Rubashkin Defense Committee Tries To Paint Government, Jury, As Antisemitic

Tactic appears to foreshadow Rubashkin strategy for appeal.

Photo: Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, SD.

Chabad's Rubashkin Defense Committee continues to try the case in the press, something the judge ordered both the prosecution and the defense to cease doing.

The legal issue is whether or not Rubashkin's attorneys are coordinating with Chabad's Rubashkin Defense Committee.

It would seem they could very well be coordinating. Why? 

According to Rabbi Shea Hecht, who sits on the committee and has been its frequent spokesman, Chabad's Rubashkin Defense Committee selected and hired Rubashkin's attorneys, and pays for Rubashkin's legal defense, along with Rubashkin's food, housing and his family's food, housing and other expenses.

So, at bare minimum, the attorneys have regular contact with the Committee that pays their bills.

Hecht, speaking on Dov Hikind's radio show Saturday night, also told listeners there are two types of justice America – one for Jews and the other, normative and less strict one for gentiles.

Hecht also made much of potential jurors in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, saying they had never met a Jew before – as if this somehow means the jurors will be antisemitic.

Clearly, one of Rubashkin's potential appeals will be that the location of the trial prevented Rubashkin from getting a jury of his peers.

Much of Hecht's near-hour long appearance focused on the "antisemitism" inherent in the government's prosecution of Rubashkin.

Why A Kapote?

Past that, we have another issue: Rubashkin's dress.

More specifically, his odd choice to wear his kapote (long black religious frock coat) at the trial.

The custom in Chabad is to wear the kapote only on the Sabbath and on Jewish holidays (and sometimes at the weddings of one's children) – unless one is a noted Torah scholar, the head of a religious court, or a rosh yeshiva. Rubashkin fits none of these categories. The Rebbe himself wore a regular in-style western European business suit during the week until he became rebbe in 1951.

Rubashkin's normal method of dress previous to this did not include daily kapote-wearing, and he has no real religious justification for wearing his kapote to the trial.

So why wear it?

I believe because the more "Jewish" he looks – the shorter his hair, the longer his payos (sidecurls), the longer and blacker his coat – the greater chance he has to claim antisemitic bias and an unrepresentative jury pool. After all, how many people in South Dakota dress like that? How many are hasidic Jews?

Chabad doesn't have a center in South Dakota, in part because the Jewish community there is tiny. (In larger part the reason is because South Dakota falls in the territory controlled by Rabbi Moshe Feller. and, as any honest shaliach will tell you, Feller is many things, most of them good. But competency is not his strong suit.)

So the defense seems prepared to claim this lack of Jews denied Rubashkin a fair trial.

Rubashkin also chooses not to wear a tie, even though he normally does wear a tie at weddings and other community functions held outside Postville or Crown Heights. Here are two pictures of Rubashkin, one with his father, wearing ties at large Chabad fundraising dinners held in NYC:

 

You can see Rubashkin wearing his kapote leaving the courthouse during the first days of the trial in the following video and in the screenshots posted above:

 

Rabbi Hecht Audio.

Select Related Posts: 1, 2.

Comments

[effie]

Falsely claiming he is a victim of antisemitism may work with his rabid followers, but it won't with the jurors or the courts. So, why bother? Because after he is convicted and sent to prison, they still want the money to come in. Maybe, they should declare him a political prisoner in Amerika. That always works. lol

[seymour]

how does he know that the jury is antisemitic, do they belong to some neo Nazi group?

[seymour]

how does he know that the jury is antisemitic, do they belong to some neo Nazi group?

[yidandahalf]

I have met many a rural Southerner who has never met a Jew, and every one did not know what anti-semitism was and every one of them really liked what they knew about Jews. I have met a great many simple rural folk with much respect for Jews. Would that the Rubishclan find some common decency, since class has always proved elusive for them, and drop this shanda behaviour and anti-semitism schrieing.

[seyjil]

Shmarya your an idiot. its rosh chodesh. that's why he's wearing his kapota.

[A. Nuran]

There's an old saying among lawyers:

When the facts are against you, argue the Law.
When the Law is against you, argue the facts.
When the facts and the Law are against you call the other lawyer a son of a bitch.

Looks like the defense is starting off with Plan C.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Seyjil,
He wore his Kapota last week, too. Lubavitchers in CH were not wearing kapotas last week. Please explain.

[itchiemayer]

I am a Jew, identify myself with the orthodox branch. Perhaps those facts are not relevant, but I am absolutely embarassed by what the defense attorneys are doing. Yidandahalf is correct, in that I also have met very rural people that love Jews and love Israel, and had never even met a live Jew until they met me. They see the yarmulke and actually are very excited to meet a Jew, and are even deferential out of their great respect for Jews. Sure, there is anti-semitism out there, but Rubashkin made his own bed here, and it has nothing to do with government anti-semitism.

[Shmarya]

Shmarya your an idiot. its rosh chodesh. that's why he's wearing his kapota.

Idiot. The pictures and the video are from last week.

[Shmarya]

And Rosh Chodesh is today.

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

I am going to small claim court next week to protest the assessment on my house. Should I dress like it's Shabbat or Yom Tov?

[state of disgust]

OCR
Don't forget to pass out cups of vodka and Mountain Dew - that way they'll know you're authentic!

[ML]

I've been to Sioux Falls many times and was never anything but open about being Jewish. The people of South Dakota and Sioux Falls are great people. I would characterize them as warm, friendly, and open to people of different cultures. It may not be NYC, but don't fool yourself and think the people there are yokels and hayseeds.

While Chabad may not have any presence in South Dakota, there is a small, nice Reform shul in Sioux Falls that I was able to visit a couple of times.

The SMR defense is really barking up the wrong tree here, and it's evident in their choice tactics.

[Successful Messiah]

Finally Scotty has provided some real original analysis. Never mind that it is about something nobody cares about - namely why SMR is wearing a kapota. At least it is original.

[Ben]

It is quite possible that Rubashkin with this type of defense will create more anti-semitism and thus it will become a self fulfilling prophesy.

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

I listened to the radio program before this post went up. These are the impressions I came away with:
1. The Dov Hikind show airs on WMCA-AM New York. It is primarily a brokered time station, catering to Christian radio broadcasters and colon blow vendors. As long as you pay WMCA and don't do anything that would cause FCC sanctions, you can say anything you want.
2. I get the feeling Hecht did not want to be accused of trying the case over the radio. There were few remarks about the nature of the charges. Just innuendo of antisemitism.
3. I feel that everyting that was said was designed to induce people to contribute money to the defense fund. If they just take in $1K due to the broadcast, they will have done very well. It was just an hour long radiothon.
4. There was no discussion if any of the contributions to the fund will be siphoned off to pay administrative expenses.
5. The woman on the broadcast seemed to be "running the board" and answering the phones. The male caller who brought up the Eddie Antar (of Crazy Eddie fame) case was loudly shouted down by Hecht. Antar was extradicted, convicted, and served time.
6. Hecht reminded me of Baghdad Bob, when Hecht claimed that things were going bad for the government.
7. About the claim that only 1 of the 60 in the jury pool ever met a Jew: How was the question framed? Have you ever met a Jew, or Have you ever met an Orthodox Jew?

The Argus ran a feature about the Orthodox visitors to Sioux Falls:
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009910160319

[harold]

I am anxiously awaiting for an analysis of Rubashkins wife's dress.

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

In my neck of the woods, even the public defender gets gang members, muggers, psychos and other members of of the underclass some nice duds for the appearance at their trial. I was on a criminal case once where the defendant was charged with shooting a member of another gang. Strange case, charges seemed fabicated, we acquitted. During deliberations, it suddenly dawned on us the defendant had worn the same high-end designer sweater every single day. But, there was no B.O. We figured out the defendant must have been living at the Greybar Hotel, and was loaned the sweater for just a few hours a day. Clearly, no one wanted us to know that. But they screwed up for they should have bought a few more sweaters.

I'm guessing they are putting on this bozo act to see if they can get lucky by hearing some jurors in the hallway make cracks about the dress of the defendants or spectators.

I found this great 2008 article in the Minnesota Law Review that discusses courtroom dress and demeanor:
http://journal.law.umn.edu/sites/default/files/Levenson_final.pdf

[BaltimoreYid]

Here in Baltimore it's a popular refrain from the Black community about how it's all about racist whites regardless of the crime. I hate it when they say it and I hate it even more when Yidden say it because they know that it's pure unmitigated bullshit.

[Hometown Postville]

Midwesterners are known for their common sense. They will look at the facts and vote accordingly. I bet if there is an appeal, SMR's attorneys will whine and carry on until the venue is moved closer to NYC. I agree with FGBA speculating that SMR is wearing his outfit hoping to incite anti-semetic comments. Does anyone know the proportion of Jews to non-Jews called to testify? and how many of both groups are offering testimony in SMR's favor? Could that be staged to promote a "we" against "they" strategy? e.g. no non-Jewish people testifying FOR SMR, only against him? Stranger things have already happened in this case!

[effie]

FGBA: It absolutely is a big deal. Every atty advises his client, rich or poor, what to wear to court. They also advise the clients family what to wear. Some large PD offices even have street clothes in storage for defendants to wear in trial if they have none.

[Rob Wisler]

The new owners of AgriProcessors have admirably stepped up to assist the victims of the fire in Postville. A very generous and praiseworthy action from the new plant owners.