NYC Says Federal Law Mandated Special Kosher Meals For Convicted Haredi Perv

Federal law requires Rikers Island to serve special meals to a child-molesting rabbi, the city's Correction Department said yesterday.

Rabbi's meals 'kosher': city
By REUVEN BLAU • New York Post

Federal law requires Rikers Island to serve special meals to a child-molesting rabbi, the city's Correction Department said yesterday.

Baruch Lebovits, convicted of molesting a 16-year-old friend of his son and awaiting trial on another sex-abuse charge, refused to eat the kosher meals the jail provided because he didn't approve of the rabbi who supervised their preparation. He's now getting food certified by a rabbi of his choice.

Under this bizarre interpretation of the law, jails and prisons would need to get Satmar-supervised meals for Satmar inmates, Chabad-supervised meals for Chabad inmates, etc.

An inmate has the right to kosher food – even, perhaps, to glatt kosher food.

But I do not see how he has the right to choose between kosher supervisions.

Somehow I think this 'right' came into existence specifically for Lebowits at the behest of Satmar's Rabbi David Neiderman.

Related Posts: 1, 2.

Comments

[chaim1]

my understanding of jewish law doesnt give him these rights.
by jewish law he is supposed to be killed and if there are no witnesses he doesnt get off scott free but is put in a closed room with certain food till his body blows up and he dies.
i suppose this 'certain food' is kosher but i doubt if he is being provided the 'right' type by his cronies

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

New York is one of the greatest Jewish cities that has ever existed. Not merely the sheer number of Jews, but the scope of learning of all types, the varied styles of observance, the intensity of intellectual and cultural life, the devotion to organizational and philanthropy, all contribute to make NY one of the great Jewish cities of all time.

We are fortunate that there is no monopoly on kashrut in NYS, but rather we enjoy an amazing number of hechsherim. Each Jew is free to belittle the devotion and attention to halachic detail of the next guy. I am, for example, allowed to proclaim that I won't eat food supervised by Rabbi X because Rabbi X is pasul l'edus because he believes some dead guy is actually the Messiah. I don't have some government official who is being bribed or ass-kissed by Rabbi X's corporate heads to accept his stuff as "kosher." No siree! I am free to demand REAL (at least in my mind) kosher food, even if I have been incarcerated.

God bless America!
I am glad my ancestors left wherever they were (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ukraine, Lithuania, Austria-Hungary) to come to New York, where my family has lived for 6 generations, allowing me to stuff the state coffers to become Chief Rabbi.

I love New York!

[Critical minyaN]

I thought of a new advertising slogan for satmar hasgachah. Approved by 99/100 jail serving, underage boy blowing, rabbis.

[dlz]

chaim1:
I believe the rule you refer to only applies to a murderer without witnesses.
I agree that it seems a bit ridiculous that he is so careful about Kashrus, considering, but in general I think that it is not the government's job to decide on rules of religious observance. If being incarcerated doesn't take away his right to kosher food, it would be problematic to decide what he should accept as kosher.

[WoolSilkCotton]

One cannot overstate the political muscle of the hasidic crowd in NYC.
The food's not kosher enough for you? No problemo, we'll bring in whatever you want, all at taxpayer expense.

It's amazing they can ever get a conviction on any hasidic criminal in NYC.

[seymour]

what happens if one only eats home made kosher meals?

[Barry]

This Malchamovitz should be put in a cell with the rest of the Jewish pedophiles in one mass room. Just think everyone can have a glatt kosher meal 3 times a day, they will have their own Hashgacha, (they all had a bris), since most are rabbaim, and they can eat HOT DOGS all they want. They can also have a few for dessert if they choose.
What a crazy, crazy ruling? What has this world come to?
And the Rabbaim want to talk about ethics, morals? i GUESS GOING TO THE POLICE IS for kosher food from your own Rabbi!

[Puzzled]

It is absurd, but the alternative is for NYC to decide what kosher means, once it's been granted that he has a right to kosher food.

[rebeljew]

Frum criminals should get kosher meals. If the established punishment is incarceration with "3 hots and a cot", and the standard prisoner is served a type of food that this prisoner cannot eat out of religious conviction, then the fact of incarceration mandates that they treat him equally to the other prisoners or necessarily, you are discriminating against Jews. In other words. you are automatically punishing Jews differently than non-Jews, a violation of the constitution.

Even Charles Manson has been fed food that he can eat, to which he has no religious objection, all of this time. Jewish prisoners, if you are going to hold them against their will (and the state and fed have every right to that as a punishment), you must feed them and provide other basic needs in a way that does not violate their usual religious practice. The same was ttue in Guantanamo. The prisoners were not served pork. They received food befitting Muslim practice and were allowed prayer time and so forth.

[chaim1]

to diz you are right. sanhedrin 81B
that law only refers to murderers and there is a question of how many times and if it needs a beth din.
but the previous mishna says one who has committed any act 2/3/4 times which deserves death by karus and has had malkus this din also applies.
the pri megodim says that for killing, once is enough but for other things he has to have the whole quota. i believe he has fufilled it and it doesnt need witnesses or warning.
Others r yerucham perla argue and say you do need witnesses and warnings.

i will leave it to your great rabbis to decide.

[jewishwhistleblower]

Now go to a kosher foodbank in NY and demand the same proper rabbinical supervision and the same type of meals. Clearly, you will not get it. This is just obsence and anyone with common sense knows it.

>On Thursday, a Rikers jail captain
>was ordered to pick up $60 worth of
>glatt kosher canned meals for the
>sicko, including Salisbury steak,
>stuffed shells, cheese ravioli and
>barbecued chicken wings from Alle
>Processing in Maspeth, Queens, an e-
>mail obtained by The Post shows.
>
>The company offered to mail the food,
>but because of a delay, the captain
>went in person to pick up the
>package.
>
>Lebovits' special daily diet also
>includes dry cereal, a box of matzo,
>four ounces of kosher grape juice and
>fresh fruit and veggies -- provided
>to him uncut

[Moshe aron kestenbaum, Williamsburg ODA]

feed him goulous and some cow manure as a nutrient, This dirt bag should eat shit

[chaim1]

החילוק בין דין כיפה של רוצח לבין כיפה של חייבי כריתות ומיתות בית דין
ההורג נפש שלא בעדים מכניסין אותו לכיפה
בגמרא מבואר שמדובר שהיתה עדות מיוחדת או שלא התרו בו או שהוכחשו בבדיקות. ובזה מכניסין אותו לכיפה. וכתב הרמב'ם שרק ברוצח יש דין כיפה ולא בשאר מחוייבי מיתת בית דין משום שאף שיש עוונות יותר חמורים מרציחה אבל אין בהם השחתת ישובו של עולם כשפיכות דמים ואפילו עבודה זרה וחילול שבת וגילוי עריות אינם כשפיכות דמים משום שהם עבירות שבין אדם למקום. אבל שפיכות דמים מעבירות שבינו לבין חבירו ומי שיש בידו עוון זה הרי הוא רשע גמור וכל המצוות שעשה כל ימיו שקולים כנגד עוון זה ולא יצילו אותו מן הדין

According to the reason of the Rambam i would think what he has done is also included

[chaim1]

וכתב הפרי מגדים שאף על פי שמבואר לעיל שאפילו בחייבי כריתות יש דין כיפה וכל שכן בחייבי מיתות בית דין אם לא קבל התראה ולא חייב מיתה מכניסין אותו לכיפה וכמבואר ברמב'ם זהו רק כשעבר ושנה שלש פעמים כמבואר לעיל אבל ברוצח אפילו בפעם אחת מכניסים לכיפה.
ר ירוחם פערלא כתב שמלשון הרמב'ם שם ההורג נפשות משמע שגם בזה מכניסים לכיפה רק אם הוחזק לזה. והחילוק בין רוצח לשאר חייבי מיתות בית דין הוא שברוצח מכניסים לכיפה אפילו בלי התראה ובלי עדים שכשירים לנפשות אבל בשאר חייבי מיתות בית דין מכניסים לכיפה רק כשיש עדים שראויים לנפשות וגם התרו בו אלא שלא קבל עליו התראה

[jewishwhistleblower]

Care packages for soldiers only cost $36.
https://www.5tjt.com/local-news/236-packages-for-soldiers

Kosher food bank cost per month for a family is $20.00
http://jewishbreakingnews.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/boro-park-america%E2%80%99s-oldest-jewish-magazine-b%E2%80%99nai-b%E2%80%99rith-profiles-masbia/

and yet a child molester is entitled to more? Obscene.

[David]

It is possible to provide a kosher diet without any special fuss. Just feed him fresh fruit, vegetables and perhaps some nuts (none from Israel so as not to to worry about items produced in the Sabbatical year). This can all be eaten fresh and prepared by the criminal with a plastic knife and fork. Items such as high quality animal protein (suggested in my previous post) e.g. fish would be unnecessary. Make sure the components of the diet are supervised by a dietician to ensure correct nutritional balance. The program could be known as "Kosher Food for Kosher Criminals" (KFFC) (perhaps to be considered a spoof of KFC).

[David]

Err... should have been KFKC not KFFC.

[chaim1]

they dont eat from israel by zionists even not in shmitta.
you mean from arab lands

[chaim1]

given the choice treifo food and food by zionists i think they would choose the former

[steve]

Next time I travel overseas, I will make sure to request Kiryas Yoel chicken or Beis Yosef, non-Rubashkin meat and not-OU certified yoshon bread along with Bodek greens. I think the airline will think I'm nuts.

[effie]

I thought of a new advertising slogan for satmar hasgachah. Approved by 99/100 jail serving, underage boy blowing, rabbis.

LOL!

[harold]

It is absurd, but the alternative is for NYC to decide what kosher means, once it's been granted that he has a right to kosher food.

I believe that you have hit the nail on the head. Too much of a headache for the prision system to "pasken" on what is an acceptable level of kashrus. They should simply set up the logistics to deal with all variations via third party caterers/distributers and get out of the fray. It's just now worth it.

[Cheskel]

Kudos to rabbi Niederman in helping out a fellow Jew in dire trouble.Kol hakoved we need more people like you.

[Menachem Mendel lll]

Does this bearded criminal and convicted felon get to choose from a menu in adavance as to what kind of food he will be dining on over the course of that given week.

Is he allowed to choose from a wine menu as well for Shabos.

Rabbi Baruch Lebovits (who is a boneifide cocksucker) along with his criminal sidekick Rabbi Rubashkin should be freed from jail forthwith.

People such as yourself and your family should be jailed in their places because all imprisoned Uber frum Hebaric-Judaic criminals are innocent while all the law abiding Jews on the outside are criminals.

End of story.

[Monsey Hocker]

Amazing how careful he is what goes in his mouth yet when it comes to his shys covered shvontz alles iz git. Hypocritical bastard. How can we get the Aryan Brotherhood to read failedmessiah so we can code them in as to the new bitch in cellblock D? My tefila this yom kippur is that Lebovitz get boob tats on his back - the sign of a real prag.

[Cheskel]

"""How can we get the Aryan Brotherhood to read failedmessiah""""

I am almost certain that they do read it and gloat how a site like this who reports on every gossip going on in the orthodox world and with this it is helping the authorities to investigate stuff that they wouldn't otherwise. So dont worry

[steve]

Kudos to rabbi Niederman in helping out a fellow Jew in dire trouble.Kol hakoved we need more people like you.

We need more people like him like we need holes in our heads. This rasha keeps protecting child molesters at the expense of hundreds, if not thousands, of victims of child sexual abuse. He is the number one reason why there are so many child molesters in the hasidic community in Brooklyn. Just check out the anti-Nuchem blog and you will see how they make excuses for every child molester (it was only throguh clothing, the social worker "removed" him from his position, etc.). Boro Park and Williamsburg are suffering from an infestation of molesters such as BML and Niederman, who is the head of UJO and often speaks for the entire Satmar community, continues to call for coverups, not going to the police, and defending the honor of these sexual predators. This is besides the chillul hashem he causes when he demonstrates against Israel in midtown Manhattan.

[Ben]

This article was written by the same REUVEN BLAU who wrote an article about Motty Berger committing suicide, SHAME ON YOU, we all know by now that there is no true to this story, and you are doing this because you hate chasidim.

[Cheskel]

"""We need more people like him like we need holes in our heads"""

Thousands of people DO need such a person who has true ahavas yisroel. He is respected by all rabonim and by thousands of plain folks. Above all when he picks up the phone to a politician from Brooklyn to Washington or to any place in the world,he is listened to because they know he truly means it.

"""This rasha keeps protecting child molesters at the expense of hundreds, if not thousands, of victims of child sexual abuse.He is the number one reason why there are so many child molesters in the hasidic community""""

Child molesting was always a problem going back probably 100's of years. So he is not the problem,silly.

There isn't Thousands of victim. I think that when Assemblyman Dov Hikind when he started looking into it also was told the number of thousand's. Once he looked into it he saw its a big problem but no way thousands.

"""Just check out the anti-Nuchem blog and you will see how they make excuses for every child molester"""

Not even worth commenting because NR is the biggest piece of trash that came out of orthodox Jews.

[Cheskel]

Btw,REUVEN BLAU also wrote the article about Lieb Glantz who helped out Jewish prisoners even non observant Jews

[steve]

And if there were "only" hundreds of victims would that make you feel better? Keep burying your head in the sand and keep defending the criminals and those that prey on our children. You and Niederman deserve each other. Pretty soon every one of these molesters and their enablers will be locked up, bekarov amen!

[Alter Kocker]

No kosher food! He is a criminal, feed him whatever the rest of the inmates are eating. If he refuses to eat, then he refuses to eat. I do not see this as his civil right to ask for Kosher Catered Meals. Then it is in his civil rights to demand his rights to make a mitzvah on shabbat, are they going to let his wife in every friday?

No he is entitled to the basics of prison life; no more and no less. PLUS-I hope every prisoner on general population knows that this bastard is a kiddy diddler. He will be someone's bitch in no time.

[Cheskel]

Hundreds is way to many.

You and all the rabble rousers are trying to make it look like that Brooklyn and the entire frum community is full of child molesters. Every rebbe in school is a suspected or potential child molester. And the reason why your working so hard to convince, because most of the screamers on this subject are for the most part loser's in life who left Judaism and for some reason still have a guilt about it.

I rather be in the company of rabbi Niederman then the rest of the trash you associate with.

Also,BML is in prison for 32 years...in helping him with kosher food or whatever,do you call protecting molesters?

[steve]

Also,BML is in prison for 32 years...in helping him with kosher food or whatever,do you call protecting molesters?

Yes, it misplaced compassion. Where is your compassion for the victims? Where is your concern for the countless children who are in immediate danger because of the failed policies of "leaders" such as Niederman who advocate handling these matters "internally"? I associate with trash? You, Niederman and the child molesters you defend ARE trash that needs to be hauled away.

[Cheskel]

Again, you got your wishes he is prison for 32 years and that's life.Are children in danger because of him? no. so why be so upset about his meals.

You can scream Niederman all they long. His record is anytime as clean as your role model NR or any other looser.

[steve]

Again, you got your wishes he is prison for 32 years and that's life.Are children in danger because of him? no. so why be so upset about his meals.

If Niederman and Berel Ashkenazi had their way, Leibovits would still be free to sexually abuse other children. What I'm upset about is this never ending pattern of support for convicted criminals such as Grossman, Rubashkin, Wallis, Leibovits, while there is ZERO action or support for the victims of such criminals. If you still don't "GET IT", you never will. The navi Yeshaya tells us to support the victim not the criminal (as expounded by gemara Sanhedrin). Up until last year I never understood why the gemara had to remind us to do what should come naturally to normal and decent human beings. Now I understand...

[Monsey Hocker]

Chezkel, why do the people who wear the lvush worry so much about what they eat when they don't care where they stick their putz's?

[Cheskel]

So in other words MH,anyone who does a sin or the biggest sin is not suppose to keep other mitzvohs

[jay]

It says a lot that's positive about the state of NY that she respects the religious dietary practices of all faiths enough to accomodate religious observance. However it's a bit much to ask the state to accomodate variations within each faith. That too easily lends itself t abuse of the system. Like creating a situation where a highly paid captain has to spend hours of taxpayer time ferrying food around. Perhaps the simplest solution is to (I had to admit, but I have to) go with a really strict universally accepted hashgachah like KAJ. If there are inmates who don't like that... too bad. Expecting the state to contract with a caterer is a bit much.

[Menachem Mendel lll]

B"H

May the Shvartz and Arab Brotherhood have private davening sessions with "Rabbi" Baruch Lebovits on his knees thrice daily.

May deh Rebbeh enjoy the pleasure and extacy of thick n' hard crusted over peni's as well as rock hard blue balled men as he enjoyed when he violated trusting, innocent, helpless, beautiful, sweet Jewish children that were full of hope, love and optimism for the future.

[harold]

I do not see this as his civil right to ask for Kosher Catered Meals

Good thing that YOU are not running our legal system.

[steve]

If a prisoner will only eat filet mignon for breakfast, lunch and dinner, is it his civil right as well and should the taxpayers have to cater to this demand? Totally ludicrous!

[Baruch]

He pays for the meals so shut up. He is appealing the charges made by a drug addled loser who probably got a deal from the authorities for turning this guy in. I am not talking about weed, the accuser is a dope fiend.

[Baruch]

It would be interesting for someone to post something positive on this site instead of rabid angry posts.

[Menachem Mendel lll]

Baruch, you are bonafide idiot and retard.
Your parents must be proud of you.
Shkoyach.

[DSarna]

The rules for Kosher meals are based on the case of Rabbi Meir Kahane. He had been arrested by the US and was placed on probation. He was alleged to have violated the terms of his probation, and was sentenced to serve a year and a day. When Kahane was incarcerated by the US government, the Bureau of Prisons refused him kosher food. He sued, and the case came before Judge Jack B. Weinstein, the sentencing Judge. The issue was whether kosher was an essential part of Judaism.

Judge Weinstein, in his decision granting Kahane's request quoted from my late father’s Understanding Genesis (among other sources). My father had pointed out that following Jacob’s battle with the Angel, and from that day forth Jews do not eat from the sciatic nerve, and that this was the origin of the laws of Kashrut, a fundamental tenet of the Jewish faith (which was the main point being litigated).

From the decision:
"A theological concept central to Judaism, recognized
by Jewish and non-Jewish scholars alike, is that of a
"covenant" [*693] between God and man. The
covenantal theme -- that God loves his people and will
favor them in generations to come and lead them to a
promised land, and in return men shall walk in God's way
-- is repeated again and again in the [**14] Genesis
stories of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. See
N. Sarna, Understanding Genesis 120-133 (1967). The
covenant theme is the essence of stories of the exodus
and of Moses, and becomes the crucible of the messages
of the Prophets and essential to an understanding of the
relation between God and man. See, e. g., G. von Rad,
Old Testament Theology 129-135 (D. Stalker trans.
1962). Individual responsibility is not submerged in the
covenant with a people. As Sarna notes:
"this biblical 'doctrine of merit,' . . . has
profound consequences for man, for it
implies that the individual is of supreme
importance and that from his actions may
flow beneficial consequences for all
society."
N. Sarna, supra, at 151."

The decision is fascinating and well worth reading.

The government appealed and lost.

Kosher meals were mandated top be provided by the BOP to Jewish inmates pursuant to a ruling by the Second Circuit in 1975 in 527 F.2d 492 Meir Kahane, Plaintiff-Petitioner-Appellee, v. Norman Carlson, Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, et al., Defendants-Respondents-Appellants (http://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/527/527.F2d.492.75--2088.274.html).

Ever since that Appellate court ruling, the BOP has been required to provide kosher food for all Jewish inmates who request it.