Large Chabad Charity Honors Rubashkin Family Members

Family patriarch Aaron Rubashkin – whose kosher slaughterhouse employed more illegal alien workers than legal ones, and which was the site of horrific animal abuses and humane slaughter violations along with of abuses of those undocumented workers, many of them children – is seated at the head table at Colel Chabad's massive annual fundraising dinner next to the head of Chabad worldwide Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky. Grandson Getzel Rubashkin is honored by reciting the chapter of psalms that corresponds to the age Chabad's rebbe would be if he were living. Getzel's father Sholom Rubashkin is currently serving a 27-year-sentence for financial fraud related to that slaughterhouse, Agriprocessors.

Top: Chabad head Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, left, and Aaron Rubashkin, right.

Bottom: Getzel Rubashkin reading the "Rebbe's kapittle" at the dinner.

Colel Chabad Hosts International Awards Dinner
Crown Heights.info

Colel Chabad, the oldest continuously operating Tzedakah in Israel, celebrated its International Awards Dinner in the Grand Ballroom of the New York Hilton on Monday night.

The evening began with a warm welcome from Mr. Richard Born, the Rebbe’s Kapitel read by Rabbi Getzy Rubashkin and the prayer for the nation, written by the Friediker Rebbe, read by Mr. Kenneth Dicher.

Following was a magnificent video which was produced especially for the evening. Rabbi Sholom Duchman, Director of Colel Chabad, gave his annual Shareholder’s Report which was accompanied by a slide show of pictures, facts and figures.

Speaker Sheldon Silver presented Mrs. Julie Menin with the ‘Public Service Award’. Mayor Cory Booker spoke on the importance of ‘Hakarat Hatov’ and introduced Mr. and Mrs. Miles and Suzanne Berger as Guests of Honor. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Mr. and Mrs. Abraham and Sarah Biderman and the Builder of Israel Award to Mr. William J. Schottenstein.

A special and moving video of Staff Sergeant Barak Ben Shachar, one of the participants of the ‘Chesed Menachem Mendel Widows and Orphans program’ was shown, after which Barak personally thanked Colel Chabad and its donors.

In the spirit of the Rebbe who continually stressed, “When two Jews come together, the first thing to come to their minds should be how they can help a third Jew”, this celebration of ‘One Dinner in New York’ will surely benefit many Jews with ‘thousands of dinners in Israel, every day’.

Comments

[Not Simple]

this celebration of ‘One Dinner in New York’ will surely benefit many Jews with ‘thousands of dinners in Israel, every day’.

I that is the case then it was a very useful function.

[Not Simple]

What the "f" is with my "f" key, it should read

If that is the case then it was a very useful function.

[SketpicalYid]

How about benefiting some of the destitute Jews here at home?

[simple jew]

B"H

Shmaryas

Feelings hurt?

You wanted the to honor you?

[A Commenter]

Shmarya,

In the name of the "truth", please tell us about your own grandfather: Mafia gangster, Leon Gleckman of St. Paul.

Seems like you should stick to the problems and many issues within your own family.

[dh]

I'll tell you about MY grandfather. Apparently his last name is still not known because around World War I he did something so wrong, so illegal... we really don't know what, but he fled into service with a brand new identity and never looked back. His grandchildren are doctors, lawyers, public servants, hardworking ethical people and have generally made your life, A Commenter, much to the better, as has Shmarya, because we don't discriminate against idiots, as are you.

[Reb Chaim]

It's a good thing that there only 150 psalms so the Chabadniks will have to discontinue this minhag after the rebbe's 150th birthday. But it might be a better idea for them to institute the recital of the 27th psalm to remember the length of SMR's sentence.

[A Commenter]

dh,

I am not the judge, prosecutor and jury of everything that is wrong in this community. Funny, because the man who is, actually is the grandson of a notorious mafia gangster by the name of Leon Gleckman. A man who caused great damage to all kinds of Jews.

Now, if I had such a grandfather, I would shut my mouth and find something really meaningful to do with my life!

[ah-pee-chorus]

Now, if I had such a grandfather, I would shut my mouth

Posted by: A Commenter

just to be safe, as a 'gedder' , take your own advice.

[WoolSilkCotton]

If such charitable functions banned attendance by those who were involved in some unethical or criminal activity, even though they weren't convicted, the room would have a lot of empty tables, including the table reserved for the politicians.

[Jefferson]

Shmarya,
You make it sound like giving employment to illegal aliens is a bad thing to do. In fact, it is one of the most humane things one can do. Yes, it may be illegal, but so was aiding fugitive slaves in 1850. That didn't make it wrong. amnesty is not a dirty word like some conservatives would have you think. have you been listening to too much "Savage?"

Also, you try to fool your readers into believing that young children were employed there, when in fact it was just a few 16-17 year olds who lied about their age. yes, unfortunately, one 13 did slip through the cracks. in fact, an undercover underage government informant did not succeed to get himself hired no matter how hard he tried.

The rest of your allegations are unsubstantiated. If his workers were indeed being abused they could have walked out any time they wanted. they continued working by choice because they felt they were receiving due compensation for the labor they were putting in. That is how the free market works. it's called trade.

it can never be called abuse when two people are in mutual agreement to an exchange in which neither is lying. but your government will always call it "abuse" so they can increase their power in the name of "protection."

as to animal abuse, it was a "slaughterhouse," i.e. an animal killing factory. you may not like the idea and you are free to stop eating meat, but as long as other humans continue to do so, there will be such factories, and they will never be pretty. I challenge you to find one "slaughterhouse" in the world which meets your criteria of being "kind" to animals.

or, you can just admit that you have an obsession with vilifying the Rubashkin family, probably due to the fact that you seem to have some unresolved bitterness about chabad.

As a friendly chabadnik, i apologize for whoever hurt your feelings. but if you visit Crown Heights, you will find that most of us youth are a friendly bunch with a live and let live mentality. I hope you don't carry this bitterness in your heart forever.

[Reb Chaim]

A well known truth among Jewish organizations dependent on tzedakah. It's only the size of the check that matters (as long as it doesn't bounce) not where the money came from.

[dh]

Hi Jefferson. I did start to nod off part way through your novelette. Actually, you are so very wrong. In this country it can and is always, that's ALWAYS, be called abuse when an employer mutually agrees on an exchange with a 13, 16 or 17 year old, whether lying or not, because in this country no one under the age of 18 or 21 (depending which state)can legally contract anything. While a minor, the law of your country states they do not have the capacity to make such an agreement. If the Chabad community would educate itself and it's progeny as to the law of the land in which it resides and receives financial aid perhaps you would be taken seriously.

[dh]

A Commenter - and how many gazillions of Jews did, and do, the Rubashkins damage by, oh...for instance, selling us food and expecting us to pay them to ingest food that is not really Kosher and which was ripped from carcasses by people who are not really old enough to do so, not really legal enough to be here in a company not really frum enough to supply Kosher food, forebear from stealing, have a working understanding of the Ten Commandments and who are not really honest enough to obey the law etc. etc. etc.

[Zack]

Krinsky will sit, talk, do, whatever it takes to be in the lime light and make $$$money. He has no principles whatsoever.

He has no busha and everything is somehow justified. It doesn't matter what happened yesterday or what happens tomorrow if at this minute there is something he feels he can benefit from.

It's truly mind boggling the flip flop or better yet lack of any morals that guides their lives.

[Explicit in Artscroll]

Shmarya is starting to sound like his gynecologist stuck the speculum in without the assistance of a little KY. Irritating to say the least. Here in Monsey we call that faggotitis, but on this blog you have to be careful who you call faggot because the queers are allegedly people too. Getzel is no criminal, and maybe Shmaryahoo is jealous that Leah is giving Lipshits a bissele keppee and all he has is his boyfriend's mouth.

[devorah]

"Now, if I had such a grandfather, I would shut my mouth and find something really meaningful to do with my life!

Posted by: A Commenter"

He IS doing something really meaningful with his life....he is exposing your cult and you provide prime examples almost hourly. Murder, fires, fraud (white collar, blue collar, any color collar), rape, incest, child abuse, spousal abuse,elder abuse, animal abuse, yada, yada, yada.

[Fleishike Kishke]

it can never be called abuse when two people are in mutual agreement to an exchange in which neither is lying. but your government will always call it "abuse" so they can increase their power in the name of "protection."

Fair enough. Then it's also time to tell the bearded kike to get his ass to work on Saturday or find employment elsewhere. And to tell the yarmulke wearing student to take his exams when scheduled or get an F. Right? You Lubavitcher moron.

[danny]

chabad throws thousands in a dinner and stuff their face with gourmet food . but nothing for the poor. nothing .zero.
i'm glad the fraudster, his highness sholom
R is sitting in jail till he turs 87 . yay!

[Fleishike Kishke]

habad throws thousands in a dinner and stuff their face with gourmet food . but nothing for the poor. nothing .zero.

Chabad *takes.* The schnorring is under the guise of giving, but for the most part Chabad takes. That's how 4,000 Chabad families survive This was the fiendish design of the 7th Rebbe ... after all Crown Heights institutions were fully staffed with people (close to him) who for the most part stuffed (and continue to stuff) their pockets with the community's money (this is no revelation ... CH Blogs bitch about this all the time) it became necessary to open the outside territories. The smaller minds occupy themselves with the smaller fish. But the bigger “minds” go after the bigger fish. The big time Shliach cares as much about the physical needs of the impoverished Jew as he does about his spiritual. The Chabad Corporation is as pathological in its pursuit of money as every other U.S. corporation. With little exception, Chabad fundraisers want money so that they can live better material lives in *this* world. They are also in a cult that has a media addiction, such as any vapid celebrity, and they get “spiritual” pleasure from spreading the gospel and image of Mendel Christ.

[Fleishike Kishke]

"Here in Monsey we call that ..."

May you, and all your ilk, electrocute yourselves. Amen sela.

[ah-pee-chorus]

Fleishike Kishke -
great posts.

[Fleishike Kishke]

Fleishike Kishke -
great posts.

Posted by: ah-pee-chorus | December 23, 2011 at 06:14 PM

:) I'm not as prolific as you are, but I try to do my part.

[state of disgust]

"Getzel is no criminal, "

tell it to the workers who were shorted on their paychecks.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Fleishike Kishke, you are indeed awesome.

[ruthie]

jefferson....
you wrote....

he rest of your allegations are unsubstantiated. If his workers were indeed being abused they could have walked out any time they wanted. they continued working by choice because they felt they were receiving due compensation for the labor they were putting in. That is how the free market works. it's called trade.

they could have walked out any time..... ARE YOU ON DRUGS? ARE YOU CRAZY? sure, no papers, no money, do not speak the language, sure they can walk out whenever they want!!!!
there are people with fat stomachs that can't walk out of their stinken! lives...you fucking idiot.
and btw...i'm thin

[ruthie]

Explicit in Artscroll
if i ever ever see you in front of wesley kosher or meal mart again you better run...
you are one of the biggest idiots ever.
actually, i'm sorry, i actually feel sorry for you.
i should be nice.
but you are one of the most two faced people on this planet.
go talk some more loshen hora....
you stupid animal....

[Robert Wisler]

Amen fleishige. Cunin and his sons in LA really care about the poor, downtrodden, widows, and orphans. That's why he and the boys are constantly involved in deceiving rich widows into giving their estates to his organization.

[Fleishike Kishke]

His organization being his back pocket.

[rebitzman]

@state of disgust

I will.

Getzel is a lot of things (Messianist for example) - but was never accused of, much less charged with anything criminal.

@A Commenter

Sigh..............I'd really like to know who gets you guys liquored up, arms you with the same old stale arguments, then turns them loose in here as though they were providing anything new, profound - or in any way relevant.

Let's pretend for a moment that Shmarya's grandfather was a criminal.

So freakin' what?

[dh]

What's a "gedder?"

[A Commenter]

Devorah:

Shmarya's grandfather was Leon Gleckman, a mafia gangster in St. Paul who was up there with the Al Capone's of the world. He did tremendous damage to the Jewish community. Measuring Shalom Rubashkin next to Shmarya's evil murderous grandfather is laughable!

Shmarya, I know this blog site really is about your awful ancestors and very little about todays Jewish community. Grandson of dirt, you don't get to criticize my community!

[A Commenter]

Rebitzman:

Shmarya has not and cannot deny that he is Leon Gleckman's grandson. Just google it for yourself.

Oh, Rebitzman, would you like Shmarya for your son-in-law?

I know I wouldn't want anything to do with the offspring of Leon Gleckman for perhaps 300 years.

[Rebitzman]

@ACommentator

I repeat - if true, so freakin' what?

If you study the amorim you will find criminals much MUCH worse and they as well as their offsprings (and future generations) were judged by their own actions and merits......which is as halachah says.

The only amazing thing about your post is that you somehow think you are the first idiot to come in he waving this flag as though it was the devastating skeleton in the closet that will bring down Shmarya.

If you read my posts, you'll know I am not a blanket condemner, and tend to judge the actions of individuals and fiercely stand against narrow stereotypes of any religious group, religion or group. YOUR action is simply LaShon HaRah (and a pathetic example of it at that).

[A Commenter]

No, Rebitzman,

Shmarya is the harbinger of slander that is false. He twists history to make it fit to his liking. And, he doesn't apoligize for any of it.

Actually, Shmarya spends his days tearing dowin the living and the dead and has shown that he can and will do nothing meaningful with his life. He is a loser and I am afraid those who follow him are no different.

Shmarya's grandfather, Leon Gleckman, brought terrible trouble to the Jewish community and it seems Shmarya is no different which is why I judge him.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Commenter, your silly bullshit about Leon Gleckman isn't getting any traction. Wonder why?

[A Commenter]

Actually, I think it is and will!

[yechi ben levitas]

i have seen the postville slaughter house pics of the murdered cows for the first time and have this to add ,aaron must be a sinfull and loathsome person and that is why he has a young daughter with a paedophile husband, or is it his grand daughter. he deseserves to be cursed for his and his family's lack of feeling for human dignity. that lubavish took all this money from him and his family shows what a trashy sect they actually are. let them all choke on their TANYA. they are mostly scum.he even looks like an evil old sinic sitting like some godless freak.

[rebitzman]

Actually, I think it is and will!

It's not - won't and never has.

This is not the first time someone has tried to smear Shmarya with this brush - it will not be the last time.

Thinking people will judge him by his own actions, and don't give a flip for his or any one else's relatives.

All you've proven is that his haredi attackers have no imagination or an ability to think and/or formulate and argument on their own. You will go away soon, only to be replaced in a couple of months by some other fool who thinks he's breaking something "new" that will expose the REAL Shmarya.

I speak for the rational world here when I say.......YAWN!

[rebitzman]

He twists history to make it fit to his liking. And, he doesn't apoligize for any of it.

So take him on issue and on point - this silly smear is just juvenile.

[A Commenter]

Rebitzman:

I and other posters have taken him on the issue and on the point. However, you see, as the moderator of this blog, he only has to respond when it suits him.

I'll say it again, the grandson of a murderous mafia gangster thug by the name of Leon Gleckman, has no business here.

By the way, he has yet to tell the truth about his grandfather and what this evil man really did.

[WoolSilkCotton]

If this Gleckman was such a big deal, how come nobody ever heard of him? And how come nobody gives a crap?

[A Commenter]

Just Google him and you will find his photograph as well as coverage about him in any book on the underworld mafia gangsters.

[rebitzman]

I'll say it again, the grandson of a murderous mafia gangster thug by the name of Leon Gleckman, has no business here.

And again, you serve only to prove yourself to be a Torah ignorant idiot.

[A Commenter]

Rebitzman:

And again, I will say, Shmarya criticizing the wrongs of others is laughable if it wasn't so sad.

Let's discuss Leon Gleckman and all the damage he inflicted on the Jewish community and others. I think that is a far more worthwhile discussion than the wrongs of Shalom Rubashkin.

[Simple Jew]

B"H

the silence from Shmarya is intersting, no?

Maybe it is true that some of the mudslinging is a reflection of ones own faults?

[Fleishike Kishke]

Actually, A Commenter,

The American Jewish mob was by design a one-generation phenomenon that pushed their children to go to school and to go legit. I've met several people whose ancestors were members of Murder Inc. I've always found it fascinating, especially because the people I met were so far from gangsters themselves. If I ever meet Shmarya, I might ask him about this alleged grandfather, but not because I think it taints him, but because it's a great conversation piece. Whereas when people start talking to me about your Messiah, I can't keep from yawning.
And while I don’t know anything about your grandfather, you, A Commenter, are a disingenuous individual, or more aptly, a lying sack of shit. When you surfaced, like a swine-hoof, you purported to be a disinterested commenter, but you quickly showed yourself to be a Hareidi shill with an agenda. In the spirit of the Talmud, may the memory of your failed “Messiah” spend eternity in a vat of boiling excrement.

[yechi ben levitas]

and president kennedy's father was a saint.Is that what you are taught in your shivot? kennedys's father made his wealth mostly by illegal means and became u s a ambassador to london, england. leave the blogger's grand father out of this . shmarya is quite brave to take on the hardei jews when they turn themselves into ungovernable rabble, committing all the naughty deeds he manages to expose.chabad are mud jews and mostly intellectually stupid and in religion, plain biggots.

[A Commenter]

Fleishike Kishke:

I started out of shock and disbelief. I couldn't understand the baseless slander against the dead. Slander that I find irrelevant.

My shock only intensified when I discovered Shmarya's disgusting background. It is a background I would not be proud of. I will not stand down. Shmarya needs to discuss his mafia gangster grandfather. Most of the crimes he discusses on this web site pale in comparison to what he comes from.

All I see is an angry individual entrenched in his anger. But, the anger is really about who he is and who he comes from. You see, he can't escape it.

[Rebitzman]

the silence from Shmarya is intersting, no?

Not particularly. This has been raised many, many times before, and he's probably tired of copy/pasting his answer.

I will not stand down

Torah ignorant fool.

[Rebitzman]

I have to add, that you (and several websites) now feel that is necessary to attack Shmarya through his family (2 generations back, in fact) only serves to prove how effective he's been and how desperated you are.

[A Commenter]

Rebitzman:

I have previously stated that just like Leon Gleckman, was very damaging to the Jewish community, his grandson, Shmaya, is also damaging the the Jewish community.

I grew up with my grandparents, honest hard working, God fearing Jews, who inculcated their timeless values in their offspring. To me you cannot distance yourself from your grandfather by stating that the man was two generations back.

Although I am somewhat dismayed with Shmarya's reports that are factual, I am very proud of the Jewish community. The community is strong and good and won't be torn down by Leon Gleckman's grandson.

Shmarya is very concerned with the "truth" but I now know that he has yet to embrace the truth about himself. Leon Gleckman was the Czar of St. Paul. A truly, evil man whose crimes were astonishing. Let his grandson own up to it in a real way. Until then, I have no respect for him.

[Fleishike Kishke]

A Commenter, you are wrong. Such as all fools who think they're smart, you are blind to the ignorance that reeks off your posts, having nothing to do with the content. Your *speculation* as to why Shmarya started this Blog is just one proof of your idiocy, readily apparent to most who frequent this site. Not that I mind if you wear yourself out, but FYI, every Hareidi apologist on FM eventually quits in despair, weakened in their faith. Or if they make themselves objectionable enough, find themselves banned. In the meantime, thank you for lobbing softballs which allow me to T off on the corrupt and self-aggrandizing parasite of the Jewish people that is Chabad.

[Simple Jew]

B"H

"the silence from Shmarya is intersting, no?"

"Not particularly. This has been raised many, many times before, and he's probably tired of copy/pasting his answer."

Are you sure you are telling the truth? I used search function on this website with his grandfathers name and Nada. I used it with Rubashkin and many articles appear.

I think he may be blocking searches based on his grandfathers name.

I kind of feel bad for Shmarya about his grandfathers alleged criminal behaviour...

[A Commenter]

Fleishike Kishke:

I will never stand down and my faith will never be weakened.

Simple Jew:

Any Google search will bring up enough about Leon Gleckman, Shmarya's maternal grandfather.

Someone who comes from such evil has no business being judge, prosecutor and jury concerning everything that is wrong in the entire Jewish community.

When a person has a giant wart on his face, let him not point out that I have a few.

[Rebitzman]

I think he may be blocking searches based on his grandfathers name.

How deranged does one have to be to think Shmara has the power to do block Internet access or alter Google searches?

[Fleishike Kishke]

I will never stand down and my faith will never be weakened.

Simple Jew

Of course it will. That's why your gemora warned you to stay away from apikursim.

[A Commenter]

Fleishike Kishke:

Although, I never did learn that Gemorah, I can see that it is hard for you to believe that someone can be completely comfortable in an Orthodox lifestyle.

Tell me the truth, is it really that great out there in the big world? Isn't the big world also flawed? How do you deal with it? Just wondering...

[Fleishike Kishke]

The “big world” has flaws too, and I rant to other Blogs about that. In my personal life, I’ve done my best to surround myself with educated (or sweet, fun-loving) people, and when people demonstrate themselves to be something other than what I want to be around, for the most part, I move along. It took a few years to realize, that unless they really get to know me, out of ignorance, many non-Jews (secular or religious) will see me as a “Jew,” whatever that means to them, and I’ve learned to tolerate that. I also do my best if nothing else for such people to say, “I knew a ‘Jew’ and was a good guy.” There are several “Mitzvas,” bein adam lakhaveiro, (human to human) that I try to be observant of, so that people get a good feeling from interacting with me. If they comment on it, I tell them it’s from the Torah. I’m openly pro-Israel, but offer no Jewish or Israeli apologetics. I’ve encountered several people who’ve had awful run-ins with Jews, and I usually let them know, that these were *not* isolated cases, that of the (Religious) Jew much as the (Religious) Christian, in fact anyone who wears their religion on their sleeve, one must be especially wary, because they somehow invariably turn out to be dirt bags, doubly so of Israelis.
Because of my deep and intimate knowledge of Chabad, I know just how dangerous this movement is, most of all to the Jewish people. So I oppose Chabad how I can.
1. The majority of Chabad, including a plurality of Shluchim, are un/under-educated, ignorant of book-knowledge—including Torah. Shluchim mostly deliver cookie-cutter speeches and jokes pitched at a six-grade mentality.
2. In many geographical areas, Chabad is by design or default destroying the last of Ashkenazi Culture, and replacing it with Schneerson Idolatry.
3. Chabad is a cult that uses deceptive, coercive and even fraudulent methods of taking money from vulnerable people.
4. Chabad wreaks havoc on family life for people who join and *even more so* for people within the movement.
5. Behind those long beards, a fair number of the biggest of the big in Chabad are horrific human beings.
6. Chabad uses psychological, and in cases physical, intimidation to keep its adherents in line.
7. Chabad is a movement that lives on its PR. From an earliest age Chabad children absorb how to promote/spin the movement, to do anything to make the cult look good to outsiders, no matter what the real situation is.
8. Chabad has no regard for the truth, and has no unshakeable ethics, morals, or principals.
9. Chabad has no genuine regard for Jews who don’t currently give them money.
10. Chabad has no genuine regard for non-Jews (even who currently give them money).

[Shmarya]

I don't normally answer ridiculous people like "A Commenter" who hide behind a wall of anonymity to smear and attack me.

But sometimes the lies are so obscene they need to be answered – especially when it isn't only me being smeared.

And that is the case here.

So lets deal with the actual historical facts, rather than the "A Commenter's" lies:

First of all, Leon Gleckman died in 1941. I was born in 1958, more than 17 years later. I did not know Leon Gleckman. Public records show his wife died when I was 5 years old, so you would be hard pressed to say I knew her, either.

I consider that my loss though, not my gain, and soon you'll see why.

Now lets look at what Leon Gleckman did not do:

1. He did not kill anyone and there is no evidence he ordered anyone else to kill anyone.

2. He did not deal in drugs, prostitution, or gambling.

3. He was not involved in gang wars.

4. He did not steal from poor people or prey on them.

5. He did not engage in extortion.

So what was it the Leon Gleckman did that was illegal?

• He sold liquor during prohibition.

• He bribed public officials (and possibly a juror), many of whom were taking bribes before Leon ever gave them a penny.

• He cheated on his taxes, although much of what he did not pay was meant to be deductions for the business expenses he incurred but could not legally deduct when the business itself was illegal.

All of the above were part and parcel of selling liquor during prohibition.

If you knew a little history, you’d know that literally hundreds of haredi rabbis were bootleggers who sold fake synagogue memberships at inflated prices to drinkers, who then were legally entitled to buy a certain about of liquor from the "synagogue" through a rather famously exploited loophole in the prohibition law.

What these rabbis – some of them Chabadniks, by the way – did was illegal. Some were arrested. Most were never caught.

If you are descended from a rabbi who lived in the US during prohibition, the odds are overwhelming that your ancestor was a criminal.

But, you're sure to say, Gleckman was so much worse.

If you judge by the amount of liquor he sold, you would be correct.

But if you judge it another way, you would be wrong.

Gleckman did not present himself as a rabbi or an Orthodox Jew, and he did not hide behind a synagogue, a black hat and a beard to sell his goods. But your rabbis did.

Regardless, Gleckman didn't exactly do massive damage to the Jewish community.

You might wish to quote a book that refers to Gleckman as the "Al Capone of St. Paul," and think that quote somehow proves your lies true.

But that assumption on your part comes from your ignorance.

The quote is actually taken from an FBI document and it refers to Gleckman's control of liquor distribution in St. Paul and his political influence – not to the murders, extortion and violence Capone was infamous for.

Gleckman's FBI file is 13 pages long.

The Jewish gangsters you say he was as bad as or worse than each have FBI files in that are far, far larger – some hundreds of pages long, some even longer than that.

And, yes, Capone's is also hundreds of pages, maybe thousands of pages long.

Now lets add even more context.

In 1919, Jews in Minnesota did not have easy access to higher education or big business.

For example, the University of Minnesota had quotas for the number of Jewish faculty it would allow in various departments and that quota existed until well into the 1950s. Before the Holocaust, Jewish students were admitted to the university, but only in very small numbers.

Antisemitism was much more prevalent then than it is today.

Hubert Humphrey, who you may have heard of, became famous for cracking down on the rampant antisemitism that still dominated the City of Minneapolis when he became its mayor after WW2.

Minneapolis was considered to to be the capitol of antisemitism in America.

Before the WW2 there were actual marches of hundreds of Brown Shirts carrying Nazi banners and anitsemitic signs, and similar but smaller marches in St, Paul.

Jews basically had three options for earning a living:

1. Start a small business.
2. Work in another Jew's small business.
3. Exploit the system.

In St. Paul the system meant the O'Connor System, named after St. Paul's one time police chief who in 1903 – when Gleckman was a small child – publicly initiated it.

The O'Connor system worked this way. Let police know you were in town, pay police a set fee, and do not commit any crimes within the borders of St. Paul and police would leave you alone. You could rob a store in Minneapolis walk free in St. Paul, as long as the police got a cut.

Lots of people tried to exploit that system and many succeeded.

Gleckman – after a bootlegging arrest happened because his group's stills were located in St. Paul – learned to use that system to protect himself and his partners.

That's it.

That's the criminal history of Leon Gleckman.

Years ago, not long after that book I mentioned above was published, a man named wrote the local Jewish newspaper to tell a personal story about Gleckman.

As a 16 year old kid, in response to a wave of Arab attacks on Jews in Palestine, the boy collected hundreds of rifles and ammunition, and he got a priest to agree to ship them to the Haganah in crates marked "Bibles." The top few layers of each crate would be filled with Christian bibles, as well, to help disguise the guns.

The guns were packed and ready to go. There were a lot of crates.

All the kid needed was the money to ship them.

He went to various Jewish charities and to Jewish community leaders. No one would pay for the shipment.

So the kid went to see Gleckman.

He asked Gleckman for thousands of dollars in mid-1930s money to pay for the shipping.

Gleckman gave him every penny he asked for. As the kid was leaving, Gleckman called him back in and asked if he was really sure that was all the money he needed to ship the guns. The kid told Gleckman he was sure it would be enough to get the shipment through British customs and to the Haganah.

If it isn't enough, if you need more, Gleckman told him, come back. and I'll give it to you.

I don't think that man's story kashers Gleckman's crimes. I do, however, think the story is important.

Besides the liquor business, Gleckman owned a legit finance company. But that business wasn't as profitable for him as it would have been if he didn't have a strong reluctance to foreclose on people and take their homes.

So he often didn't do it. Instead, during the Depression, much to the irritation and anger of his partner, a St. Paul Jewish criminal (whose name you don't know even though he was later close Meyer Lansky), Gleckman let the loans ride or covered them out of his own pocket.

When he died, many of the people he helped that way came to his funeral. Some asked Gleckman's family for pictures of him. Some had even named children after him in appreciation.

Unlike Al Capone, whose soup kitchens were meant to buy the loyalty of the populace and buy Capone a measure of security, Gleckman didn't need to do this. He already had the protection of the O'Connor System, and there was nothing a poor "Apple Annie," as many of these destitute homeowners were called, could do to hurt him or to help him.

Again, this does not kasher the crimes he committed.

But this does help explain where his money went.

He lived in a middle class house. He owned one car. Except in inclement weather, he walked to work – about 4.5 miles. If he tired along the way, he'd take a streetcar.

Most of his personal money, no matter how it was earned, was used to help other people – and that includes helping dozens of Jews get into legitimate business.

Again, this does not make his crimes kosher.

But what "A Commenter" wrote about him is a complete misrepresentation of the facts and of history.

Al Capone came to St. Paul once to try to convince Gleckman to do business with him.

Gleckman refused to meet him. He detested Capone and everything he stood for.

I heard that story as a 12 or 13 year old kid from a Jewish safecracker named Red Rudensky. Rudensky heard it from Capone himself when they were cellmates in federal prison in Atlanta.

When Rudensky got out of prison he went straight, and he spent most of the rest of his life telling kids to stay away from crime. He didn't get paid for this, but he did it over and over and over again, taking time off from his job to speak to high schools.

Late in his life I met him on a public golf course where, for reasons too complex to get into here, he and his golfing partner and and my golfing buddy and myself were thrown together as a foursome.

The first thing he said to me about Gleckman was that Gleckman wasn't like those others. He wasn't a thug or a murderer or an extortionist or an exploiter of the poor or the vulnerable.

Again, this doesn't make the crimes Gleckman committed kosher.

So there. There's Leon Gleckman, the "horrible" criminal who somehow – even though I never met him – in your twisted mind disqualifies me from reporting what you admit is the truth about the crimes of your community – a community I lived in and was a part of for more than 20 years.

And one more thing.

Leon Gleckman never raised money to rescue Jews from Holocaust but instead use that money to open a Brooklyn yeshiva, but one of your rabbis did.

Leon Gleckman never told Jews it would be safe in Europe and they should not leave for America or Palestine or anywhere else they may have been able to find refuge. But many of your rabbis did and some of those rabbis – the Frierdiker Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Belzer Rebbe and the Belzer Rebbe's brother, the Satmar Rebbe, for example – then deserted their followers at first opportunity and fled for safety.

If you want to discuss crimes and criminals and damage done to Jews, don't forget to include them.

And don't forget to write that their children and grandchildren can't have anything to do with leading Jews because of what their father or grandfather did.

After all, what's good for the goose is good for the gander, isn't it.

[A Commenter]

Shmarya:

You are angry and dishonest. Your grandfather, Leon Gleckman, was a mafia gangster. I cannot thinkg of anything worse than that and yet you find ways to say he really wasn't so bad... If this isn't hypocrasy, well then, I don't know what is. He was thief and from what I read, he did order a hit. All fraudsters are charitable! So, I really don't care how good he was about distributing his money. My grandparents were honest, hardworking people their entire lives. They also gave where they could. So did countless other fine Orthodox Jews. Just the thought of Leon Gleckman is revolting!

You continue to twist history to your liking, so I wont' even comment on your last part about the great Rebbes because it seems to me you are limited in your thinking and this is just so ludicrous.

I'll say it again, and again: the grandson of a mafia gangster has no place here at all. What you do is laughable if it weren't so sad. Most of the crimes you report on pale in comparison to what Leon Gleckman did. Please think really hard and honestly about this and maybe at some point you might find something meaningful to contribute to humanity.

[A Commenter]

Fleishike Kishka:

Thank you for your honest response. I have friends in Chabad and there was a time that I found myself often in Crown Heights. I don't belong to any chassidic group because I just never identified with any of it and it is not who I come from. I appreciate the sacrifice of the older generation and what they went through in Russia. But, it seems to me that Chabad has alienated itself from the rest of the Jewish world inasmuch as they believe they are so much more superior to everyone else. I will never understand this thinking and behavior. Indeed, I just saw a You Tube video where the narrator explains how the Rayatz was just so much better than the Gerer, Satmar and Belzer Rebbes! I just have to scratch my head...

With that said, Fleishike Kishka, the Orthodox world is very big and I think it is sad that you did not find another flawed community within to feel comfortable in.

[Shmarya]

You are angry and dishonest. Your grandfather, Leon Gleckman, was a mafia gangster. I cannot thinkg of anything worse than that and yet you find ways to say he really wasn't so bad... If this isn't hypocrasy, well then, I don't know what is. He was thief and from what I read, he did order a hit. All fraudsters are charitable! So, I really don't care how good he was about distributing his money. My grandparents were honest, hardworking people their entire lives. They also gave where they could. So did countless other fine Orthodox Jews. Just the thought of Leon Gleckman is revolting!

You continue to twist history to your liking, so I wont' even comment on your last part about the great Rebbes because it seems to me you are limited in your thinking and this is just so ludicrous.

I'll say it again, and again: the grandson of a mafia gangster has no place here at all. What you do is laughable if it weren't so sad. Most of the crimes you report on pale in comparison to what Leon Gleckman did. Please think really hard and honestly about this and maybe at some point you might find something meaningful to contribute to humanity.

Posted by: A Commenter | December 27, 2011 at 06:24 AM

You can't provide a citation for what you allege because no legitimate citation exists.

And of course you ignore the real crimes of your rabbis and somehow think that crimes committed by someone else 80 years ago passuls me from reporting on those rabbis and their crimes.

You make no sense and you lie.

So provide the citation for what you say you read.

You have until noon central time.

[Shmarya]

And as for your "great rebbes," little man, all the proof in the world exists and has been legitimately published, mostly with peer review.

That you are too ignorant to know this and that you don't care to learn doesn't change that.

[Rebitzman]

So provide the citation for what you say you read.

He's read a website - sole purpose of said website being to smear you.

It's on the Internet, Shmarya - it MUST be true

[Shmarya]

He's read a website - sole purpose of said website being to smear you.

It's on the Internet, Shmarya - it MUST be true

Posted by: Rebitzman | December 27, 2011 at 08:32 AM

I don't see any website that makes the claims he makes.

I see websites that quote (sometimes out of context) the book I mentioned above, but that book doesn't make the extreme claims "A Commenter" makes.

It's really sad, though.

Even if all that crap was true – and it is NOT – how that would mandate that I can't report on haredi crime is beyond me.

The truth is that the haredi community no longer has truth or justice or even morality on its side, and all it has left is lies, smearing critics and violence.

[A Commenter]

Shmarya:

You can't fix the problems in your own family by spending all your time smearing the Orthodox community. There is nothing more shocking or evil than the mafia. I say this from my heart because I know and understand what it means to be honest. I never had any use for dishonest fraudsters who donate large sums to any charitable cause. Maybe I am naive, but I believe in God and I know that God has many ways to confer blessings and good upon his people. It never has to come from fraud and especially not from the mafia. You have yet to show any disdain for who your granfather was. And, I don't care if you ever met him or not. However, you are full of disdain for the Orthodox community which is good and strong albeit flawed. You, Leon Gleckman's grandson, will never tear it down. I beg you, find something meaningful to do with your life. It is not too late.

[A Commenter]

Let the reader make an honest judgement. Look up,

"John Dillinger Slept Here - A Crook's Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. Paul, 1920-1936" by Paul Maccabee in Google books.

[Fleishike Kishke]

Shmarya, That was a great story about Leon Gleckman. Not that you aren't busy enough with this Blog, but if you have more info than what you put into that comment, you should write a book/biography about Leon Gleckman. It really is a fascinating story. Where Leon came from. The context of St. Paul in the 1930s. Leon's bootlegging. His charity. His "gun-running." How other bootleggers saw him. How the govt took him down. His end. If he happened to be your grandfather that will give the book all the more credibility.

[Shmarya]

Let the reader make an honest judgement. Look up,

"John Dillinger Slept Here - A Crook's Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. Paul, 1920-1936" by Paul Maccabee in Google books.

Posted by: A Commenter | December 27, 2011 at 12:17 PM

Idiot.

The book – which has errors, to be sure – does not support most of your claims.

You're an ignoramus and a dishonest person.

[Shmarya]

You can't fix the problems in your own family by spending all your time smearing the Orthodox community. There is nothing more shocking or evil than the mafia.

First of all, you're attempting to cover up the problems in your own community by smearing me – exactly what you claim should not be done.

Past that, you won't find any sources that say Leon Gleckman was a member of the Mafia.

His FBI file does not say it, the book you incorrectly cite does not say it and no reputable historian says it.

Your problem is that you are ignorant, unintelligent and intellectually dishonest.

You ignore the real crimes and misbehavior of your own rabbis and of the rabbis who came before them. And you presume much about things you actually know nothing about.

[A Commenter]

Shmarya,

There is enough in print putting your grandfather up there with the mafia. In any case, we all know if someone in the Orthodox community did the horrible crooked things he did, you would devote years of your life to it. However, where it concerns your family it is all quite OK and even "fascinating". Forgive me if I say you are a hypocrite.

You live an angry dishonest life. I'll keep watching to see where it gets you.

[Shmarya]

Shmarya,

There is enough in print putting your grandfather up there with the mafia. In any case, we all know if someone in the Orthodox community did the horrible crooked things he did, you would devote years of your life to it. However, where it concerns your family it is all quite OK and even "fascinating". Forgive me if I say you are a hypocrite.

You live an angry dishonest life. I'll keep watching to see where it gets you.

Posted by: A Commenter | December 27, 2011 at 01:48 PM

I can't account for your dishonesty or your clear inability to process the simple English language sentences you're asked to read.

But I can say this.

I stated three times in my response you that nothing positive Gleckman did made his crimes okay.

I also asked you for a source to back up your claims and the source your provided doesn't do that.

You seem to think you have the right to lie and smear, but you don't.

You're a pathetic person.

And by the way, I just started researching your background.

Perhaps some things will turn up that will interest you.