BREAKING! Kosher Industry Spokesman Attacks PETA, Reform And Conservative Movements

Menachem Lubinsky, head of Lubicom, the Kosher Trade and Marketing organization that stages Kosher Fest, has a long op-ed in this week's Jewish Press attacking PETA and rabbis from the Reform and Conservative movements.

Among other unusual quotes, Mr. Lubinsky writes:

From the day PETA released the video it surreptitiously filmed at Agri, the organization practiced deplorable libelous and slanderous spin.

And then, this:

Israel's Chief Rabbinate was duped into equating its position – not to make an immediate second cut so as not to make it appear that two Jewish shochtim performed the shechita – with a condemnation of second-cut practices at Agri performed by a non-Jew.

I wonder if Mr. Lubinsky realizes that he has exposed himself – and perhaps his clients – to legal jeopardy in making these remarks.

You can read it all – along with hyperlinks to some facts that contradict Mr. Lubinsky's assertions – after the jump.

   

There Can Be No Debate With PETA
    Posted 1/12/2005
    By MENACHEM LUBINSKY Last week The Jewish Press published "PETA's Position," a letter to the editor authored by Benjamin Goldsmith, campaign coordinator for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), based in Norfolk, VA. The letter vividly illustrated why further debate with the radical animal rights group is not only impossible, but also grossly irresponsible.

    It is certainly not an easy position to take when one suggests that an open marketplace of ideas cannot and should not take place on any issue. But PETA has long ago crossed the line of earning the right of being debated, as any fair-minded person with knowledge of the facts would conclude. The letter itself illustrates just how deceptive PETA is. It is an example of 'spin' that is enmeshed in lies, distortions, disinformation, and, worst of all, harmful conjectures.

    Goldsmith's letter – in an Orthodox publication, bear in mind – begins by lauding the position on shechita (only that portion with which he agrees) of Rabbi Menachem Genack, rabbinic administrator of the Orthodox Union, but quickly introduces into evidence the criticism of shechita at AgriProcessors in Postville, Iowa, by leaders of the Conservative and Reform movements. When did they become experts on standards for glatt kosher shechita? When did their movements even recognize the validity of glatt kosher? Who among their rabbis and constituents is eating glatt kosher anyway?

    But that deception and mixing of rabbis and standards into one bowl to make it appear that they have the backing of 'rabbis' is only the beginning of the deception. From the day PETA released the video it surreptitiously filmed at Agri, the organization practiced deplorable libelous and slanderous spin. Haifa Chief Rabbi Shar Yoshuv Cohen, for example, was never told the real background or context of the video. He, in fact, later demanded that PETA remove from its website his initial comment to a PETA leader who had deceived him into believing he was a baal teshuva interested in shechita. Israel's Chief Rabbinate was duped into equating its position – not to make an immediate second cut so as not to make it appear that two Jewish shochtim performed the shechita – with a condemnation of second-cut practices at Agri performed by a non-Jew. And so it went.

    Never mind that PETA regularly uses Jewish spokesmen who have to this day refused to repudiate the organization's equation of slaughter of animals to the Holocaust. [These campaigns were based on remarks made by Isaac Bashevis Singer and were not invented out of whole cloth by PETA.] Could there be a bigger insult to our six million martyrs than to have Jews speak in the name of an organization that compares their death al kiddush Hashem (sanctification of the Lord's name) to that of the slaughter of animals? How grotesque.

    Never mind that PETA is mum about its letter to Yasir Arafat protesting the use of a donkey to blow up Jews. In other words, it would seem that as long as an animal is not used, it is permissible to kill Jews. For this alone, no Jewish publication should allow PETA a voice.

    The viciousness of the PETA campaign is perhaps best recognized in that they refuse to accept that Agri itself has vowed to continue to upgrade its humane standards, not because the animals were ever mishandled or that they endured pain (as Rabbi Dr. I.M. Levinger, internationally recognized veterinary surgeon and animal welfare expert, pointed out following his visit to Agri) but because it wants to remove even the slightest perception that any animal is not treated humanely.

    The USDA, which monitors humane practices at the plant, never closed Agri for even one minute, as it would surely do for any infraction. Rather than acknowledge the plant's reaffirmation of its policy of improving conditions when even the slightest concern is raised, PETA continues its vicious campaign – because its motive, as everyone knows by now, is not only to end shechita as we know it in the U.S., but to put the kibosh on all slaughter of animals in this country (and, of late, fishing as well).

    The PETA people say that kosher slaughter is "more humane" than other forms of animal slaughter "if done properly," but are publicly asking for the end of shechita munachas (in a recumbent restraining device), a method of kosher slaughter in which the animal is on its back that is the standard in Israel, Europe (accepted as humane by the European Union), and elsewhere.

    Besides, who gave PETA the right to declare something inhumane when U.S. law says it is humane? And who gave PETA the right to circumvent U.S. law and ask kosher slaughter to follow standards by the FMI (Food Marketing Institute) which represents the nation's supermarkets, when the FMI kosher slaughter guidelines were drafted by a Conservative Jewish consultant and an animal rights expert without any input from the kosher community? FMI, a public organization, has even refused for a year now to grant a cross-section of the Orthodox community a hearing. What an outrage in this day and age. [The FMI information is inaccurate. More on this soon.]

    The well-financed PETA and its supporters say they are being true to the values of Judaism, but they apparently do not have a clue as to the Torah's view on either the permissibility of shechita or the Torah's concern for the humaneness of the practice. Surely PETA cannot be intimating that the Torah has no concept of animal slaughter, that there is no Mesechet Chulin, and that Jews did not offer korbanos and do not pray and hope that when Moshiach comes they will again be able to offer korbanos in the bais hamikdosh. Nowhere is it mentioned that Jews will be eating soy-based foods in the bais hamikdosh. [There is actually significant rabbinic opinion that sacrifices in the Third Temple will all be of plant origin. While by no means the majority opinion, it is inaccurate to write as Mr. Lubinsky does that, "Nowhere is it mentioned that Jews will be eating soy-based foods in the bais hamikdosh."]

    It should be clear to anyone that any debate with PETA is no different than engaging those who over the centuries have sought our demise. Simply put: PETA would like to put an end to shechita in the U.S., cutting off the supply of kosher meat to millions. In the process the organization has trampled on some of the most precious values of Judaism, the supremacy of U.S. law, the authority of rabbis, and ultimately the rights of every consumer. On all these lofty principles, there can be no debate.

Menachem Lubinsky is president and CEO of LUBICOM Marketing Consulting and editor of www.koshertoday.com.

Comments

[Stephen Mendelsohn]

BS"D

It is amazing to see the venom of the militant anti-vegetarians and the lenghts they will go to to defend any practice asssociated with the consumption of animal-based foods, no matter how indefensible. (This is not to say that there are not extremists on the other side as well; only to point out that meat-eaters can be just as zealous as their AR opponents on the other side).

What does Lubinsky have against soy? It's kosher and parve to boot (unless it is soymilk produced on dairy equipment) and with all those isoflavones, much healthier than the saturated fat-loaded basar he so craves. With modern food technology, one can prepare tasty soy-based recipies that rival the taste of traditional meat-centered meals. And considering the high cost of kosher meat, soy products are more affordable to Jews on modest incomes. I understand the point he is trying to make, but why so smarmy?

As for PETA and fishing, even frum conservative Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby (a carnivore) has come out against sport fishing in an essay posted on Aish.com. He classifes catch-and-release sport fishing, with no intention of eating the fish, as being similar from a Jewish perspective to hunting, which has long been ruled as halachically forbidden. If there is no tzorech adam, then there is no justification of overriding tza'ar ba'alei chayim, and catch-and-release would seem to fall in this category.

Zealots like Lubinsky are driving moderates like myself toward the other side.

[Lumpy Rutherford]

Hunting is forbidden? What if I want a deer skin coat?

[Isa]

Deer skin coat? OK
You heard of 'Mad Cow" haven't you?
There are now too many instances of 'Mad Deer' to ignore.

[Conserva-Girl]

This sounds more like a case of Mad Rabbi Syndrome. Hey- some of my best friends are Conservative Jews! We eat Glatt Kosher, too! Mr. Lubinsky had better check his own KosherFest demographics before he distances any more of his potential customers. This is enough to make anyone eat tofu...

[Anat Stemmer]

The problem with MENACHEM LUBINSKY's comments and others before him is that they do not address the issues. It is not enough to talk about PETA's reputation of hating jews and how conservative jews and reform jews do not have any understanding or right to speak about Kosher because they do not observe the dietary laws anyway. THESE ANSWERS ARE NOT REAL ANSWERS. Having seen the video - I would like to see the plant closed and someone should lose their jobs over this, and yes - I do keep Kosher but I do not buy from Agriprocessor anymore and have lost some respect and trust in the OU leadership. When mistakes are made it is best to admit it, fix it and move on. Attacking the people who point it out is not an effective answer.