HumaneKosher.com

HumaneKosher.com, new rabbinic group made up of predominantly non-Orthodox rabbis, has come out against shechita as practiced at Rubashkin:

As Rabbis and lay-leaders from across the Jewish world, we come together to express our deep concern about the mistreatment of animals at AgriProcessors in Postville, Iowa.  Judaism’s powerful tradition of teaching compassion for animals has been violated by these systematic abuses …

We further urge the Orthodox Union and other kosher certification agencies to institute specific, public guidelines for the humane treatment of animals in all the facilities they certify.

You can read the entire statement here.

The list of signatories can be viewed here.

Comments

[Camp Runamok]

More noise in the echo chamber.

Their statements of protest to their own congregants have been underwhelming at best. Besides, their own flocks, by and large, do not listen to them WRT kashrus issues. Just how and why do they expect AP to listen?

http://amechad.blogspot.com/2004/12/joel-rembaums-statement-on-kosher.html
http://zackarysholemberger.blogspot.com/2004/12/rabbinical-assembly-and-rubashkin-meat.html

[FNU LNU]

Their requests are very reasonable. But how many of their own congregants keep kosher?

[Lumpy Rutherford]

Are all of the signatories Jewish?

[sandman]

Do they keep kosher?

[Stephen Mendelsohn]

BS"D

The above posts miss the boat. At least one of the signatories (Rabbi David Rosen, the former Chief Rabbi of Ireland) is Orthodox. Moreover, the humane kosher movement has plenty of supporters in the Orthodox world, such as Richard Schwartz of JVNA, even if there are others resisting. What is needed is to educate people that kosher and humane can and should be compatible, rather than antagonistic. If we want to foster the traditional concept of kashrut, we need to be sensitive to the concerns of humane kosher. Otherwise, sensitive Jews might decide to throw the baby out with the bathwater and eat, say, Gardenburgers (which are, I believe vegan but not certified kosher) or forget about avoiding chametz on Pesach (because a strict vegan diet is awkward to match with being kosher le'Pesach, although it can be done).

[Camp Runamok]

> At least one of the signatories (Rabbi David Rosen,
> the former Chief Rabbi of Ireland) is Orthodox.

And vegetarian. Next!

> Richard Schwartz of JVNA

Also vegetarian.

Stephen, your citation is further showing my point. Those in the list directly impacted by this issue (I.E. carnivores) are not in positions of strong advocacy. There is much to be said in favor of "educat[ing] people that kosher and humane can and should be compatible". From where I sit, however, this effort promises to be underwhelming and ineffective.

[josh]

Yea, what a list of people. They have no legitimate Rebbonim on their side...

[Lumpy Rutherford]

josh: They have no legitimate Rebbonim on their side...
========================

How can you say that? They have gentlemen scholars like Rabbi Janet Marder, President, Central Conference of American Rabbis. Or how about, Rabbi Carl M. Perkins of Temple Aliyah, Needham, MA? I bet he's even Jewish.

[julieann zserdin]

who cares what kind of Jew any of them are? Besides isn't cruelty to animals for all Jewish people to address? The Jewish law dosn't state it is just up to the Rabbis to be compassionate to animals. It is a law set down for ALL Jewish people. So any Jew who is aware of animal cruelty has to under the Jewish law do something about the cruelty. If all the Jewish poeple would get together against cruelty to animals on factory farms and ALL slaughter houses there would be no need to worry if the animals were being slaughtered Kosher. It is the responsiblty of EVERY Jew no matter what thier Jewish beliefs to stop cruelty of animals.

[Mary Thomasson]

What kind of Jewish instruction from Torah (as G-d would speak) do we instill in our children and their future values? The Jew might have forgooten G-d but G-d has every Jew in His Sight and will Judge