Rabbi's meals 'kosher': city
By REUVEN BLAU • New York Post
Federal law requires Rikers Island to serve special meals to a child-molesting rabbi, the city's Correction Department said yesterday.
Baruch Lebovits, convicted of molesting a 16-year-old friend of his son and awaiting trial on another sex-abuse charge, refused to eat the kosher meals the jail provided because he didn't approve of the rabbi who supervised their preparation. He's now getting food certified by a rabbi of his choice.
Under this bizarre interpretation of the law, jails and prisons would need to get Satmar-supervised meals for Satmar inmates, Chabad-supervised meals for Chabad inmates, etc.
An inmate has the right to kosher food – even, perhaps, to glatt kosher food.
But I do not see how he has the right to choose between kosher supervisions.
Somehow I think this 'right' came into existence specifically for Lebowits at the behest of Satmar's Rabbi David Neiderman.