reported.

It is unclear whether Wahls has been called as a witness

or as a potential target of a government investigation.

 A spokesperson for the Northern Iowa U.S. Attorney's Office

would neither confirm or deny that a grand jury

 has been convened in connection with the Postville raid.

"The obvious thing to say is that they're building a case

 against the Rubashkins themselves," said Marc Stern,

 general counsel to the American Jewish Congress.

An R.W. was named in the original government affidavit that

 laid the legal groundwork for last week's raid at

Agriprocessors, which netted 389 illegal immigrants. R.W.

 is alleged to have carried an envelope of cash

with which he paid undocumented Agriprocessor's employees.

Wahls told the Des Moines Register that he is probably

the R.W. named in the affidavit.

Wahls has ties to Agriprocessors and its owners, the

Rubashkin family of Brooklyn. He participated in

a November 2006 meeting in Minneapolis with Sholom

Rubashkin, who runs Agriprocessors, and two

 Jewish officials trying to improve conditions at the plant.

 A page on the Agriprocessors' Web site,

 headlined "Finding a Home: Postville Housing," identifies Ron Wahls

 as the builder of apartment

buildings to house workers at the plant.

Phone messages left for Wahls at his home and office,

 as well as for a spokesperson for Agriprocessors,

were not returned.

But while Jewish agencies who continued to put their Kosher

 stamp of approval on the meat from Agriprocessors,

so did the Federal government.

USDA Report Finds That AgriProcessors

 Violated Humane, Kosher Laws

PETA is calling on government inspectors to be fired

 after a federal probe revealed that they accepted gifts

and kept quiet about illegal mutilations of live animals.

After reviewing video footage taken by an undercover

PETA investigator, the U.S. Department of Agriculture

(USDA) has concluded that Postville,

 Iowa-based AgriProcessors—the largest glatt

 kosher slaughterhouse in the world—repeatedly violated

provisions of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA)

 while federal inspectors looked on and did nothing.

Workers were caught on videotape shocking cows in the

 face with electric prods, ripping out their windpipes

while they were still conscious, and dumping the animals

 onto the floor as they struggled in terror while

 blood gushed from their throats. The report belies

AgriProcessors' earlier claims that the cruel methods

 it used to kill cows complied with federal and kosher

 regulations.

The USDA report also states that some inspectors

 accepted gifts of meat from AgriProcessors, failed to report

violations, and committed "other acts of misconduct."

 Despite the USDA's findings, the assistant U.S. attorney

 for the Northern District of Iowa has declined to press charges

 against AgriProcessors. PETA is requesting reports

on what actions are being taken against the delinquent

 inspectors and calling for their immediate dismissal.

The HMSA stipulates that animals cannot be dismembered

 until they are rendered insensible to pain,

including during ritual slaughter. This was not the

case at AgriProcessors. The investigations by both PETA

and the USDA found that more than 10 percent of the

 animals whose tracheas were ripped out tried to stand up

 and writhed on the floor in pools of their own blood.

 In more than four hours of videotape shot by PETA's

investigator,

 more than 20 percent of the 278 animals shown being killed

 were clearly conscious after having their

 throats cut and their tracheas ripped out by workers.

The Talmud is clear as is the Torah that bribing is against God's law

 and is certainly against our USA laws.

 But Chabad did

not reprove the Jewish owners of Agriprocessors.

 The Talmud is clear that a synagogue cannot accept money

from one

who earns it unethically, and further one cannot be

 a rabbi if one earns money unethically,

 or example one who is a dice

gambler or a pigeon racer. Yet Chabad continued to receive gifts

 from the owners of Agriprocessors

and the illegal- alien

bribe- giving,- bribe- accepting- Rabbis still worked there,

 stamping food as kosher.

The Conservative rabbinic movement made a statement

and wrote to their Orthodox rabbinic brothers,

 but no action was

taken: From the Rabbinical Assembly of the Conservative Movement:

The disturbing video that People for the Ethical Treatment of

 Animals (PETA) produced of incidents

during shehitah

 (Jewish ritual animal slaughter) at the AgriProcessors' plant

 in Postville, Iowa should be regarded as a welcome,

though unfortunate service to the Jewish community.

 It is a service precisely because the scenes recorded

are not what shehitah should be, nor does it correspond

 to the Jewish way of treating animals, even at the time

of their slaughter. The uproar within the Jewish community

 over the videos is proof that those who observe kashrut

 are serious about the humane treatment of animals.

When a company purporting to be kosher violates the

 prohibition against tza'ar ba'alei hayyim, causing pain to

one of God's living creatures, that company must

 answer to the Jewish community, and ultimately, to God.

There are a variety of means used to prepare an animal for shehitah,

 and our Committee on Jewish Law and

Standards (CJLS) has criticized a number of them.

 In 2000, the CJLS unanimously approved a teshuvah

(response to a question of Jewish law), written

 by Rabbis Elliot N. Dorff and Joel Roth, in which the shackling

and hoisting of animals in preparation for shehitah was

ruled a violation of tza'ar ba'alei hayyim. The teshuvah

 encourages all kosher processing plants to abandon

 that procedure and upgrade to more humane pens to

secure an animal for slaughter. Such humane pens

 do not include the Facomia Pen or the Weinberg Pen,

 both of which are inconsistent with our understanding

 of what it means to humanely treat an animal.

The AgriProcessor plant of Postville, Iowa uses the

 Facomia pen and the PETA video captures exactly

what the teshuvah of 2000 indicates, that this pen

 violates the prohibition against tza'ar ba'alei hayyim.

The Rabbinical Assembly applauds the Orthodox Union (OU)

for its quick response to the video and its allegations.

According to Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Executive Vice

President of the OU, a review of shehitah procedures

 at AgriProcessors is now taking place and an OU

supervisor has been placed on duty to assure that procedures

 assuring kashrut and the humane treatment of animals

 are followed. We hope that with this review, the OU will

demand that the facilities it supervises install pens that

 meet modern scientific animal welfare/humane handling

 requirements such as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty

 to Animals (SPCA) pen which we regard as a

 humane animal securing device, but not excluding

other equally humane technological options.

Those who are charged with supervising the production

 of kosher meat are engaged in a sacred task.

We are certain that they agree with us that the humane

treatment of the animal is key to the Jewish approach

 toward life. In keeping with our CJLS teshuvah of 2000,

 we urge all those involved in shehitah to invest in and

install those technologies that assure that the animal's

 life is terminated speedily and with the humanity that

 Jewish law demands.

Rabbi Perry Raphael Rank
President, The Rabbinical Assembly

But nothing was truly done and the situation got worse

 until the needed raid in May 2008.

With politics and money at stake, the Conservative movement

 backed down of a boycott of Agriprocessors.

Calls this week

by activist rabbis for a limited boycott have been

muted out of concern that a boycott could be actionable

and might discourage Jews from keeping kosher because

 kosher meat would be harder to access.

But isn't it obvious that meat coming from these conditions

 is not kosher? And doesn't the Talmud teach that while

 God has allowed us to eat meat, we must do so with the utmost

 care of the animal and not cause it pain.

The Talmud also teaches that the best way to eat is vegetarian,

 as Adam was in the Garden of Eden.(Gen. 1:29)

And wouldn't laws against cruelty  extend to the workers employed to

 slaughter the animals?

A Statement by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
And the Rabbinical Assembly
Regarding Rubashkin's Meat Products

New York, NY (May 22, 2008) - In light of continuing disturbing

allegations of unacceptable worker conditions

at the Agriprocessors Plant in Postville, Iowa, the United Synagogue

of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical

Assembly is united in calling for a thorough evaluation by kosher

 consumers of the appropriateness of purchasing

 and consuming meat products produced by the Rubashkin's label.

Rubashkin's produces kosher meat primarily under the Aaron

and David label at the Agriprocessors facility.

 It is a major producer of kosher meat and poultry in the

United States. The allegations about the terrible treatment

 of workers employed by Rubashkin's has shocked and appalled

members of the Conservative Movement as well

as all people of conscience. As Kashrut seeks to diminish

animal suffering and offer a humane method of slaughter,

 it is bitterly ironic that a plant producing kosher meat be

 guilty of inflicting human suffering.

The Rabbinical Assembly and United Synagogue of Conservative

Judaism will immediately release an advisory

to its members and constituents to evaluate the appropriateness

of consuming Rubashkin products

until the current situation is addressed. This advisory extends

not only to products purchased on the retail

 level but to meat and poultry consumed in restaurants

and at private functions, such as weddings and bar mitzvahs.

As the month of Sivan approaches, Jews throughout the world

 are mindful of the Torah's message of the power

 of Kedushah, holiness as it applies to all aspects of our lives including

 the ethics of worker treatment and food

 production. It is hoped that Conservative synagogues, schools

 and summer camps engage in a study of this

 important topic in honor of the festival of Shavuot

 – which begins on the sixth day of Sivan —

which commemorates the giving of the Torah.

The reports of unacceptable worker conditions at the

 Agriprocessors plant demonstrate the pressing

 need for the sort of ethical oversight.

When PETA conducted a second investigation into

AgriProcessors in May 2007 at the company's

Gordon, Nebraska,

 slaughterhouse, the investigator discovered that animal

abuse still takes place inside their facilities.

Have we as Jews forgotten: You shall

not abuse a needy and destitute laborer

 (Deuteronomy 24:14)?

Have we as Jews forgotten: When a

stranger resides with you in your land

you shall

not wrong him. The stranger who

 resides with you in your land,

 shall be to you as one

of your citizens; you shall love him

 as yourself for you were strangers

 in the land of Egypt:

 I am the Lord am your God.

 (Lev :19: 33-34)?

Have we as Jews forgotten :

 Tza'ar ba'alei chayim,

 "causing pain to living creatures,"

 is a sin?

Have we as Jews forgotten:'' And I will

come near to you to judgment; and I

will be a

 swift witness against  those

that oppress the hireling in his

 wages'' (Malachi 3:5)?

Have we as Jews forgotten: "It is our

 pride and our glory that we are kind to

 those who

 work for us." (Sefer

HaChinukh 482)?

Have we as Jews forgotten: "A poor

 worker's life depends on his

 wages. If we withhold,

or under pay, it is though we

have taken a life" (Talmud Bavli Tractate

 Bava Metzia 112a)?

Have we as Jews forgotten: "It is

 forbidden to purchase goods from a thief".

(Shulchan Arukh, Choshen Mishpat 356:1)?

Have we as Jews forgotten: "A righteous

 man considers the soul of his animal."

 (Proverbs 12:10).?

 I ,as a Rabbi, am publicly calling for

 Rabbis of all Jewish movements

and for

Jews of all movements ,whether

 we follow kosher food laws or not,

to demand,

that a HEKSHER TZEDKEK, a seal of ethical

business practices both towards

the workers and the animals,

 is followed at any plant considering

itself to be

kosher.

The below shows that we cannot trust the system in place of the

 slaughterhouse owner, hiring his own rabbis, as what

 ethical rabbi would allow what has been alleged at

Agriprocessors to occur, or want to do business

with any of the below

 principles of Agriprocessors? Until we institute

 a HEKSHER TZEDEK the idea of ''kosher meat'' will

be an oxymoron.

Rubashkin Scandals

Agriprocessors, the Rubashkin family's Postville, Iowa slaughterhouse,

 was found to be in violation of Humane

 Slaughter guidelines after PETA released an undercover

 video showing cows' throats ripped out with a meat hook

 and cows writhing on the floor, trying to get up

and run away after shechita.

Long video.

Short video.

Veterinarians, large animal biologists and animal welfare experts

came down on PETA's side, while Orthodox

 rabbis supported Rubashkin.

Nevertheless, the OU promised to stop meat hook use

and throat-ripping.

Two years later, Rubashkin's Gordon, Nebraska plant was

 found to be using a meat hook to probe the throats of fully

 conscious animals. The OU denied the instrument used

was a meat hook. The OU was not being honest .

Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act

 that prove the USDA now allows this type of meat hook

 use, even on fully conscious animals.

The documents indicate the USDA expects this procedure to

 be done by rabbis as part of the ritual slaughter,

 not by non-Jewish workers. Yet the USDA in practice

 allowed non-Jewish employees  to do the procedure.

 In an award-winning report  by the Forward, the Postville plant

was also accused  of abusing its employees.

The plant has had its share of EPA troubles, as well.

Aaron Rubashkin, the family's patriarch and president of

 Agriprocessors, was sanctioned by the National Labor

 Relations Board along with his son Rabbi Moshe Rubashkin.

 The Rubashkins collected union dues from their

 Brooklyn employees but did not turn the money  over to the union.

 Instead, the Rubashkins kept the money for themselves.

Another PETA undercover video shows an Agriprocessor's

 representative refusing to pay for work-related medical care 

 for a plant worker.

Rubashkin also had several food safety issues , including

 mishandling of meat potentially tainted with mad cow disease.  

Agriprocessors refused to recognize its employees' vote to unionize.

 The National Labor Relations Board found

 against Agriprocessors. The Rubashkin family appealed

 that decision. On January 4, 2008 the United States

Circuit Court of Appeals found against Agriprocessors 

and for the employees' unionization.

Here is a PDF of that decision.

Here are interviews done regarding the various Rubashkin scandals:

  1. The OU's Rabbi Belsky.
  2. KAJ's Rabbi Chaim Kohn.
  3. Dr. Temple Grandin #1.
  4. Dr. Temple Grandin, #2.
  5. Dr. Temple Grandin, #3.
  6. Dr. Temple Grandin, #4 and
  7.  the OU's Rabbi Seth Mandel.(Gordon, Nebraska plant.)
  8. Rabbi Shear-Yashuv Cohen, Chief Rabbi of Haifa, Israel.
  9. Trent Berhow, Vice Chairman, National Joint Council Of
  10. Food Inspection Locals.
  11. Karen Brown, of the Food Marketing Institute.
  12. Trent Berhow and Jim Shanahan, Food Safety Inspectors
  13. Union.(Gordon, Nebraska plant.)
  14. The CEO of OU Kosher, Rabbi Menachem Genack,
  15.  on the May 12, 2008 Immigration raid at Agriprocessors.

There are dozens of posts on the various Rubashkin scandals.

 Here are the index pages for those posts. Please

 realize that some of these pages are very heavy and will take

 some time to load. Also note that the most recent

post is at the top of the page, the oldest at the bottom.

 The same post will often be found in more than one

 index page, as well.

Rubashkin Kosher Meat Scandal.
Rubashkin Worker Abuse. (Incomplete –

you'll find other, older posts in other sections.)
Rubashkin Gordon Plant Scandal.
Rubashkin EPA Troubles (incomplete – you'll

find other, older posts in other sections).
Rubashkin Food Safety Troubles.

Moshe Rubashkin

Rabbi Moshe Rubashkin, a son of Aaron Rubashkin, has

his own run-ins with the law. A Convicted felon,

 Moshe Rubashkin was elected president of the Crown

 Heights Community Council shortly after his parole.

 He was indicted in September 2007  along with one

 of his sons for a scheme to avoid paying taxes and upkeep

on a large industrial property he abandoned in Allentown, PA.

 That scheme is first reported here ..

That property burned in several suspicious fires and in at least

 one arson. Moshe Rubashkin left hazardous,

 highly flammable chemicals at the site, located in a

 residential area.

Moshe Rubashkin and Shalom pleaded guilty and are

awaiting sentencing. Most posts about them are scattered

 in other indexes. The best way to find them all is to look here.


Newer Issues:

Agriprocessors Refuses To Bargain With Union –

Union Wins In Court

Agriprocessors hired illegal aliens along with documented workers.

 When those workers voted to  unionize in

September 2005, Rubashkin claimed the illegals were

not "employees" protected by the National Labor

 Relations Act (because they are illegals) and

 therefore rejected the vote to unionize, claiming a majority of

union voters were illegals and therefore not "employees."

Rubashkin refused to bargain  with the union or recognize the vote.

 

The National Labor Relations Board found against

Rubashkin. Rubashkin appealed.

On Friday, January 4, 2008, the US Court of

Appeals rejected the appeal..

Health and Safety Violation At Local Pride,

 LLC, Rubashkin's Nebraska Plant

In February 2008, the United Food and Commercial Workers

 International Union issued a report on massive

 health and safety violations at Rubashkin's Nebraska plant,

 Local Pride, LLC, based on USDA documents received by

the union through the freedom of information act.

The union also released a letter from four US congressmen

written to the acting USDA Secretary about

 Agriprocessors many health, safety and

 humane slaughter violations.

Rabbi Sholom M. Rubashkin responded to the union's

report by claiming the union was terrorizing

Agriprocessors because for the past three years its

 employees had refused to unionize. Rubashkin

 failed to mention the NLRB decision and court case

 that found that Agriprocessors had illegally

restrained employees from unionizing  by discarding election

results that included votes from undocumented workers.

Early in January of 2008, Agriprocessors lost its legal fight

against the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

Salmonella

Using the Freedom of Information Act, Food and Water

Watch was able to compile a list of the worst

slaughterhouses in America for salmonella, the bacteria

that causes most food born infection in the US.

Agriprocessors is in the lowest 15% of slaughter houses,

 failing three separate salmonella inspections and

 "passing" a fourth with the lowest possible passing grade.

Agriprocessors Loses KAJ Kosher Supervision

Meanwhile, a leaked letter from KAJ  the Washington

 Heights-based kosher certifiers that were for many tears

the lead supervisory team at Agriprocessors, show that

 KAJ did stop certifying Agriprocessors for kashrut-related reasons.

Agriprocessors and Aaron Rubashkin Linked To

Allou Healthcare Fraud

Also surfacing was a judgment against Aaron Rubashkin

and his assorted companies in the Allou Healthcare

bankruptcy case. Allou executives, Satmar hasidim from

 Brooklyn, pleaded guilty to fraud in this case.

Allou's court-appointed receiver sued Rubashkin and his

companies, receiving a $ 1.4 million judgement on October 1, 2007.

Even though Allou was not in the meat business and did

not distribute food, especially refrigerated perishable food,

 Aaron Rubashkin's meat companies claimed to have

 sold Allou almost $2 million dollars worth of meat.

No trace of the meat or its distribution could be found.

It is believed the invoices  sent by Rubashkin to Allou

 were false, and that the money Allou paid was kicked back

 to the Jacobowitz family, the executives of Allou,

with Rubashkin keeping a percentage for himself.

This alleged

 money laundering has not – yet – been

 criminally prosecuted.

Aaron Rubashkin Owns 10% to 20% of Postville, Iowa

Real Estate

When researching the Rubashkin - Allou connection,

it was learned Nevel, Aaron Rubashkin real estate company,

 is said to own 10% to 20% of Postville, Iowa's housing stock,

making him the city's largest employer and largest

 landowner. He would also appear to be its biggest

 landlord, as well.

Immigration Raid 5-12-08

Fifteen federal and state agencies raided Agriprocessors in Postville,

 Iowa on Monday, May 12, 2008.

 More than 300 illegal workers were arrested.

At the same time, a US Department of Labor–Iowa Department of Labor

 investigation came to light. Rubashkin

and Agriprocessors is under investigation for numerous alleged

violations of labor law, including alleged violations

 of child labor laws.

Agriprocessors is alleged to have paid illegal workers

 $5 per hour  to start and $6 per hour after three months,

both figures well below legal minimum wage.

Thank you.

Shalom v'bracoth:

Rabbi Arthur Segal

JEWISH RENEWAL:

JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL

HILTON HEAD ISLAND,SC

BLUFFTON,SC

SAVANNAH, GA










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