476 posts categorized "Kosher Scandal"

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 3, 2008: Kosher Spies Break Biggest Case Of Animal Cruelty In American Jewish History
Comments: 14 | Categories: Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Find out who first busted Agriprocessors – and why they did it – over on Jewcy.com.

July 2, 2008: A Love Letter To Rubashkin, Penned By A Woman Who Protected Baruch Lanner For 11 Years
Comments: 27 | Categories: Creative PR , Crime, etc. , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Media , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
Susan Rosenbluth of the Bergen County, NJ Jewish Voice and Opinion has written a love letter to Rubashkin in the guise of a news report. And the love letter is being circulated by 5W Public Relations, Rubashkin's PR firm. But...

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 18, 2008: OU's Head Of Shechita: Attacks Against Rubashkin Lashon Hara – PETA, Union Behind It All
Comments: 57 | Categories: Crime, etc. , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , MO & Chardal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
Rabbi Mendel Samuels writes about a visit Rabbi Seth Mandel, the head of shechita for the OU, paid to Hartford, Connecticut this week:

June 16, 2008: When (And Why) The Conservative Rabbis Blinked
Comments: 37 | Categories: Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
Rabbi Morris Allen, the Conservative rabbi at the helm of the new Hechsher Tzedek initiative – also called ethical kosher – and Devora Kimelman-Block, founder of KOL Foods, a DC-area supplier of kosher, organic and locally produced foods, including beef,...

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 8, 2008: "The Reform, Conservative Hypocrites Jews Should Stop With Their Rubashkin Crap Please"
Comments: 26 | Categories: Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
VosIzNeias, the lharedi news blog that bills itself as "The voice of the Orthodox Jewish Community," reprinted a column written by an editor of the Austin-Statesman on the latest Rubashkin controversy. But look what VIN did.

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 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 4, 2008: The Dishonesty Of Menachem Lubinsky
Comments: 5 | Categories: Creative PR , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Media , Rubashkin Workers
A reader, Chaim Yankel, took Rubashkin mouthpiece Menachem Lubinsky to task for not coming clean on his financial relationship with the Rubashkin family and Agriprocessors. As many of you know, Lubinsky is often quoted by media without any disclosure being...

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...

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 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 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: 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 14, 2008: Devastating Effects Of Rubashkin Immigration Raid
Comments: 25 | Categories: Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Workers
Even though Agriprocessors, the Rubashkin family's Postville slaughterhouse, was open for business yesterday, one day after the largest immigration raid in the modern history of the United States, the effects of the raid…

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...

April 7, 2008: Should Consumers Be Warned The Treife Meat They Buy Is Kosher Slaughtered?
Comments: 25 | Categories: Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal
Should consumers be warned that the non-kosher meat they purchase is the non-kosher byproduct of kosher slaughter?

April 1, 2008: Rubashkin Had More OSHA Violations Than All Other Iowa Meatpackers Combined – 2X All Other Meatpackers Combined
Comments: 5 | Categories: Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
The union group Change to Win testified today before the US Senate Committee on Employment and Workplace Safety. Who's names were mentioned? The Rubashkin family and their series of kosher slaughterhouses, including Agriprocessors of Postville, Iowa…

March 28, 2008: Department of Orthodox Doublespeak
Comments: 7 | Categories: Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
KAJ’s termination of its kashrut certification of Agriprocessors / Rubashkin / Aaron's Best, etc., happened because of KAJ's:

March 27, 2008: Did The Price of Kosher Meat Rise In The Past Months?
Comments: 9 | Categories: Crime, etc. , Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal
If it did, along with inflation, higher energy and feed costs, if you eat Rubashkin meat the reason prices rose could be because of this $1.4 million dollar judgement against Aaron Rubashkin and his companies, including Agriprocessors:

March 27, 2008: KAJ Dropped Rubashkin For Kashrut Problems, Letter Says
Comments: 19 | Categories: Kosher Scandal
This whole affair calls into question what kosher supervision truly is. If a letter can be written from KAJ to Rubashkin on October 16, 2007 informing Rubashkin that KAJ has…

March 26, 2008: Rubashkin Failed 3 USDA Salmonella Testings – Among the Worst 15% of Slaughterhouses in America
Comments: 9 | Categories: Kosher Scandal
According to a report released by Food and Water Watch, Agriprocessors, Inc. the Postville, Iowa, producers of Aaron's Best, Rubashkin, and other kosher meat, chicken and turkey brands, failed 3 separate USDA testings for salmonella, the virulent bacteria that is...

March 24, 2008: What Did Rubashkin Do Wrong?
Comments: 11 | Categories: Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
This:

March 4, 2008: UPDATED: Jewish Slaughter "Under Attack," Chief Rabbi Says
Comments: 160 | Categories: Haredim , Israel , Kosher Scandal
According to statements made last night by Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, animals should be treated humanely during the kosher slaughter process because: Jewish law mandates it If we don't, the goyyim and/or PETA will see us and stop...

February 29, 2008: Congressional Letter to USDA Regarding Rubashkin, AgriProcessors
Comments: 146 | Categories: Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Gordon , Rubashkin Safety

February 29, 2008: Mad Cow, E. Coli, Sanitation Violations Alleged At Rubashkin Plant – Sewage on Kill Floor, Insect Infestation, Found
Comments: 7 | Categories: Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Gordon , Rubashkin Safety
The UFCW Union press release and the AP report are posted after the jump in the extended post below. I'll have more details on this soon.

February 23, 2008: 1930s American Shechita Video
Comments: 22 | Categories: History , Kosher Scandal
Click to play. It's graphic. [Hat Tip:Bill.]

February 21, 2008: Chief Rabbis and Humane Slaughter, part 3 – Change to be a Long Time Coming
Comments: 9 | Categories: Kosher Scandal
The Forward has a report on the Israeli chief Rabbis' 'promise' to stop shackle and hoist slaughter. The report is based on this earlier Jerusalem Post report, which in turn was based on this report by the Forward. The money...

February 20, 2008: More on Rabbinute Move to Humane Slaughter
Comments: 6 | Categories: Kosher Scandal
In a poorly written report, Ynet explains the move to humane slaughter and away from shackle and hoist as proposed by (at least part of) the Israeli chief rabbinate:

February 20, 2008: Can South American Kosher Meat Be Banned?
Comments: 38 | Categories: Kosher Scandal
Alle, Rubashkin and other kosher meat companies import large amounts of beef from South America. Much (but not all) of that beef is slaughtered using the shackle and hoist method. Is shackle and hoist, an extremely cruel method of slaughter,...

February 19, 2008: Chief Rabbis Claim Shackle & Hoist Slaughter to be Phased Out Over Time
Comments: 18 | Categories: Kosher Scandal
Israel's chief rabbis, under intense pressure from Jews upset at the poor treatment of animals before and during slaughter, claims it will phase out shackle and hoist, perhaps the most cruel method of slaughter, over time. How much time?

February 18, 2008: OU: Cloned Beef, Lamb, Goats, Poultry Kosher
Comments: 6 | Categories: Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal
Rabbi Menachem Genack of the Orthodox Union, which certifies food items as kosher, said cloned animals would qualify [for kosher use] as long as they belong to a single kosher species, such as cattle, sheep and goats. Link.

February 17, 2008: Israel, Chief Rabbis, Animal Cruelty, Kosher Slaughter
Comments: 9 | Categories: Kosher Scandal
When I was the Orthodox rabbi in Wellington, New Zealand (3.5 million people, 40 million cattle and 70 million sheep), I asked why it was that huge amounts of halal meat were exported to the Gulf states, and no kosher...

February 17, 2008: USDA Orders Largest Beef Recall In US History
Comments: 9 | Categories: Kosher Scandal
The USDA has ordered the largest recall in history of US slaughtered beef. More than two weeks after a US Humane Society undercover video was released showing extreme animal cruelty and the slaughter for food of downer cows too sick...

February 14, 2008: Is YU Using Shackle and Hoist Meat?
Comments: 7 | Categories: Haredim , Israel , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , MO & Chardal
A Conservative rabbi, Adam Frank, has an op-ed in yesterday's Jerusalem Post that was timed to run when the newest kosher slaughter scandal broke. Frank is an activist with an Israeli animal rights group, Concern for Helping Animals in Israel....

February 13, 2008: BREAKING: New PETA Video Shows Extreme Cruelty In South American Kosher Slaughter; OU Can't Stop Cruelty Because Israel's Haredi Chief Rabbis Demand Procedure
Comments: 24 | Categories: Haredim , Israel , Kosher Scandal
The Forward has an exclusive report on a new, just released undercover PETA video (link posted below in the extended post). The video, made in an kosher slaughter house in Uruguay, shows an extremely cruel version of shackle and hoist...

January 31, 2008: EXCLUSIVE:

USDA Allows Rubashkin Meat Hook Use to "Facilitate Bleeding"

Meat hook to probe or slash open throat wounds of fully conscious cattle "protected" by "religious" exemption to Humane Slaughter Act
Comments: 24 | Categories: Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Gordon
Documents (posted below) obtained by FailedMessiah.com under the Freedom of Information Act show that the USDA now permits probing or excision of an open ritual slaughter wound using a meat hook, even though the cattle this procedure is perfomed on...

January 30, 2008: Downed Cows Slaughtered, Meat Sold To US School Lunch Program
Comments: 3 | Categories: Kosher Scandal
This Humane Society of the United States undercover video was released today. The slaughterhouse is not a kosher facility. But there is a link, of sorts, to Rubashkin and Agriprocessors. What link? Find out in the extended post below …

January 29, 2008: New OU Kosher Scandal?
Comments: 31 | Categories: Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal
The Winnipeg Free Press ran an op-ed Sunday that alleges extremely serious lapses on the part of the OU, lapses that may mean you ate non-kosher food…

January 18, 2008: Chinese Use Kosher Certification to Regain Consumer Confidence After Repeated Food Safety and Product Scandals
Comments: 20 | Categories: Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal
Bloomberg has an article examining the rapid growth of kosher certified food exported from China in the wake of the various Chinese product safety scandals of 2007. Chinese companies are eager to get products certified because American consumers incorrectly equate...

January 17, 2008: Independent Testing Finds Rubashkin Turkeys With Extremely High Sodium Levels Many Times Greater Than Claimed On Rubashkin Food Label
Comments: 41 | Categories: Kosher Scandal
Pre-Thanksgiving reviewers marveled at the good taste of Rubashkin turkeys and ranked them at or near the top of taste rankings, something Rubashkin made a big fuss over. Within reason the more salt one has in the turkey, the better...

January 9, 2008: Why KAJ Left Rubashkin – The Details and More News, Here
Comments: 15 | Categories: Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal
The Forward has two reports on Agriprocessors in this week's paper. The first is on the United States Circuit Court of Appeals decision against Agriprocessors reported here Sunday. The second deals with KAJ's removal of its kosher supervision from Agriprocessors...

January 2, 2008: KAJ Removed It's Supervision From Rubashkin, Rubashkin Press Release Spin
Comments: 28 | Categories: Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal
So KAJ did pull its supervision from Rubashkin for what appears to be a kosher-related issue. You would never know this from Rubashkin's press release, which makes it appear as if he fired KAJ, when in fact the truth seems...

January 1, 2008: Rubashkin Drops KAJ
Comments: 27 | Categories: Haredim , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal
Rubashkin has dropped KAJ supervision of its products. According to VIN, which is quoting from a Rubashkin press release given to them by Agriprocessors today, this is a "consolidation." However, it appears all the other kosher supervisors remain on Rubashkin's...

December 2, 2007: Rabbis Stonewall on Humane Slaughter
Comments: 52 | Categories: Kosher Scandal
The JTA reports: Joe Regenstein, a professor of food science at Cornell University, advises Jewish groups and the meat industry on issues of animal welfare. He is part of a two-person negotiating team that is working to develop guidelines for...

November 28, 2007: 1920: Half of NY City's Meat Kosher Killed – 98% of Cattle Kosher Killed, 15% Sheep
Comments: 3 | Categories: History , Kosher Scandal
Source: NY Times. (You should get the entire article in pdf for free at that link.) So we see where the Jewish propensity for heart disease came from in that generation. Does anyone know why we sold the ribs as...

November 26, 2007: Rubashkin Coverage
Comments: 5 | Categories: Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Gordon , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
Kol Ra'ash Gadol has a nice overview of the recent Rubashkin / UFCW Union flap over on Jewschool. I'll have more Rubashkin coverage later this week.

November 21, 2007: Rubashkin, the Union, and Truth
Comments: 7 | Categories: Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin EPA , Rubashkin Gordon , Rubashkin Safety , Rubashkin Workers
The Forward has a good rundown of the recent confrontation between Agriprocessors and the UFCW union. I haven't seen the union's newspaper ads of flyers yet, and I did not receive an automated telephone call, so I'm relying on what...

October 28, 2007: Chabad Supports Rubashkin Animal Cruelty
Comments: 23 | Categories: Chabad , Kosher Scandal
So by now most of you know the family that owns Agriprocessors – Aaron's Best, David's, Supreme, Shor Habor, etc. – is Chabad. A FailedMessiah.com reader decided to see what Chabad rabbis would say about animal cruelty, factory farming and...

September 25, 2007: Kapparot Update
Comments: 19 | Categories: Chabad , Kosher Scandal
The pictures posted here were taken about 6 am Thursday, September 20th, 2007, in the parking lot of the Chabad synagogue, Congregation Lubavitch, at 3981 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, CA.

September 23, 2007: [Chabad] Kapparot Chickens, Long Beach, CA
Comments: 25 | Categories: Chabad , Kosher Scandal
Pictures of [Chabad-sponsored] kapparot chickens taken in Long Beach, California this year and sent anonymously to PETA. UPDATE 9-25-2007: The pictures posted above were taken about 6 am Thursday, September 20th, 2007, in the parking lot of the Chabad synagogue,...

September 7, 2007: BREAKING: PETA Finds Another Glatt Kosher Slaughter Abuse – Abuses Took Place As Rabbi Yisroel Belsky Watched
Comments: 29 | Categories: Haredim , Kosher Scandal
Have you ever eaten venison at a glatt kosher NYC restaurant? If you have, chances are it came from Musicon Farms. PETA went undercover to view the slaughter there. What it found does not rise to the level of abuse...

August 22, 2007: Of Church and Steak – Shechita, Kosher Slaughter, In The NY Times Again
Comments: 20 | Categories: Kosher Scandal
Joan Nathan writes in the NY Times: NEAR a prairie dotted with cattle and green with soy beans, barley, corn and oats, two bearded Hasidic men dressed in black pray outside a slaughterhouse here that is managed by an evangelical...

August 15, 2007: Haredi Rabbis Meet To Regulate Kapparot, Stop Kosher and Animal Abuse Violations, Health Risks – PETA Letter Spurs Change
Comments: 17 | Categories: Kosher Scandal
Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum, the ethically challenged executive vice president of Igud HaRabbonim, the Rabbinic Alliance of America (see his Security and Exchange Commission record, etc.) devotes his weekly Jewish Press column (that's right, the Jewish Press, the 'voice' of Orthodox...

August 9, 2007: Cow Suspected To Have Mad Cow Disease Slaughtered At Rubashkin Plant Despite USDA Efforts
Comments: 40 | Categories: Chabad , Kosher Scandal , Rubashkin Safety
I just got off a conference call press conference with the UFCW Union. I'll have more to say about the latest Rubashkin scandal shortly. In the meantime, here is the Forward's coverage of the new scandal: …The AgriProcessors slaughterhouse in...

August 9, 2007: Mad Cow Safety Concerns, Repeated Fecal & Bile Contamination Alleged at Agriprocessors, America's Largest Glatt Kosher Slaughterhouse
Comments: 14 | Categories: