"Certain anti-Jewish and anti-tradition forces have come to try and stop the Minhag [custom] of Kaporos with live chickens from taking place. [Chabad's] NCFJE, who sponsored the community kaporos for decades, is going out of its way to make special efforts in order to ensure that the opposing forces will not affect the kaporos operation.…"
Above: Rabbi Shea Hecht
Many of the anti-chicken-kapparot activists are themselves Jews and some are even Orthodox. Nevertheless, Rabbi Shea Hecht, the head of Chabad's National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education (NCFJE), calls them "anti-Jewish" and "anti-tradition" in an article he wrote for COLLive published today.
Hecht's kapparot centers have repeatedly been caught mistreating chickens before slaughter and have been caught dumping hundreds of slaughtered birds in the garbage.
Hecht's organization defended that dumping by insisting that it lacked the ability to store and process thousands of chickens on the eve of Yom Kippur and noted that the money hasidim pay the NCFJE for each kapparot chicken goes to charity – the NCFJE.
Hecht was also a major supporter and defender of disgraced Agriprocessors VP Sholom Rubashkin, both during the inhumane slaughter scandal at Agriprocessors and then afterward during the illegal immigration, bank fraud and worker abuse scandals.
And so it is no surprise Hecht writes today as follows:
Certain anti-Jewish and anti-tradition forces have come to try and stop the Minhag [custom] of Kaporos with live chickens from taking place.
NCFJE, who sponsored the community kaporos for decades, is going out of its way to make special efforts in order to ensure that the opposing forces will not affect the kaporos operation.
For this reason the Sunday family Kaporos was transferred to the parking lot of Bais Rivka on Montgomery Street [in Crown Heights, Brooklyn], Sunday 1 pm - 8 pm.
After much research, discussion and planning the kaporos of Erev Yom Kippur (Monday night) will be held in its traditional place in front of 824 Eastern Parkway the main offices of NCFJE, as well in the Bais Rivka parking lot.
We urge members of the community to do Kaporos with woman [sic] and children Sunday at Bais Rivka and only adult men should do kaporos with shchita Monday night.
You will note special demarcations will be in place, protective tarps will be hung to provide privacy for the Minhag.
Leaders of NCFJE want to thank our sponsors Rabbi Dovid Fisher and diamond mogul Mr. Morris Gad.
Beware: the protestors [sic] are there to instigate us to act improperly so they can catch it on camera. If any of the opposing forces try to provoke you please refrain from any form of interaction. Rather focus on the Mitzva at hand the chicken, prayers and minhag.
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