567 posts categorized "Chabad"

July 4, 2008: US Gov't Official: Agriprocessors "Medieval"
Comments: 25 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
The raid exposed allegations that workers at the sprawling plant, which employed more than 900 people, were underpaid, physically abused, sexually harassed and extorted. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a U.S. government official who has visited the plant described the...

July 4, 2008: Grand Jury Continues To Investigate Agriprocessors
Comments: 11 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
"Escorted by U.S. marshals, Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza (left) and Martin De La Rosa-Loera (right) walk into the federal courthouse at 4200 C St. SW. in Cedar Rapids on Thursday. Guerrero-Espinoza is accused of…

July 3, 2008: US Department of Justice: Investigation Of Agriprocessors "Continuing"
Comments: 6 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
The DOJ can't say what is being investigated. But it did say…

July 3, 2008: Agriprocessors Management Color Coded
Comments: 6 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
How senior are the two supervisors arrested earlier today? If the information I've seen is correct, they are…

July 3, 2008: US Attorney's Press Release On Agriprocessors Supervisors' Arrests
Comments: 0 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
As I mentioned earlier, the DOJ would like your help in locating…

July 3, 2008: Arrested Rubashkin Supervisors Senior Management
Comments: 10 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Both are senior supervisors. One runs the beef kill and three other departments. The other, poultry kill and three other departments. Both men report directly to the plant manager. He reports directly to Sholom M. Rubashkin. Both supervisors allegedly knowingly...

July 3, 2008: BREAKING! Two Agriprocessors Supervisors Arrested On Federal Criminal Charges
Comments: 18 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
UPDATE 7-3-08 1:35 PM – Here are the names of the arrested supervisors, along with the charges.

July 3, 2008: Rubashkin Spokesman Menachem Lubinsky Lies Again
Comments: 15 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers , Spin
This time, it's in Hamodia.

July 1, 2008: FailedMessiah.com Linked In Wall Street Journal – So Are FM Readers Aharon Varady and Yochanan Lavie
Comments: 45 | Categories: Chabad , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
In a story about Agriprocessors called Raid Unsettles Kosher Beliefs:

June 29, 2008: New Allegations Of Rubashkin Worker Abuse, Part 2
Comments: 9 | Categories: Chabad , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
Earlier today I wrote that Jim Martin, Agriprocessors new "compliance officer," was not doing a good job. Martin was hired with much fanfare 23 days ago. So far, his major accomplishment…

June 29, 2008: New Allegations Of Rubashkin Worker Abuse
Comments: 24 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
Agriprocessors' new "compliance officer" Jim Martin doesn't seem to be enforcing compliance very well, as…

June 27, 2008: The Fix Was In
Comments: 54 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Price-Fixing , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
I've written many times previously about how the Bush Administration gave preferential treatment to companies and industries with disproportionately high links to Republican politicians and conservative causes. The pattern…

June 26, 2008: Can Agriprocessors' New "Compliance Officer" Be Trusted?
Rubashkin Staffing Agency Advertises Cheap Mexican Labor

Comments: 28 | Categories: Chabad , Creative PR , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers , Spin
The short answer, I think, is no – he can't be trusted, even though Rubashkin's new "Compliance Officer," Jim Martin is a former federal prosecutor with a sterling reputation. But that reputation has now come into contact with Rubashkin and...

June 25, 2008: Rubashkin PR Meeting Canceled
Comments: 57 | Categories: Chabad , Creative PR , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers , Spin
Conference Call To Only 20 Selected "Leaders" Instead. 5W PR: "Too Many People RSVP'd," "More Of A Circus" Than A Meeting. Young Israel head Rabbi Pesach Lerner defends Rubashkin, attacks Modern Orthodox…

June 23, 2008: Head Of OU Shechita Uses Lanner Excuse: Rubashkin Is The Chabad "Kiruv" Of Kosher Meat, No Worse Than Other Meat Plants – Criticism Of Rubashkin Is Lashon Hara
Comments: 135 | Categories: Chabad , Creative PR , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , MO & Chardal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
Well, either all other meat plants hire 13 year olds to illegally work chicken lines; recruit and hire illegal aliens and then provide them with forged ID; extort and abuse those same illegal workers; and engage in unfair and illegal...

June 22, 2008: Role Of Agriprocessors' New "Compliance Officer" Unclear, Uri L'Tzedek Says
Comments: 25 | Categories: Chabad , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , MO & Chardal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
And, beside that, we also have a new, blistering attack on the OU and other Rubashkin kosher certifiers, as…

June 22, 2008: Understanding Rubashkin's Near-Monopoly
Comments: 20 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
A rather unremarkable story in J, the Jewish newspaper of the San Francisco Bay Area, has one rather remarkable bit of information buried in it, and that bit of information helps explain Rubashkin's monopoly in many areas of the country.

June 22, 2008: Rubashkin Hires New PR Powerhouse – Represents Fortune 500 Companies, Hip Hop Artists, Paris Hilton
Comments: 17 | Categories: Chabad , Creative PR , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
The new PR firm is 5W Public Relations and, among its clients are Pastor John Hagee, Televangelist Benny Hinn, a few members of Israel's Knesset and the uber-right wing Zionist Organization of America (and here, where the ZOA's president defends...

June 20, 2008: BREAKING! Rubashkin Hires Texas Homeless, Ships Them To Postville – Allegations Of Mistreatment Continue, OU Covers For Agriprocessors
Comments: 22 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
I'm speechless. At first blush, I thought this was a good thing – until…

June 20, 2008: BREAKING! Rubashkin Boss Who Allegedly Defrauded And Extorted Workers Flees To Israel – Management Knew About Extortion And Fraud, Did Not Act To Stop It, Employees Say
Comments: 4 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Israel , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Not only that, but more evidence has surfaced showing the Rubashkins knowing hired illegal workers and provided those illegal workers – after a period of vetting and absolutely rock-bottom pay – with false documents as…

June 19, 2008: Rubashkin Son-In-Law Rabbi Milton Balkany Threatens Orthodox Rubashkin Boycott Leaders – Rubashkin PR Flack Menachem Lubinsky Plays Holocaust Card
Comments: 15 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , MO & Chardal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
It looks like that's what happened when Balkany, another Aaron Rubashkin son-in-law Sholom Baer Minkowitz, and Rubaskin PR flack Menachem Lubinsky met last week with the leaders of…

June 19, 2008: Rubashkin To Hold "Urgent" NYC Meeting For Jewish Leadership – Invitation Only Event's Speakers Include Rubashkin's Attorney, Rubashkin's Rabbis, Rubashkin's PR Consultant
Comments: 8 | Categories: Chabad , Creative PR , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
Maybe we should crash it? If you go, please bring and use a recoding device and a camera. Details below:

June 15, 2008: Underneath A Policy Of Corruption, Rubashkin's Meat Hook
Comments: 12 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
During the first Rubashkin scandal, people wondered how the USDA could have allowed ripping out the throats of live cattle with a meat hook. Here's the answer.

June 12, 2008: Rubashkin Ships Meat Years Past Expiration Date To Conservative Camps
Comments: 23 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Would this have sickened campers if served? Most likely…

June 12, 2008: Interview With An Agriprocessors Mashgiach
Comments: 28 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
The Jew and the Carrot has an interview with a former mashgiach at Agriprocessors, the Postville, Iowa slaughterhouse and meat packer that produces Rubashkin's, Aaron's Best, Shor HaBor, Supreme Kosher and other brands. The mashgiach…

June 11, 2008: "Conservative and Reform Movements Despicable, Ludicrous, Spoofs On Kashrus"
Comments: 58 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
VosIzNeias, the hasidic "news blog" that bills itself as "The Voice of the Orthodox Jewish Community," is at it again, attacking…

June 11, 2008: What Rubashkin Knew And When He Knew It
Comments: 13 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
I reread a large chunk of Stephen Bloom's book Postville over the second day of Shavuot. I hadn't looked at the book in a long time – I think I last read bits of it five years ago. Bloom clearly…

June 7, 2008: Rubashkin's Son-in-Law Defends Rubashkin On Zev Brenner Tonight
Comments: 13 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
Listen here.

June 6, 2008: UPDATED: Rubashkin Uses Meat "Shortage" Against Enemies?
Comments: 14 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
It sure looks like it. Maybe not. I wandered over to Cooper's, Saint Paul's kosher food outlet tonight and took a gander at the kosher meat supply. What did I find?

June 5, 2008: BREAKING! Rubashkin Hires Former US Attorney As "Chief Compliance Officer"
Comments: 23 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin EPA , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
In response to the massive immigration raid and ongoing investigations by state and federal agencies inot alleged illegal activities by the company, Agriprocessors today hired former Missouri U.S. Attorney Jim Martin to oversee the company's compliance with…

June 5, 2008: Chabad Rabbi To Face 17 Criminal Counts
Comments: 18 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim
Australian Chabad rabbi Yossi Engel apparently will face 17…

June 4, 2008: The Rubashkin-Lubinsky Smear Begins
Comments: 30 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Never people to admit their mistakes (intentional or otherwise), the Rubashkin family has launched a concerted effort to smear people involved in trying to stop the abuses at the Rubashkins' Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa. Perhaps the…

June 4, 2008: Aaron Rubashkin Audio
Comments: 15 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Hessed , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Ben Harris of the JTA has posted must hear audio from his interview with Agriprocessors' owner Aaron Rubashkin. Rubashkin says, among other things, that his son Sholom was never Agriprocessors' CEO, calling him…

June 3, 2008: Agriprocessors Runs Help Wanted Ads In Guatemala Newspapers
Comments: 16 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
The May 27, 2008 edition of…

June 3, 2008: Aaron Rubashkin: "I wish everybody should be treated like we treat people"
Comments: 12 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Ben Harris of the JTA has an exclusive interview with Aaron Rubashkin, the owner of Agriprocessors, the world's largest kosher slaughterhouse and the target of the largest single immigration raid in US history. And Aaron Rubashkin has news for you…

June 3, 2008: RCA: Believe Rubashkin, Not Workers, Not Evidence
Comments: 11 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , MO & Chardal , Rubashkin Workers
As you read this new RCA "policy statement" issued today, keep in mind that as of early last week almost 300 of those arrested at Agriprocessors in the largest immigration raid in US history had already pleaded guilty or been...

June 2, 2008: God On Acid – Did LSD Fuel The Ba'al Teshuva Movement?
Comments: 60 | Categories: BTs , Chabad
Simon Jacobson, a Chabad rabbi who has made a career out of spinning…

May 30, 2008: BREAKING! Labor Contractor Pulls Workers Out Of Agriprocessors, Cites Unsafe Working Conditions
Comments: 8 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
A labor contractor hired to send workers to Agriprocessors, the Rubashkin family's Postville, Iowa kosher slaughterhouse, has pulled its workers after 10 days on the job citing…

May 30, 2008: Rubashkin: Bad Landlord, Still Abusive Employer
Comments: 30 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
It's not just GAL Investments that is reportedly pushing former Agriprocessors workers onto the streets – it is…

May 29, 2008: OU Admits Replacement Of Sholom Rubashkin Ploy To Keep Kosher Supervision
Comments: 42 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , MO & Chardal , Rubashkin Workers
Rabbi Menachem Genack of the OU has admitted what many of us thought all along – the "ouster" of Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin as Agriprocessors CEO is…

May 29, 2008: New Rubashkin Workers Claim Abuse; Rubashkin Also Alleged To Be Recruiting More Illegal Workers
Comments: 8 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
After reams of negative media attention in the wake of the largest immigration raid in US history, you would think the Rubashkin family would have learned behave in civilized society. But nothing, it seems, could be further from the truth....

May 28, 2008: UPDATED: Chabad Landlord – Pay Rent Now Or Get Out; Gal Investments Largest Postville Landlord
Comments: 17 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Allegedly, Gal Investments, a Postville landlord that may have connections to Agriprocessors management and the Rubashkin family…

May 28, 2008: Is Rubashkin Scamming The Jewish Community? Move To "Oust" Sholom M. Rubashkin A Ploy To Avoid Prosecution?
Comments: 27 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , MO & Chardal , Rubashkin Workers
If Agriprocessors CEO (and its Vice President) Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin's nephew is telling the truth, the answer is…

May 28, 2008: BREAKING! OU Pushed For Sholom Rubashkin Ouster, Jewish Star Reports – Is The OU Conning American Jews?
Comments: 17 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , MO & Chardal , Rubashkin Workers
Mayer Fertig of the Jewish Star is reporting that…

May 27, 2008: Did A Rubashkin Flee The Country?
Comments: 82 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
This is still an unconfirmed rumor, so take it with a large grain of salt. I've been told by a normally reliable source that…

May 26, 2008: Is This How Rabbi Zeilingold's "Independent Investigation" Of Agriprocessors Was Run?
Comments: 21 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Formerly There writes:

May 26, 2008: Rubashkin's PR Spin Continues
Comments: 41 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Rabbi Asher Zeilingold, the man whose kosher symbol appears on all Rubashkin non-glatt (but still kosher) meat, weighed in on the massive immigration raid at Agriprocessors…

May 25, 2008: Star K On Chabad Shochtim
Comments: 29 | Categories: Chabad , Kosher Scandal
On Zev Brenner's radio show last night, Dr. Avraham Pollack of the Star K was asked for the Star K's position of Chabad shochtim, especially Chabad messianist shochtim. Would the Star K hire them? Approve their shechita? The answer?

May 24, 2008: Lubinsky on Talkline Defending Rubashkin
Comments: 5 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
He's claiming antisemitism. Listen here.

May 24, 2008: Slave Labor: Rubashkin Workers Allege Forced, Unpaid Overtime
Comments: 7 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
It just keeps coming…

May 23, 2008: BREAKING! Rubashkin Out – Agriprocessors Seeks New CEO
Comments: 16 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Details below…

May 23, 2008: Washington, DC Modern Orthodox Rabbi Calls For Rubashkin Ban
Comments: 32 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , MO & Chardal , Rubashkin Workers
The ban is temporary, meant to be in place only until allegations against Agriprocesors and the Rubashkin family are proved false or true. Still, once in place – and with the high probability of Rubashkin guilt, combined with so many...

May 23, 2008: And The Lid begins To Close…
Comments: 12 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
How likely is it that management of Agriprocessors, the Rubashkin family's Postville, Iowa slaughterhouse and packing facility, will be indicted? Very, if stories like this are true:

May 23, 2008: UPDATED: Alleged Rubashkin Bag Man Subpoenaed
Comments: 13 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
The man many think recruited underage workers for Rubashkin and paid them – and other illegals – off the books has been subpoenaed by a grand jury.

May 23, 2008: Sins of Omission, Part 2
Comments: 6 | Categories: Chabad , Chabad & the Media , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Media , Rubashkin Workers
Earlier this week, I highlighted two articles on the Agriprocessors Scandal that I believe missed the mark by a wide margin. One was a JTA piece by Sue Fishkoff. A second, less objectionable piece, was from the Forward. Now we...

May 23, 2008: Conservative Rabbis Stop Short Of Boycotting Agriprocessors
Comments: 32 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Jewish Leadership , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
In a joint statement, the Conservative Movement's Rabbinical Association and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism in effect punted. Despite widespread calls within the movement for a boycott against Agriprocessors (Rubashkin), the rabbis decided to leave the decision of whether...

May 22, 2008: Police Turn Crown Heights Into Armed Camp
Comments: 19 | Categories: Chabad , Chabad & the Media , Crime, etc.
The New York Times has a generally good article on the current tensions in Crown Heights. But the Times does screw up big time. What did the Times do wrong?

May 21, 2008: Design Firm Files Suit Against Agriprocessors – Claims Rubashkin Owes More Than $270,000 In Unpaid Bills
Comments: 71 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
A Kansas City design firm that has designed hundreds of package labels for Agriprocessors filed suit yesterday in…

May 21, 2008: Sins of Omission
Comments: 25 | Categories: Chabad , Chabad & the Media , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Media , Rubashkin Workers
Two major Jewish media stories on the Agriprocessors immigration raid deserve special mention – not for a job well done.

May 20, 2008: Will Crown Heights Erupt?
Comments: 7 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc.
The more I hear, the more I think that the answer is yes, it will. Below are two mp3 files of Rabbi Shea Hecht being interviewed by Zev Brenner Saturday night. Several things seem clear:

May 19, 2008: Rubashkin Workers Said Forced To Grant Sexual Favors For Promotions, Shift Changes
Comments: 50 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
I guess Rabbi Weissmandel and his rabbis were not in this room – or, just maybe, they were…

May 19, 2008: Rubashkin's Rabbis Visit Jail
Comments: 33 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Rabbis from Postville, Iowa have visited an Iowa jail holding detainees from last Monday's massive immigration raid at Agriprocessors. Who did Rubashkin's rabbis visit?

May 18, 2008: Even The Bathrooms Are Kosher
Comments: 38 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Rabbi Weissmandel, the head honcho of Rubashkin's rabbis, says he knows the government's allegations against Rubashkin are false. No meth lab on premises. No duct taping a worker's eyes and beating him with a meat hook. No extortion. No fraud....

May 18, 2008: Crown Heights On The Edge Of Riots
Comments: 86 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc.
I just got the following report from a Crown Heights resident who…

May 18, 2008: The Pious Chabadnik
Comments: 25 | Categories: Chabad , Chabad & Christianity , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Rabbi Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin, son of Agriprocessors founder Avraham Aaron Rubashkin and head of Agriprocessors daily operations…

May 16, 2008: 18 Juveniles Arrested During Rubashkin Raid, Some As Young As 13
Comments: 42 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Here it is, buried in a story…

May 16, 2008: Lawsuit Alleges Rubashkin Extortion, Racketeering, Other Crimes
Comments: 8 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Rubashkin workers have formed a class action lawsuit against Agriprocessors. Here's what the workers allege…

May 15, 2008: Rabbi Weissmandel: Allegations Against Rubashkin "False"
Comments: 12 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Supreme Kosher's Rabbi Moshe Weissmandel weighed in on the massive immigration raid conducted against Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa Monday. What did the uber-haredi have to say?

May 15, 2008: Experts See Charges for Rubashkin Bosses
Comments: 22 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Yesterday the Jewish Week printed the opinions of two prominent legal scholars who, after reading the affidavits used in Monday's raid on Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa, thought senior plant managers (i.e., Rubashkins) were soon to be charged with crimes. Today...

May 15, 2008: Rubashkin Family State Campaign Contributions May Have Purchased Pols Silence On Wrongdoing
Comments: 4 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Yesterday we learned about Rubashkin federal campaign contributions thanks to a Des Moines Register article. Today, we move on to bigger, unregulated money donated to Iowa state politicians by Rubashkin family members – and what very well might be influence...

May 14, 2008: Government Laying Groundwork For Indictment Of Rubashkin, Senior Managers, Legal Experts Claim
Comments: 25 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Surprised by the breadth of the affidavits used in the raid against the Rubashkin family's Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa early this week, legal experts believe…

May 14, 2008: What Did The Rabbis Know And When Did They Know It?
Comments: 18 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , MO & Chardal , Rubashkin EPA , Rubashkin Gordon , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
In the wake of the largest immigration raid in the modern history of America, a question must be asked: What did the rabbis supervising Agriprocessors know and when did they know it?

May 14, 2008: Rubashkin Food Safety, Worker Safety and Pollution Violations Detailed
Comments: 34 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin EPA , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
The Des Moines Register has a long list of all Agriprocessors violations of safety, food safety and pollution regulations over the past two years. As regular FailedMessiah.com readers certainly know, the article stresses Agriprocessors has a…

May 13, 2008: INTERVIEW: OU's Rabbi Menachem Genack on Rubashkin
Comments: 58 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , MO & Chardal , Rubashkin Workers
I spoke briefly with the CEO of OU Kosher, Rabbi Menachem Genack. I asked him the following question:

May 13, 2008: Rubashkin Search Warrants
Comments: 4 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Posted as pdf files, after the jump in the extended post:

May 13, 2008: RUBASHKIN OPEN FOR BUSINESS AS USUAL
Comments: 40 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
The slaughter line is operating this morning at Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa. The I.C.E. raid, carried out yesterday in conjunction with 14 other federal and state agencies, only stopped production yesterday.

May 13, 2008: Rubashkin Family Members Large Republican Campaign Contributors
Comments: 9 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
The Federal Elections Commission records show Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin gave…

May 13, 2008: How Aaron Rubashkin Does Business – Duct Tape To The Eyes, Meat Hook To The Head
Comments: 24 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
The Cedar Rapids Gazette has excerpted parts of the search warrants used in yesterday's massive raid on Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa, the largest kosher slaughterhouse in the world. Is your glatt kosher meat worth this?

May 13, 2008: New York Times Blows Raid Coverage
Comments: 5 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Media , Rubashkin Workers
I'm running a contest. Whoever finds the most number of mistakes (including omissions) in the NY Times coverage of the raid on Rubashkin's Postville plant wins. I'll spot you…

May 12, 2008: RUBASHKIN WORKERS PAID $5 Per Hour
Comments: 19 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
That's right. Chabad rabbi and former shaliach…

May 12, 2008: RUBASHKIN TARGET OF ONGOING STATE & FEDERAL LABOR PROBE – Rubashkin Alleged to Employ Underage Illegal Workers Paid Under the Table, Fake OSHA Report May Come Back to Haunt
Comments: 29 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
The Des Moines Register is reporting United Food and Commercial Workers Union leadership asked ICE not to raid Agriprocessors. Why?

May 12, 2008: 700 ARRESTS POSSIBLE AT AGRIPROCESSORS; LARGEST IMMIGRATION RAID IN HISTORY; DRUGS AND WEAPONS VIOLATIONS ALSO ALLEGED
Comments: 11 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
USA Today and the Des Moines Register are both reports 600 to 700 arrests at the Rubashkin family's Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa. As of approximately 3 pm CDT, at least 300…

May 12, 2008: AGRIPROCESSORS RAID SAID TO BE LARGEST EVER CONDUCTED
Comments: 10 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
A reliable source informs me the Immigration raid now in progress at Rubashkin's Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa is "the largest raid ICE has ever conducted - 500 agents." The source also tells me federal agents "raided public schools looking...

May 12, 2008: BREAKING! US IMMIGRATION POLICE RAID AGRIPROCESSORS
Comments: 25 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
I've been told by two sources that more than 200 immigration police, troopers and federal agents are in the process of raiding Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa. Helicopters are said to be circling the facility, which will presumably remain closed for...

May 11, 2008: The Dishonest Right
Comments: 26 | Categories: Chabad , Religion , Skepticism
The Discovery Institute blog has a horrible post attacking Richard Dawkins for calling Shmuley Boteach "Hitler." Is this true?

May 9, 2008: Jewish Code Snarls Probe Into Crown Heights Attack
Comments: 22 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim
And what "code" would that be, you ask?

May 1, 2008: Rabbis Ban Israel Bible Quiz Due To Messianic Jews – Can Chabad Messianists Compete?
Comments: 39 | Categories: Chabad , Chabad & Christianity , MO & Chardal
So, here's the deal. One of the finalists in this year's Israel Ministry of Education-sponsored International Bible Quiz is a Messianic Jew from Pisgat Zeev. Some Religious Zionist rabbis, including Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, have called on Jews to boycott the...

April 27, 2008: Could Chabad's 'Ouija Board' Be Wrong? Massive Crown Heights Mortgage Fraud May Signal Deeper Trouble For Hasidim
Comments: 17 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc.
So here's the deal. A Chabadnik builds two condominium complexes in Crown Heights, 770 Lefferts and 613 East New York. He sells the units to fellow Chabadniks, but fails to transfer the deeds to the buyers' names. Then, he…

April 13, 2008: New Site From Former Chabad BT
Comments: 23 | Categories: BTs , Chabad
MenschYisrael.org. If you're a Chabad BT, and you're questioning what you got yourself into, Mensch Yisrael would like to help.

April 12, 2008: Chabad Messianist Concert Wins Rabbinic Approval?
Comments: 29 | Categories: Chabad , Haredim , Israel
You might think so if you saw the following poster and a letter from Rabbi…

April 10, 2008: A Post For Rabbi Meir Abehsera
Comments: 15 | Categories: Chabad , Good News
There appears to be a treatment on the horizon for the MRSA "superbug" infections that have become increasingly common in hospitals (and even in professional sports teams' locker rooms). What is it and what does it have to do with...

March 30, 2008: Google Publishes Fraudulent Chabad Ad
Comments: 57 | Categories: Chabad , Chabad & the Media
Google – which has an ad policy many would consider to be draconian – is running an ad for ChabadWorld.net. The ad claims to be for "The homepage for worldwide Chabad-Lubavitch movement" and its headline is reads "Chabad-Lubavitch." Clicking on...

March 23, 2008: A Moshe Rubashkin Purim
Comments: 8 | Categories: Chabad , Moshe Rubashkin
Chanina Sperlin, left; Moshe Rubashkin, center. Shrurem.net has posted a video of twice-convicted felon and current Crown Heights Jewish Community Council President Moshe Rubashkin having a drunken confrontation with an adversary, Rabbi Chanina Sperlin, on Purim in Crown Heights. Moshe...

March 13, 2008: More On Rabbis Who Backed Call For Vigilante Violence Against Arabs
Comments: 32 | Categories: Chabad , Israel , MO & Chardal
The Jerusalem Post has printed some of the names of the rabbis who called for vigilante violence against Arabs and Jewish terrorism against Arabs. Of course, the rabbis say…

March 10, 2008: Chabad in the New York Times
Comments: 33 | Categories: Chabad , Chabad & the Media
The Times has a report that features Chabad but is not soley about Chabad. Most interesting is…

March 9, 2008: Gutnick, Chabad, Aish, Alleged Stock Market Affinity Schemes
Comments: 23 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Haredim
It allegedly worked this way:

March 5, 2008: Chabad Leader Owes NY State $3.4 Million Dollars in Back Taxes
Comments: 19 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc.
According to the New York Daily News, Schenjer Zalman (A.K.A., "Jimmy") Gurary, a Chabad rabbi and "garment center executive" who was at one time one of the leaders of Agudas Chasidei Chabad (Aguch), owes…

March 5, 2008: The Ungrateful Oligarch
Comments: 21 | Categories: Chabad , Court Jews , Israel
"The moment you ask a child in Israel what Yom Kippur means to him, and he answers the Yom Kippur War… then I don't know if that is Zionism or whatever you call it, but it has certainly become bankrupt,"...

March 3, 2008: Ha'aretz Hearts Lazar
Comments: 3 | Categories: Chabad , Court Jews
Ha'aretz has a fawning profile of Chabad's 'chief rabbi' of Russia, Berel Lazar. The profile fails to mentions Lazar's disgusting medal episode in Auschwitz, the recent lessening of his power, or dozens of other questionable actions (like this, yesterday) Lazar...

March 3, 2008: Who Said This? A Failed Messiah Pop News Quiz
Comments: 10 | Categories: Chabad , Court Jews
Who said this about Vladimir Putin's hand-picked successor? "You won in the first round with a huge lead. It shows that people trust you, that your campaign promises to continue development, to protect human rights and freedoms, to assist in...

February 19, 2008: Quisling Alert!
Comments: 15 | Categories: Chabad , Court Jews
The JTA reports : A chief rabbi of Russia condemned Kosovo's independence. Berel Lazar, of the Chabad-led Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, said at a news conference Tuesday that Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia could further contribute to...

February 15, 2008: Spreading the Good News One Cadillac at a Time, part 2
Comments: 24 | Categories: Chabad
Previous post. [Hat Tip: Yankle and several others.]

February 14, 2008: Former Chabad Rabbi: "Shiksas" "Fucking Nazis," "Killing" Jews– "I hate" shikasas "for that," "I'll piss on your grave. You are not going to kill my Jews"
Comments: 55 | Categories: Chabad
The Rabbi? Shlomo Schwartz – Schwartzie – the iconic rabbi who pioneered campus outreach at UCLA, hosts High Holiday services for 3000 people and who, in many ways, put Chabad in LA on the map. The full quote, in context,...

February 12, 2008: We Don't Need Another Messiah
Comments: 53 | Categories: Chabad , History
Writing in Ha'aretz, Uzi Silber gives a good overview of the dozens of false and failed messiahs Jews had from the destruction of the First temple onward. Here's what caught my eye:

February 11, 2008: Baruch Dayan HaEmet: Rabbi Zelig Sharfstein
Comments: 5 | Categories: Chabad
One of the few truly top notch poskim in Chabad passed away early this morning. Rabbi Zelig Sharfstein was 79. He took over as head of Cincinnati's Va'ad HaIr after the passing of Rabbi Eliezer Silver in 1968.

February 7, 2008: The Messiah on the Bus
Comments: 38 | Categories: Chabad
Yisrael Medad of the Menachem Begin Heritage Center met a Chabad messianist on a bus today in Israel. The messianist handed Yisrael Medad the card post at right. Medad responded this way…

February 5, 2008: MOSHE RUBASHKIN & SON GUILTY; Head of Crown Heights Community Council Felon – Again
Comments: 102 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc.
That's right. Moshe Rubashkin is now a felon for the second time, and the Crown Heights Community Council – headed by Moshe Rubashkin – is headed by a felon awaiting sentencing. Crown Heights residents elected Moshe Rubashkin head of the...

January 30, 2008: "Our Rebbe Is The Messiah," Chabad Messianist Writes
Comments: 44 | Categories: Chabad , Chabad & Christianity
Responding to articles by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and Rabbi David Berger, Chabad educator Eli Soble wants you to know his Rebbe, the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, is absolutely the messiah. Why is Soble so confident the Rebbe is the...

January 28, 2008: Convert or Not Convert: You Be The Judge
Comments: 65 | Categories: Chabad , Chabad & Christianity
You're sitting on a beit din. You're asked to pass judgement on a potential convert with an unusual belief. Will you convert him or not? Here are a list of beliefs that may be problematic. Do any of them rise...

January 24, 2008: Terror Attack At Steinsaltz Yeshiva In West Bank
Comments: 16 | Categories: Chabad , Israel
Yeshiva counselors killed the terrorists. Two students hurt. Details after the jump…

January 23, 2008: Rabbi David Berger: Shmuley Boteach "Wrong"
Comments: 34 | Categories: Chabad , Chabad & Christianity
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach wrote a column for the Jerusalem Post asserting that it is wrong to deny conversion to Judaism for non-Jews who are Chabad messianists. These messiansts do not believe the Rebbe is God, Botach says, and they keep...

January 23, 2008: Chabad Messianist Debate Online
Comments: 38 | Categories: Chabad
Here are mp3s of the debate on Zev Brenner's Talkline program last week between Chabad messianist Rabbi Sholom Ber Kalmanson and Rabbi Yiz Greenberg, formerly of CLAL. My comments on the debate can be read here. You should be able...

January 13, 2008: Rabbi Yitz Greenberg Debates Chabad Messianist Rabbi On Talkline
Comments: 52 | Categories: Chabad , Chabad & Christianity
Zev Brenner had Rabbi Yitz Greenberg and Chabad messianist Rabbi Sholom Ber Kalmanson on his show Saturday night. The show is being repeated Sunday at noon Eastern Time on the Internet here. Rabbi Greenberg was on first. Rabbi Kalmanson joined...

January 11, 2008: Spreading the "Good News" One Cadillac at a Time
Comments: 16 | Categories: Chabad
Chaptzem, the Borough Park-based haredi news blog, has these pictures of a Chabad "moshiach mobile." Curbed and New York Magazine picked up the story. Both incorrectly think Chaptzem is a Chabad blog.

January 11, 2008: Chabad Rabbi Promises Violent Defense of Settlements – "It is Good to Die for Our Country"
Comments: 19 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Israel
Ynet reports: …"The struggles for the other settlements will be ten-fold what there was in Amona. It is good to die for our country," said SOS Israel chairman Rabbi Dov Wolpe, echoing the reputed last words of legendary Zionist activist...

January 10, 2008: Will Chabad Be Ruled Outside Judaism?
Comments: 99 | Categories: Chabad , Chabad & Christianity , Halakha , Israel , MO & Chardal
The Jewish Week has a good piece on the Chabad conversion crisis. Basically an Israeli beit din charged with conversions rejected a potential Chabad convert because he believes the late Rebbe is the messiah. The Jewish Week tells the story....

January 9, 2008: Chabad May Split Over Rabbi's Call to Murder Olmert, Livni, Ramon and Barak, The Forward Reports
Comments: 32 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Israel
The Forward has a piece on Chabad rabbi Sholom DovBer Wolpe's call for the murder of Prime Minster Olmert and other leading Israeli politicians including Tzipi Livini, Haim Ramon, and Ehud Barak. First, Rabbi Wolpe stands by his call for...

January 8, 2008: Chabad Rabbi Calls for Murder of Olmert, Ramon, Livni, Others – Crowd of Rabbis Cheers, Part 2
Comments: 34 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Israel
Last week in front of a cheering crowd of fellow rabbis, many of them Chabad-affiliated, Rabbi Wolpe called for the murder of Prime Minister Olmert and other government officials. Rabbi Ariel Sokolovsky, the extreme Chabad messianist, has been urging me...

December 27, 2007: Chabad Messianist Convert Rejected by Religious Zionist Beit Din – Chief Rabbi Amar to Decide Case
Comments: 39 | Categories: Chabad , Israel
Here's an English-language translation of the Ma'ariv article, courtesy of Schmorgel (Borgel): A beit din for conversions has refused to convert a messianist adherent of Chabad. Apparently, the rabbinical judges found no fault in his religious comportment, however, they rejected...

December 27, 2007: Israeli Conversion Court Refuses To Convert Chabad Messianist
Comments: 20 | Categories: Chabad , Israel
Ma'ariv reports: בית דין רבני לגיור סירב לגייר חבדניק משיחיסט בית דין רבני סירב לגייר בחור שעלה מרוסיה, ולמד לאחרונה בישיבה חב"דית משיחיסטית. הבחור נפסל ככל הנראה, בשל בעיות באמונתו בעיקרי היהדות, שכן הוא מאמין כי הרבי מלובביץ' חי וכי...

December 27, 2007: Judge Gives 770 to Agudas Chassidei Chabad
Comments: 3 | Categories: Chabad
The long-running fight between Congregation Lubavitch (i.e., the huge minyan that prays in the main synagogue in Chabad World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY and the gabbais who represent them) on one hand and Agudas Chassidei Chabad (Aguch;...

December 12, 2007: Putin's Chabad Dog and Pony Show
Comments: 12 | Categories: Chabad , Court Jews
The JTA reports: A chief rabbi of Russia came out in support of Vladimir Putin as prime minister. Rabbi Berel Lazar of the Chabad-led Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia called the possibility a “great present” in an interview with...

November 28, 2007: Matisyahu Comes Out
Comments: 18 | Categories: Chabad , Matisyahu , Music , Religion
Matisyahu on why he left Chabad: "I need to do Judaism in a way that makes me feel more alive, not less alive." "[Chabad] was about becoming part of this machine and feeling like it was taking away from my...

November 21, 2007: Chabad Embezzlement Scandal Recap
Comments: 3 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Israel
The Forward has a recap of the Chabad embezzlement scandal. Here's a quote: In the wake of the arrests, the central organization of Chabad is awaiting further developments before making any moves, according to Rabbi Abraham Shemtov, the chairman of...

November 15, 2007: Official Chabad Statements on the Embezzlement, Fraud and Tax Evasion Charges
Comments: 8 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Israel
These two statements were sent to me by email from Chabad friends: Statement by Agudas Chassidei Chabad-Lubavitch (Umbrella organization of the worldwide Chabad-Lubavitch movement) 4 Kislev, 5768 • November 14, 2007 We are deeply troubled by news reports concerning allegations...

November 15, 2007: Chabad Embezzlement Scandal Widens
Comments: 2 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Israel
The Jerusalem Post and Ha'aretz both have pieces on the Chabad embezzlement scandal. As you read keep in mind the "Young Chabad" "movement" or "association" is Tzach (Lubavitch Youth Organization), and is the main Chabad organization in Israel. It controls...

November 14, 2007: Is Chabad's Israel Head Going Down? Allegations of Massive Embezzlement, Fraud, Tax Evasion and Cronyism May Topple Aronow and Chabad
Comments: 8 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Israel
Noam Sharvit of Globes reports: Officers from Israel Police Central Region Fraud Unit and Israel Tax Authority investigators have arrested the director of Chabad Youth Organization in Israel, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Ahronov, the nonprofit organization's (NPO) accountant, and one of...

November 14, 2007: POLICE: "[Chabad] will find it very difficult to continue with its activities following these arrests"
Comments: 7 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc.
From Ynet's report on the Chabad embezzlement scandal: …"This investigation included dozens of Chabad officials," a police source said. "In the past, disputes between organization members led to lawsuits, and the material obtained on the organization points to severe tax...

November 14, 2007: Chabad Leaders Arrested In Massive Embezzelment Scheme
Comments: 6 | Categories: Chabad , Crime, etc. , Israel
Ha'aretz reports: Police arrested Monday the Chabad Youth Organization's chairman, its chief accountant, and several other people suspected of embezzling millions of Shekels, through tax evasion, and laundering money for several businessmen. The covert investigation has been going on for...

November 14, 2007: The International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbis
Comments: 29 | Categories: Chabad
Reading Radloh's rant against Chabad shluchim timed, I suppose, to coincide with the International Conference of Chabad Emissaries (shluchim) which ended Monday morning, brought to mind my only attendance at one of those conferences. As I walked down Eastern Parkway...

November 8, 2007: Did Berel Lazar Orchestrate the Ouster of Chabad Yeshiva Students Aligned with a Rival Chabad Organization?
Comments: 2 | Categories: Chabad , Court Jews , Dirty Tricks , Turf Disputes