Rabbis and Agriprocessors – Flawed, Fake, and Staged Investigations, Continued

The co-leader of the rabbis' staged visit to Agriprocessors, RAbbi Lerner claimed to be an impartial invesigator. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. We've shown that before. Here's some new evidence of Lerner's bias.

The Forward reports:

…Rabbi Pesach Lerner, executive vice president of the National Council for Young Israel, an umbrella group for Orthodox synagogues, publicly slammed one of his member congregations for inviting Uri L’Tzedek’s executive director to speak on “Ethical Issues and Kashrut in Jewish Law.”

“I feel embarrassed for the membership of the Young Israel of Stamford,” Lerner wrote, in a statement published by the blog Open Orthodoxy on July 28. “If they want to be lectured to by a young man with limited knowledge of ethics, of kashrut, of the totality of Judaism, by a young man who has limited experience in life in general, in Judaism more specifically, I guess that is their prerogative.”

Lerner’s tone was so scathing that the blog’s editor, Mark Einhorn, wrote that he had originally been reluctant to publish the statement and had only done so at Lerner’s urging.

These quotes are part of a larger Forward article on the fight between rabbis on the left religiously (mostly non-Orthodox) and Orthodox rabbis over Agriprocessors.

The Forward mentions the 2006 "investigation" by Rabbi Asher Zeilingold – another 3 hour tour – that 'cleared' Agriprocessors of the things workers, clergy and law enforcement have now so publicly exposed.

(Rabbi Zeilingold is the rabbi who excommunicated me after first asking me for a meeting and then, as I waited for him, refusing to meet with me without explanation. He excommunicated me two days later without notice or any form of due process.)

Zeilingold would go on to fake an OSHA report and release word of it to the media in another attempt to clear Agriprocessors.

Rabbi Asher Zeilingold has a 20 year business relationship with Agriprocessors – he certifies their non-glatt kosher meat. Rabbi Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin, Agriprocessors' VP, is a former congregant of Rabbi Zeilingold and a long time friend, as well.

None of this stopped Rabbi Zeilingold from claiming impartiality.

Worse yet, none of stops Jews from eating the food he certifies. And, lest you think you're too 'frum' to eat UMK, Rabbi Zeilingold's supervision, the industrial ingredients, including flavors, he certifies are in almost every kosher food – even 'heimishe' kosher foods – you eat.

And then we have a particularly egregious op-ed from Yated Ne'eman's editor, Pinchos Lipshutz.

Lipshutz – citing Rubashkin's charity – as if that charity somehow makes up for abusing workers and animals, polluting the environment, and other sins. And Lipschutz makes wide-reaching claims of Rubashkin charity in Postville – claims Postville's food shelf and its members dealing with Agriprocessors workers deny.

He even makes the claim that the rabbis as a group met with Agriprocessors' harshest critics – a claim that is demonstrably false.

Lipschitz dismisses every piece of evidence against Agriprocessors as rumors and allegations – even though much of these so-called rumors and allegations have already been proven.

Lipschutz then goes on to speak in glowing terms about Agriprocessors, while at the same time attacking the UFCW union and pretty much anyone else appalled by the Rubashkins' behavior.

He calls for giving Agriprocessors the benefit of the doubt, while at the same time denying that same benefit to the workers Agriprocessors abused and to those who have spent long hours, day after day, week after week, feeding, housing and caring for them.

And then, we have this perl of wisdom from Rabbi Lipschutz:

Does the Forward believe that those of us who went to Postville simply lied about what we saw? Maybe the thinking is that we can’t be trusted because we are Orthodox — never mind, of course, that the Rubashkins are Lubavitch Hasidim, while most of the rabbis who recently inspected Agriprocessors are mitnagdim.

Never mind most of Agriprocessors' supervising rabbis are not Chabad-Lubavitch or that the river of Rubashkin money flows further than Crown Heights.

As far back as 2003, Agudath Israel of America – not by any means a Chabad organization –was going to bat for Agriprocessors in Washington, lobbying for changes in Humane Slaughter Directives that would only benefit Agriprocessors.

Then, in 2004, at the close of its national convention, Agudah leaders Rabbi David Zwiebel and Nathan Lewin told a hushed crowd that PETA was about to smear Agriprocessors, and that the New York Times would be printing a story on Agriprocessors animal abuse the next day.

Calling it an attack on shechita, Lewin and Zwiebel asked for a voice vote condemning PETA and supporting Rubashkin.

They vote was unanimous in support of Agriprocessors, even though only one Agudah member – Lewin – had seen the evidence.

In other words, thousands of Orthodox Jews voted to condemn PETA and support Agriprocessors on the word of Agriprocessors' attorney alone.

The USDA's Inspector General would later find that Agriprocessors violated Humane Slaughter law. Lewin had lied.

That did not stop Agudath Israel from its continued unqualified support of Agriprocessors, and from its equally unqualified attacks on PETA.

This is the best Orthodoxy has to offer.

LIPSCHUTZ- What We Saw in Postville.pdf

Comments

[steve]

Biberfeld at Matzav.com is calling the government investigation and the press reports on Rubashkin a "blood libel". In response to the Jewish Star article, he writes:

"Indeed, you are missing something. You are plainly missing the fact that this is a trumped-up blood libel. Yes, in the year 2008, in the greatest country in the world, a beacon of freedom to all mankind, we are witnessing a blood libel."

Yea, sure. We're talking about years of abuse of every civil and halachic law imaginable. From food safety violations to employee safety violations to animal cruelty to environmental violations to kashrus violations, and to this Biberfeld who comes on the scene at the last moment, it's all a conspiracy. A blood libel! This menuval makes a mockery of the true blood libels that occurred in Europe where Jews were massacred. By comparing Rubashkin's fate with those innocent Jews over the centuries, he is spitting on their graves. This gives more fodder to anti-semites who deny any such blood libels. If the Jews call the Agriprocessors investigation a blood libel, then all their millenia old claims of blood libels are just as convoluted! You don't realize the level of chillul hashem the Rubashkins and their supporters are perpetrating, not to mention the endagerment of the future of shechita in the U.S.

[steve]

This exchange on the matzav.com post:

Yoel
AUG 14 • Shame on Yudel Shain. He has done much good, but it is things like this where he veers off the path.
Yudel, you've been on top of many things, and have done a lot of good.
In the Monsey scandal, you were right on top of it.
On this one, you are way off base. You are yelling and screaming about things that you say happened years ago. Okay, let's say they happened. What does that have to do with today?
How about Dayan Hershel Brody who I just heard say that the Shechitah at Rubashkin is excellent?
And I am not shocked that they didn't permit you to go on the recent visit. Because if you were rational all along instead of non-stop attacking, maybe they would think you would behave.
You are a good guy, and you should continue your avodah on behalf of the community.
We are indebted to you for introducing the remote switch to avoid bishul akum in factories.
We appreciate all the chassodim, both in kashrus and otherwise, that you do for the klal.
But this incessant Rubashkin bashing, all day and all night, is absurd, over the line, and simply wrong.
Thanks for reading.

Yudel Shain
AUG 14 • Why all these years when there were serious kashrus violations & allegations...everyone sat back AND STILL DOES????

There is no answer, other than..I'll stop here. As I said on the Zev Breener show "the next bigest kashrus fiasco"....

[Archie Bunker]

"This is the best Orthodoxy has to offer."

Shmarya has to unfortunately taint all the good he does with these cheap shots that expose his larger agenda of smearing orthodoxy.

As a reader of UOJ, Shmarya knows that the Agudah grabs the spotlight but that a number of very prominent rabbis - who are praised by UOJ - see the Agudah for the corrupt farce that it is. Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk predicted a few generations ago that the Agudah, while run by upstanding rabbis in his day, would eventually deteriorate to a corrupt institution run by "secretaries".

The contemporary rabbis I refer to do not attend Agudah events and while they do not go running to give statements to newspapers, criticize the Agudah's bad behavior.

There are also several rabbis who tell their followers not to eat Rubashkin product. Shmarya lambasts Zeilengold & Lipschitz for holding back important details when he does the same thing to smear all of Orthodox Judaism.

[steve]

Archie,

If you read my post on the other thread, I wrote that the silent majority of Orthodox Jews are just as disgusted with Rubashkin's antics. You can say the same about Orthodox rabbis, my rabbi included. Shmarya has a point by saying that if they are silent that they don't exist. However, if these people are privately not buying Rubashkin and the rabbis are telling their congregants privately to stay away from the products, they are making a strong statement despite staying away from the limelight and the media. Unfortunately, not every rabbi is a kanoi like Yudel Shain.

[Jason]

Steve,

Obviously there is no way for anyone to know what the "silent majority" of Orthodox Jews thinks, but I can tell you in my experiences with the Modern Orthodox community, they don't seem disturbed enough to do anything about it. The general reaction seems to be: it's awful how those workers were treated, and we hate the bad publicity we are getting, but the food is still kosher isn't it? Cheap meat trumps expensive morals every time it seems.

[steve]

The general reaction seems to be: it's awful how those workers were treated, and we hate the bad publicity we are getting, but the food is still kosher isn't it?

Jason,

The people I speak to have zero trust in MMW and the OU, but you are correct, too many still feel that the food is kosher. They are blinded by the supposed "chezkas kashrus" of Rubashkin and MMW with their beards. Once the truth comes out about the extent of the abuses there and the kashrus violations, along with the OU corruption, they will all be singing a different tune. The tune will be eerily similar to the one sung just two years ago in Monsey, "Ki L'Chol Haam Bishgaga". Only this time it's not "Bishgaga", since they have been duly warned.

[Jason]

This is a general comment, not necessarily related to this post. This is an off-the-cuff idea, but I'm interested in your thoughts: What about setting up an independent bet din, formed for the sole purpose of rooting out corruption in Orthodox Judaism. There is no real authority for the Bet Din of America or any of these other batei din, so why not set up a new one? Call these "rabbis" and abusers and enablers and Rubashkins (and some officers of the OU) before the court. When they inevitably fail to appear, take out ads in various papers calling them out on their corruption and their fear of appearing before a truly independent authority. And if they do happen to appear, we give them a fair hearing, but not one that gives them any deference over the plaintiff purely as a result of their "standing" in the community.

We cannot let people hide behind "lashon hora" any longer to coverup their illegal activities and put us and our children at risk.

[steve]

Jason,

The current Chairman of the OU Kashrus Commission was called before a Bais Din of the Agudas Harobonim in 1985 for allegedly attempting to sell a truckload of non-kosher veal as kosher. He refused the hazmanah and went on to sue the Jewish Press for $80M when they reported the story. The JP asked him for further clarification and offered to print any correction, but he did not answer them. Do you think the OU, or anyone else cares? Money talks, everything else including Torah and common decency get trampled upon. Hey, after all, it's a business.

[Archie Bunker]

These lowlives know how to skirt the authority of the already weak batei din. Either they refuse to show except at the corrupt beit din of their choice or they claim that according to Rishonim they do not have to appear unless the dayanim are more learned than them and conveniently insist that no such dayan exists.

[Jason]

I think the Uri L'Tzedek guys were wrong for ending their boycott so quickly, but it's more than a bit ironic on many levels for Lerner to criticize them for their "limited knowledge of ethics."

As if ethics are something that must be learned over a lifetime. Clearly that was not the case for Lerner. The very fact that he would say such a thing shows how threatened he is by this group of rabbis who are obviously good at getting press and hold positions opposed to his. "Mainstream" orthodox orgs such as NCYI and OU are clearly starting to feel the heat.

[Carol Ann Varley]

It boils down to the psychological mechanism of human denial. My friends, who lavish love on their pets and would never mistreat an animal, don't want to hear about abuses in factory farming and the slaughter industry in general--their minds are closed because they don't want to know because that might involve change, and people are comfortable with the status quo.

For people to change, they must be affected on a personal level.

[yidandahalf]

The thuggish activities of the rubash-in crime family and the OU must be kept in the limelight. Their every move at corrupt practices and evasion must be illuminated tirelessly. They will lose their battle in the court of public opinion. Their pitiful attempts at defense will not hold up

[Yochanan Lavie]

For the record, my rabbi is one of the silent majority who avoid Rubbishcan and tell others not to eat it, both for kashrut and ethical reasons. He is MO.