Rabbi Weissmandl Will Not Remove Supervision From Agriprocessors – Says Only Concern Is "Shechita," Yet Threatened To Withdraw Supervision From Another Product Due To "Goyishe" Packaging

Why not?

According to…

VIN, this:

“My job and expertise is strictly kosher supervision, as long as the strict guidelines of Kosher Shichitah is followed in this plant my Hecsher will stay on”. said Rabbi Weissmandel.

Yet, several years ago, Rabbi Weissmandl threatened to remove his supervision from a macaroni and cheese product made by Upscale Foods and marketed under the Old City Foods label.

The reason? This:

A comic book. I kid you not.

Rabbi Weissmandl objected to these characters appearing on the mac and cheese box.

Why?

"Boys and girls flying together."

He also found the girls' costumes to be immodest.

When offered a deal where only the male characters would appear on the product box, Rabbi Weissmandl turned it down.

Why?

Comic books, opined Agriprocessors head of kosher, are "goyish."

Apparently violating state, federal and local law, and abusing and extorting poor non-Jewish workers are "Jewish" enough activities for Rabbi Weissmandl to leave his Supreme Kosher supervision on Agriprocessors' product.

Comments

[rebitzman]

++He also found the girls' costumes to be immodest. ++

How DARE you post this....this ....FILTH!

My, gosh, man! Ankles - there are ANKLES showing.

How will I ever get through Ma'ariv?

[formely frum]

I am not surprised by any idiotic things the ultra frum do anymore. As a matter of fact I come to expect it.

[Rachel Batya]

--"Boys and girls flying together." --

Yes, we really have to hold the line against that sort of thing. Especially when there are no airplanes involved.

[Kishkeman]

According to vozisneias, Lubinsky was to have appeared on Zev Brenner tonight. Do you have a MP3 of that?

[Archie Bunker]

Where's the source for the mac n' cheese story?

[Shmarya]

Where's the source for the mac n' cheese story?

I brokered the original deal between the comic book's author and Upscale Foods.

[Harold F]

So comics are goyishe. I guess that means that Spiegel, Schuster, and Stan Lee are closet goyim.

[David]

Forget about ankles, that cute brunette in the little orange number is showing some.....knees, oh man is that hot!!!

[state of the Jews]

This too funny for words!

[Harold F]

And the blonde's not flat chested.

[The other dk]

How much money does the cheese factory contract bring in comparison to Agri?

[rebitzman]

++Comic books, opined Agriprocessors head of kosher, are "goyish." ++

Every year (as a laugh) my wife and I buy a box of hekshered Xmas cakes for the kids in the neighborhood - shaped like Santa - Trees with lights - Wreathes.....

But THIS is "goyish"?

[Yochanan Lavie]

A few years back, Badatz almost withdrew its hechsher from Tnuva dairy products because of a Jurassic Park tie-in featuring dinosaurs. It was endorsing evolution, they said. A Modern Orthodox scientist, Gerald Schroeder, wrote an article in the Jerusalem Post about this idiocy. Of course, birds are probably descended from dinosaurs, so every Friday night these fanatics drink dinosaur soup...

Mixed flying leads to mixed dancing. That is why the aseret hadibrot forbade adultery. It can also lead to mixed dancing. Only homoerotic dancing is allowed.

[critical_minyan]

shmarya,
you seem to know a lot of people inside at Agriprocessors. How much was Agriprocessors annual payment to the OU? Perhaps one of your contacts inside can get that information to you.
Also, I am bothered that Rabbi Wesimandel, or any Rabbi at the OU, can decide based on his own fancy, without any guidelines to deny a Kosher certification to a product because of its package design.
Why are tasteful, sweet, comic book characters Treyf, but a picture of Santa Claus or the Easter bunny on a cake package ok? Isn't Avoda Zarah, yeharog v'all yavor?
Yesterday you had luck calling Rabbi Genack, why don't you try calling Rabbi Weismandel or even Nat Lewin today?

[Rachel Batya]

Despite the good rabbi's words, I don't believe that the real problem is the mixed flying or the immodesty of the dress.

There is a far more troubling aspect to the comic book design. Has no one else noticed that the picture is in COLOR? Hardly conducive to thinking in terms of black and white.

[Barry]

The character on the lower row second from the left looks (with the Star of David on his chest) remarkably like Mohammed.

[Yochanan Lavie]

Rachel: LOL!

[Yochanan Lavie]

Sorry, I don't know how failedmessiah became my byline. My bad.

[state of the Jews]

There are more men then women on the box. This is discrimination! (unless you think the one on the lower right is a transvestite, in which case your have an equal number of men and women).

[Yochanan Lavie]

I wish I could lie like Rubbishcan (apologies to Ray Davies: "[Wish I could fly like] Superman")

Woke up this morning, started to daven
I had a cigarette and a hot cup of java
I looked in the mirror what did I see
A nine stone yeshiva bochur with knobbly knees
I did my daf yomi to the end of the blatt
I had another shiur and I ate some glatt
I looked in the mirror at my penguin vest
I had to put on black clothes at my rebbe's behest
Surely there must be a way
For me to change the financial shape I'm in
Dissatisfied is what I am
I want to be a richer man

Rubbishcan, Rubbishcan, wish I could lie like Rubbishcan
Superman, Superman, Weismandel doesn't like Superman
Don't want no packages with Superman
Santaman, Santaman, Weismandel does like Santaman

Woke up this morning, what did I see
A big black hat hanging over me
I switched on Failed Messiah and nearly dropped dead
The news was so bad that I fell out of bed
There was an ICE raid, OSHA raid, FDA raid, DA raid
Got to be a Supermensch to survive
Lawyer bills, EPA bills, yeshiva bills, payola bills
I'm such a wreck but I'm staying alive

[Look in the blogs, what do I see,
cruelty, child abuse, hypocrisy.]

Hey maideleh we've got to get out of Postville
There's got to be something more lucrative than Beef Kill
I need you, but I hate to say "oy vey"
If I were Rubbishman then I'd lie away
I'd really like to change kashrut
And make it a mess, Weismandel's in cahoots
My logic is weak, my defense is thin
I'd like to fly and not go to Beis Din

Rubbishcan, Rubbishcan, wish I could lie like Rubbishcan
Superman, Superman, Weismandel doesn't like Superman
Don't want no packages with Superman
Santaman, Santaman, Weismandel does like Santaman...

[Al]

Question: Forget how much the macaronni & cheese prduct brings in next to the Agri products.... here is my bigger question:

Does anyone know of an analysis of the costs to produce kosher meat vs. non-kosher meats ? It would be especially interesting to see such an analysis of agriprocessors costs on both sides of this fence. Given Agri's employee cost strcuture and what I understand to be a 75 million dollar a year business with probably less than 1M a year in hechsher costs. I suspect such an analysis will simply proove that we, the kosher consumer are being robbed blind !

[Paul Freedman]

Is it 75 mil? at $7 per hour and say averaging in 3 for personnel associated costs and higher salaried workers that's about 8.5 mil for the labor hit....

[Joseph]

The best and perhaps only way to shut down Agriprocessors, is to go after the Kosher Supervisor Agencies and have them charged with crimes and arrested.

Without Kosher Supervision, Agri is closed down in one second flat.

There is no way that the OU or Weismandel didn't know about the underage and illegals.

If the Rabbinical Kosher Supervising Agencies, indeed supervise, then they would have to be completely blind to not notice the under-aged workers.

That makes the Rabbi's and their supervision Partners in Crime and acting in concert with the Criminal Rubashkin Crime Family.

The Rabbi's have the same motive to perpetrate this crime and help conceal and cover up the evidence, just like the owners. It's all about money and Agri spends MILLIONS of dollars(over the years) to the Kosher Supervising Agencies and so these Rabbi's are criminally negligent in aiding and abetting the criminal activity right under their SUPERVISING eyes.

Weismandel and the OU need to be charged with the 9,000 plus crimes and they will both run from Agri as quickly as they can.

[sage]

Yes!!!!!

Many others on this blog feel the same way, but you have put this into better words than we have.

Many Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Father Egge]

All we have here is your word that this took place. No documentation to back it up and you were involved. […] Edited by siteowner.

[SJ]

hey anyone remember those lil superman and the haredim stories i used to write on here? XD

[Carol-Ann]

Is kosher only about killing in this instance? I doubt it.

My hunch is the OU is sticking with Agriprocessors because it will be problematic for lawyers to mount a defense minus its religious seal of approval.

[Aharon Varady]

Comic book are goyish?? Our tribe largely helped to invent the entire art and business of comic books! So. Very. Ignorant.

[Archie Bunker]

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080910/NEWS/809100366

heyni wrote:

"State Sen. Mark Zieman, a Republican from Postville, said he'd like Iowa Workforce Development and the U.S. Department of Labor to point out deficiencies to Agriprocessors' managers to make sure they're corrected, "then leave them alone.""

This Ziemen is a joke. He supports Agriprocessors in everything they do. After they dumped tons of waste into the Yellow River a few years ago this was in an article:

"Farmer and Sen. Mark Zieman, R-Postville, said the Yellow River is in better shape than it has been in previous decades.

Zieman’s trucking company does business with AgriProcessors, which he said is a key industry for that region of the state. The company employs close to 700 people in a town of just 2,500.""

OF COURSE THIS CROOK WANTS TO KEEP AGRIPROCESSORS OPEN!

[Archie Bunker]

I wonder if Weissmandel realizes he is slighting the deceased Debreciner Rav who gives a haskoma on a comic book for Chumash stories.

[Archie Bunker]

http://thejewishstar.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/editorial-the-end-is-near-exclusive-to-the-jewish-star/

The end is near (Exclusive to The Jewish Star)

From the issue of Sept. 12, 2008

[Mod-ist (Where's my Vespa?)]

"Goyishe" packaging?

Rubbishcan uses red lettering. I always heard that red was the color of Edom.

He also found the girls' costumes to be immodest.

But the painted-on skin-tight outfits on the male characters, showing every huge rippling muscle were perfectly modest in his opinion?

Put the males beside the females in the above picture and see how the good rabbi makes his case that the female characters are the immodestly dressed ones.

[Doctor Who]

From the issue of Sept. 12, 2008

News from the future! I always love that!

[All the Great Jewish Comicbook Creators]

Comic books, opined Agriprocessors head of kosher, are "goyish."

Right now, Superman is at the Fortess of Solitude, weeping.

[Archie Bunker]

15 year old girl raped at Rubashkin's plant!

http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/speeches/sp_1221053062406.shtm

Question: Secretary Chertoff, my name is Leslie Orlaf (phonetic). I work at legal momentum and have been involved in drafting, actually, the U and the T visas, and really want to -- first, to say thank you for all of the work that both people at ICE, CIS, and border patrol have done on this issue.

I wanted -- I just came back, actually, from Postville (phonetic) where we've been interviewing immigrant victims of rape, sexual assault, domestic violence. We found a 15 year-old girl who was raped by someone at the plant this weekend. And I brought a team of forensic psychologists out there to help the victims and to document the cases. But there is a major hurdle in the way of both T and U visa applicants that I wanted to make you aware of. And there is there -- the fees, the 192 fees, the inadmissibility waiver fees for the 192 -- I192 and the I601s are blocking access and putting victims in a situation that need these visas to be able to cooperate, and are cooperating in criminal prosecutions. In Postville, they're cooperating with the EEOC, the State Attorney Generals. There are a thousand -- over a thousand counts of criminal charges that the State of Iowa's going to be bringing against the plant, and we need those fees exempted or wavered.

Right now, immigrant victims -- the women in Postville that were humanitarian released that are wearing ankle bracelets have to come up with between $545 and over $3,000 per case before they can get legal work authorization and their new visas adjudicated. And it's a major, major roadblock for victims that are going to prevent victims from being able to really cooperate in these cases. It's also making them susceptible to prostitution, because men in Postville, Iowa, see these women with ankle bracelets and they're hitting on them, because they have no way to support their families because they can't file the U and get work authorization.

Secretary Chertoff: Well, that's a -- I'm glad you brought that to my attention. You know, generally, we do have an ability to waive fees for people who are indigent, so let me find out about that. Because I agree with you that if there are people who are victimized, we don't want to have -- you know, my definition, they're destitute. We don't want to have that be an obstacle to getting a visa that will enable them to make -- help us make cases against, you know, very serious criminals. So I'm going to find out about that. Thanks.

Question: Thank you. I have some papers if I can hand them to you.

Secretary Chertoff: Give them to someone back there.

Question: Thank you.

[michael ben drosai]

Father Egge - I'm the anti-Shmarya but it's true and 100% accurate - the artist is a college friend of mine (he showed me a video of his wedding and guess who was there - shmarya bichvodo uv'atzmo) - apparently he had some costumed figures at kosherfest (one of the female figures) and it was all downhill from there

Weisssmandl also ordered all the boxes removed from the stores - so the poor owner had to shlep around to every Jewish bodega and pull the boxes!

[Archie Bunker]

http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c36_a13407/News/New_York.html

Shortly after Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller filed a criminal complaint against the embattled meat manufacturer in Postville, Iowa, its owners and three human resource employees, the Orthodox Union threatened to withdraw its kosher certification unless new management is hired within two weeks.

Such a move would cause “a tremendous disruption” in the retail kosher meat supply just days before the High Holy Days that begin Sept. 29, acknowledged Rabbi Menachem Genack, the OU’s kosher director.

“We don’t want to completely disrupt supply,” he explained. “But we are looking to transition to a new reality that will require at a minimum new management. We’d like to see the new management by Sept. 29, but we’re playing this by ear. If they hire a new person who is not able to move to Postville in time, we’re not going to destroy” the relationship.

Rabbi Genack said the company’s principal owner and president, Aaron Rubashkin, has been trying since the May 12 raid to replace the management. “They interviewed lots of people,” he said. “They want people with experience and in this environment it is not easy. ... They have to get the right person to say yes.”

The May 12 raid resulted in the arrest of 389 illegal immigrants. It prompted Rubashkin to replace the plant’s CEO, his son Sholom, with another son, Yossi. Rubashkin and Sholom were both named in the criminal complaint.

Rabbi Genack said the new CEO “should not be a family member.”

Marc Stern, general counsel to the American Jewish Congress, reviewed the charges and said it was “not the most persuasive affidavit in support of a criminal charge. I’m not saying these people are innocent ... [but] the affidavit is on the thin side.”

Rabbi Genack said he understood that federal authorities were still investigating the facility.
Even if the OU withdraws its kosher certification from the Agriprocessors plant, Rabbi Genack said that Rabbi Menachem Weissmandl provides his own kosher certification at the plant. Rabbi Weissmandl told JTA that he plans to continue certifying the plant.

“My business is kashrut,” he explained. “As long as the high kosher standards are in place, I’m not removing any heksher [kosher seal]. My business is to make sure that the place is 100 percent kosher.”

Rabbi Genack said he has long supported efforts by employees to unionize the plant. He said that effort should be pursued and that Rubashkin has recently agreed to begin discussions on this subject.

[isabel]

some priests and rabbis belong behind bars with Rubishkins!Put them all in a cell together.

[state of the Jews]

"Rabbi Genack said he has long supported efforts by employees to unionize the plant. He said that effort should be pursued and that Rubashkin has recently agreed to begin discussions on this subject."

I know from friends on the OU Board that support for Agri has always been on thin ice(no pun intended).

Its nice to see the OU take a step in the right direction on this issue. It would have been better had they done it six months ago, but at least its done. Now lets see them follow through.

[critical_minyan]

I think the OU should push Agriprocessors to encourage unionizing their workers at both their warehouse in brooklyn and at the slaughterhouse in Iowa.
The OU should also encourage Rubashkin to withdraw their ridiculous legal petition to the Supreme court, fire and even sue for malpractice Nat Lewin for advising them to not permit the workers to unionize in the Brooklyn warehouse after the workers voted to do so, as well as encourage Rubashkin to make reparation payments to their previous illegal and legal workers that they can locate and to the church in Postville that fed the workers who were going hungry.
The OU's reputation is at stake and they should act aggressively to protect it instead of trying to further deny and deflect the accusations against themselves and Agriprocessors.

[uncle joe mccarthy]

guess the dear rav is not aware that the comic book industry was basically founded by jews, who based the original heroes on what they learned from torah and gemarah

this statement is gonna kill my friend who just developed a comic book for frum kids

the hypocracy and ignorance of the rav knows no bounds

im off to buy some hebrew national

[rebitzman]

++But the painted-on skin-tight outfits on the male characters, showing every huge rippling muscle were perfectly modest in his opinion?++

Yeah! Exactly - and can someone explain to me how salami (is there anything more phallic?) can ever be kosher?

[WoolSIlkCotton]

Rebitzman, that's the funniest line of the day!

[Mediterraneo]

and can someone explain to me how salami (is there anything more phallic?) can ever be kosher?

AND, salami is . . . ITALIAN in origin!

Non-Jewish phallic-shaped food? Sorry, Rabbi W. Not kosher.

[Yochanan Lavie]

Yeah! Exactly - and can someone explain to me how salami (is there anything more phallic?) can ever be kosher?

Posted by: rebitzman | September 10, 2008 at 09:25 PM

Circumsize it (or Supersize it).

[Jack Kirby nee Jacob Kurtzberg]

Jeez, If comic books are goyishe, then so are bagels. If I were not dead, I would personally assemble a team of JEWper heroes specifically to fight the Rubashkin crooks.

[Will Eisner]

And I would be more then happy to help.

[Lilit]

Scottie, your being stupid again. Of course the Rabbis hate Superheros. People who fly around in suggestive colorful coustumes are trying to destory child raping, cow molesting, manipulating, obscene law making, worker abusing, gang banging, Rabbis! It's no wonder they get on their nerves

[Un-Orthodox and Unimpressed]

Why is he not entitled to state his opinion for those who care to follow it?

I do not see where he undertook a campaign to ban cartoons from our children's schools, only from HIS children's school.

Are we so afraid of non-liberal ideas that we cannot allow others to hold thier own opinions and follow the leaders of thier own choosing?

What ever happened to live nad let live?