CBS News On Agriprocessors Abuse Of Workers

As you watch this video, remember the "compliance officer" hired by Agriprocessors is…

…a Republican former US Attorney has brought no substantive changes in his almost two months on the job. Jim Martin's role is to serve as a shield for Agriprocessors and the Rubashkin family of Chabad hasidim as more details of Agriprocessors' horrific abuses surface.

Also note Agriprocessors allegedly failed to pay at least one arrested illegal worker the overtime and vacation pay she is owed, and – like many other former and even current Agriprocessors workers – she now lives on handouts supplied by the local Catholic Church and from Reform and Conservative Jews:

[Hat Tip: Brooklyn Cowboy.]

Comments

[.....]

This is nothing new that they reported.

How did Agri respond to the rally?

[Jason]

I don't think I have ever been so embarrassed to call myself Orthodox. Most non-Jews don't make the distinction between different sects of Orthodox Judaism and these clowns are bringing shame on our entire community. Of course, we are bringing shame on ourselves by not disowning these thugs more vociferously.

Let's show the world that this is not what Judaism or Orthodoxy is all about and that we believe in ethical treatment of ALL G-d's creations. Follow the link on my signature and sign the petition and then tell your friends to do the same. If we wait until the federal government brings down AgriProcessors and the OU before we take action, we lose the moral high ground. We can still partially reclaim it by taking down some of the folks responsible BEFORE the federal government does so.

[rebitzman]

++Of course, we are bringing shame on ourselves by not disowning these thugs more vociferously.++

You have the same issue many of us (Conservative) have. You fear being labeled as something lesser kind of Jew because these guys have declared themselves to somehow represent "original" Judaism.

They don't.

God bless you your Orthodoxy - and absolutely rest assured that the majority of us don't paint with the broad brush you fear.

FWIW - I think Hecksher Tdedek will come into being - will catch on, but under another name - driven by Orthodox Jews driven by the ethical precepts you describe above.

[John K. Diamond]

Jews of all pursuations, who are committed to ethical treatment of ALL of G-d's creation, as Jason has so eloquently mentioned above, MUST see to it, that the Kashrut system we have now, which is an abomination to Almighty G-d, is replaced with one that is truly humane, sustainable and completely transparent to the Kosher consumer.

[Yochanan Lavie]

Most non-Jews don't make the distinction between different sects of Orthodox Judaism and these clowns are bringing shame on our entire community.

They should go back to Clown Heights.

[Isaac Balbin]

Have I missed a post on the the social effects on postville as a result of the raids?

Matzav.com writes:

"Town leaders said that legal workers have meanwhile taken over the vacant jobs, but many are single men with no ties to the community.

And the Postville police said the town's relatively quiet evenings are a thing of the past. Now, they regularly respond to calls of public intoxication and drunken brawls on Friday nights.

"The Hispanic families are the ones who make our community and our schools," said Postville Mayor Robert Penrod. "

[yidandahalf]

Hechsher Tzedek will wimp itself out of existence. Aligning oneself with any one movement within Judaism is politicizing the reaction to an issue. There should be nothing of the sort involved or considered. Find the facts, deal with the facts, find a solution. Exchanging one hechsher for another is not a solution.