PETA Responds To Lubinsky

PETA's Ben Goldsmith has written a response to Menachem Lubinsky's article, "There Can Be No Debate With PETA":

The Lubinsky articles can be found here and then here.

PETA's response can be read after the jump.

Re: Mr. Menachem Lubinsky’s “There can be no debate with PETA,” Mr. Lubinsky has been given a difficult job: He is the public relations front man for a company that has stated publicly, “What you see on the video is not out of the ordinary… Nothing wrong was, or is being done.” We can see why he might prefer not to even try to defend such statements.

It would be a tough job since, as noted previously, one hundred percent of experts who watched the video (every single one, including Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb of the Orthodox Union, who called the trachea ripping “especially inhumane”) agree that there are serious violations of the prohibition of tza’ar ba’alei hayyim. Only Mr. Rubashkin, his lawyer, and his PR man (Mr. Lubinsky) deny this.

If AgriProcessors had agreed to work to resolve complaints about their plant when we first approached them quietly two years ago, the current scandal could have been avoided. Instead, AgriProcessors continued to make a mockery of Torah law by ignoring us, continuing to abuse animals on its killing floor, and defending even the worst of abuses.

Clearly, it is AgriProcessors, not PETA, that has attacked the Torah’s commitment to kindness. AgriProcessors mutilated fully conscious animals and slaughtered them so crudely that some struggled to stand and flee after their windpipes had been ripped from their throats. And then AgriProcessors dragged Jewish principles through the mud by claiming, as Sholom Rubashkin did, that the scenes of terrified animals fighting against death on the killing floor represent “shechita in its full glory.”

Those who are concerned about upholding Judaism’s proud tradition of kindness toward animals should be outraged by the actions of AgriProcessors and its two apologists, Mr. Lubinsky and Mr. Lewin. In direct contradiction to Mr. Lubinsky’s claims, the USDA has already called the practices we documented “egregious violations” of federal law, so it’s only a matter of time before AgriProcessors receives official censure.

When someone takes our video and titles it “Kosher Slaughter, according to Orthodox Authorities,” it will be AgriProcessors, and not PETA, that is to blame. At PETA, we’ve found ourselves in a very odd position—defending kosher slaughter as more humane than conventional slaughter, even as AgriProcessors has been arguing the opposite.

Finally, as Mr. Lubinsky would know had he bothered to call Rabbi Cohen himself, PETA has never been duplicitous.. In fact, our mission hinges on presenting the truth—however gruesome—and trusting people to make their own decisions. We have great faith in the human ability to make compassionate choices when we sit down to eat.

Whether Orthodox or reform, anyone who watches the tapes at GoVeg.com can see that the slaughter practices used by AgriProcessors were egregiously cruel and indefensible.

Ben Goldsmith, PETA campaign coordinator, Norfolk, VA.

Comments

[josh]

"Only Mr. Rubashkin, his lawyer, and his PR man (Mr. Lubinsky) deny this."

And the 12 distinguished Rabbonim that support Rubashkins still...Go figure.

You know I've talked to a lot of Rebbeim about this and they laugh at PETA and say this whole thing is no longer an issue. Orthodox Rabbis and Jews aren't going to let goyim decide Halacha. This was news at first, now it's only something in Scotts and PETAs dellusional minds.

[Darn, looks like veggie cholent - again!]

"this whole thing is no longer an issue"

Yes, and if you say it three times, it becomes true. Really it does... for weak-minded fools so used to not seeing reality in front of their faces and thinking for themselves that they wouldn't notice a treif animal if it bowled them over while running around bleeding after a Rabashkin's "schita" session. Newsflash: we still know they were lying, and OU and the other organizations still haven't done tshuva.

[FNU LNU]

Josh,

Ignore PETA trying to do halacha. Are they right on the merits? Its been a month-and-a-half since this broke and the rabbis have shown evidence of the need for nothing, except perhaps the cow flipping for schita menuchat in Israel (should they start buying our meat again). Not the cattle prods, certainly not the trachea removal, nor the dumping of conscious animals on the floor. Agriprocessors has been turned into a minimlly-masked example in FDA literature of a plant that is to be closed for violating humane laws, even with the religious exemption. Now that ain't a chillul Ha'shem...

The ultimate issue here isn't halacha. Its about a leadership that goes on the complete offensive against any attack, even those that have an appearance of being correct, even when it makes those doing the attacking look discreditable. Its about traditional halachic norms becoming secondary or even ignored in the face of outmoded economic practices carried out for so long that people now attach a mesora-value to it.

Agriproccesors is there first to make money and second to provide a service to the frum community. It provides this service but now also needlessly uses our community as a shield (by charging anti-semitism) against reasonable criticisms.

Agriproccesors has embaressed and continues to embaress the frum world. It is a shame that most don't care.

[Chaim]

Im glad to see after going through your "articles" comments section, that 95 percent of the comments are agains this site. Baruch Hashem, I hope you do the right thing and end this sites unseen damage to every Jewish soul, yours included. - Chaim (again)

[agreeing (almost) with chaim above]

Being Jewish and humans we believe that G-d created the world for us to use and enjoy in the appropriate manner
now PETA is the exact opposite of that
so now were trusting Them these sick egotistical @#^!.... over our own