The JTA has a report on the Rubashkin Scandal. Note the leading way the piece begins:
A kosher slaughtering plant says it has come to terms with a written warning from a U.S. government agency.
But the activist group behind the complaints that led the U.S. Department of Agriculture to probe the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa, isn’t satisfied.
A spokesman for Agriprocessors, which received the warning following an investigation into allegations that kosher slaughter rules — and therefore, U.S. law — were being violated at the plant, said the company accepted the probe.
“It was fair,” Mike Thomas said. “That’s the job of the regulator and we respect it.”
Well, duh! Rubashkin was caught red-handed ripping the throats out of live animals. He could have been fined a very large amount of money and could have spent a long time in court, with the astronomical attorney's fees that would entail. Instead, he got off with a warning letter, and the USDA secreted the report for almost one year, saving Rubashkin's reputation. He could not have asked for a better outcome.
But did Rubashkin really "come to terms" the findings of the report? No:
In a letter to Agriprocessors dated Sept. 20, 2005, the department warned that “future violations could result in the matter being referred for legal action,” though no such action has occurred.
PETA believes the warning and report should “serve as a wake-up call” to Agriprocessors, Friedrich said.
But Thomas said Agriprocessors has no plans to talk to PETA, let alone comply with any of its demands.
“We view PETA’s efforts as an attack on kosher slaughter. They put their political interests before the right to the free practice of religion,” Thomas said.
When the news initially made headlines, some members of the kosher community were upset that slaughter at Agriprocessors appeared less humane than they expected.
But that hasn’t affected sales, Thomas said — and since the PETA video was made, Agriprocessors has opened another plant, in Nebraska.
As noted in a post below this, Rubashkin's attorney Nathan Lewin echoed Thomas's words and was quite clear – Rubashkin did no wrong.
As long as Jews continue to stuff their mouths with Rubashkin's products, nothing will truly change. Refusing to eat Rubashkin's, Aaron's Best, and other AgriProcessors products is the only way to make a difference. Speak with your mouths – and your wallets.