Agriprocessors' owner Hershey Friedman's point man in Postville is his son-in-law, Daniel Hirsch. Hirsch functions as Agriprocessors' (now Agri-Star and, perhaps, soon to be PrimeStar) CEO.
Daniel Hirsch has an interesting relative – his father, Samuel Hirsch.
Sam Hirsch was once a New York State Assemblyman from Borough Park, Brooklyn. (Dov Hikind now holds that seat.) Sam Hirsch was also a key figure in the infamous Borough Park riots of 1978. 3,000 hasidim mobbed a police station, took it over and injured 62 cops in the process.
One of those injured cops was a Jewish officer who had arrested violent street thugs who were targeting elderly Jews. The officer nabbed those thugs by posing as an elderly Jew and walking alone through the fringes of the neighborhood after dark waiting to be mugged. The thugs did not disappoint and the officer was mugged. On at least one occasion, he was injured in the process, but got his man nonetheless.
Arrested for his role in the riot, Sam Hirsch cried antisemitism, police brutality and bias, even though there was little, if any, evidence for it. Belligerent and obstinate, Sam Hirsch blamed everyone but Orthodox Jews for the riot.
Charges against Hirsch were eventually conditionally dropped. Hirsch had to promise to stay out of trouble for six months in return. (This appears to have worked like a plea bargain.)
After losing his Assembly seat, Sam Hirsch focused on his legal practice.
This summer, when Syrian and other rabbis were arrested on money laundering, tax evasion and organ trafficking charges, Sam Hirsch told Zev Brenner's radio audience that it is forbidden to moser, inform on a fellow Jew.
Musing aloud, Hirsch also said the government's cooperating witness against the rabbis, Solomon Dwek, "should have been killed." He called Dwek a "snitch," a "weasel," and "moser."
For his part, Daniel Hirsch sent an email to religious and community leaders in Postville calling Vic Rosenthal of Jewish Community Action an antisemite and has refused to cooperate with efforts encouraged by Rosenthal to protect the town and Hirsch's employees from the abuses common under previous ownership. Those same efforts would have cemented Postville's responsibilities to Agri-Star, as well.
Sadly for Postville, it appears Daniel Hirsch has learned much from his father.
Samuel Hirsch 1, 2 .