FailedMessiah.com

Chabad And Haredi Rabbis Ban Rabbi Meir Rabi's Ben Pakuah Meats

What the Geonim permitted the far lesser rabbis of Chabad and Australia's version of Edah Haredit have banned. But don't worry. Even though ben pakuah meat would have dropped the price of kosher meat dramatically, these rabbis have your best interests at heart. And you can be assured of that because they they say so.

Agri Star Refused Temple Grandin's Request For Transparency Because Rabbis Didn't Want It

In a 2010 letter to PETA, Agri Star's owner, Hershey Friedman, says it can't install 24/6 video monitoring of the animal handling areas of the plant and its grounds or of the slaughter floor area because the Postville plant's rabbis thought having cameras looking over their shoulders would hinder their jobs.

Is Agri Star Kosher Slaughter Really Humane?

A JTA interview with Hershey Friedman, the wealthy haredi businessman who bought Agriprocessors and turned it into Agri Star, makes it seem as if Agri Star's slaughter is now humane. But is it?

Kosher Industry PR Flack Argues Medical Marijuana – And Water – Both Need Kosher Supervision

"…I have long learned that even the most benign products like water do need certification because of the complexities of modern mass production. Second, in a generation that is seeking to ingest everything kosher, why not offer the kosher certification, especially if the manufacturer seeks and desires the kosher certification as a marketing tool? …I wonder whether those whose knee-jerk reaction is to mock the kosher certification of a product that on the surface may not require kosher certification are in fact doing a disservice to kosher as a whole.…"

Iconic Manhattan Modern Orthodox Synagogue Threatens NYC’s Most Prominent Kosher Restauranteur That It Will Have The OU Pull Its Kosher Supervision Unless The Restauranteur Withdraws A $1.8 Million Civil Suit Against It

Lincoln Square Synagogue, the iconic Modern Orthodox Upper West Side congregation founded decades ago by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, allegedly told Joseph Allaham, the owner of Prime Grill and several other high-end kosher eateries in the city, that if he doesn’t withdraw his $1.8 million civil suit against Lincoln Square Synagogue, it will make sure that all of those eateries and their related catering operations lose their Orthodox Union OU Kosher supervision.

Israel Spends About $770 Million Annually On Kosher Food Supervision, Driving Up The Cost Of Food By 5%, Finance Ministry Says

Sources in Israel’s treasury reportedly estimate inflated costs from the official state chief rabbinate’s kosher supervision monopoly costs Israel 300 million shekels (just under $77 million) per year alone. The chief rabbinate's kosher supervision of fresh produce adds about 1 billion shekels ($255 million) per year to that figure.

Kosher Pot To Be Sold In NY

It’s official. There’s now kosher-certified pot and you’ll be able to buy it in New York next month – provided you have a doctor’s prescription and don't care that the kosher supervision is completely unnecessary.

OU Asks People To Pray For Ailing Rabbi Yisroel Belsky

Rabbi Yisroel Belsky, one of the Orthodox Union's (OU) top two decisors of kosher food halakha, is seriously ill. Belsky is as well known here for his often negative role played in child sex abuse cases – a role that has sometimes bordered on witness intimidation and obstruction of justice.

Haredi Rabbinical Committee Wants To Hire Inspectors To Inspect “Kosher” Cellphone Stores

The demand to employ inspectors was made after several incidents in which cellular stores in haredi neighborhoods that claim to sell only kosher devices were caught selling unauthorized devices or were caught tampering with so-called kosher devices to remove Internet and camera blocking code. Those stores had rabbinic supervision but circumvented it – in part because there is no active inspection protocol from the rabbis, the Rabbinical Committee for Communication Affairs claims.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s Son Indicted On Public Corruption And Fraud Charges

Rabbi Avraham Yosef was charged with two counts of fraud and breach of trust for using his official position as chief rabbi of Holon to force businesses to pay for the private kosher supervision service owned by his father and brother, the Badatz Beit Yosef.

Haredi Rabbis Ban Sidewalk Cafés, Grab-And-Go Fast Food

“We have a duty to warn and alert the public to the phenomenon which has spread in our city: the cheap culture of eating while walking in the street. This was considered cheap behavior of the fringes of society or the weak-minded until a few years ago, and the public would treat [the practice] as such."

Ex-Haredi Woman Fired By Pizza Shop At Über-Haredi Rabbis’ Insistence

A young ex-haredi woman who worked as a shift supervisor for King Slice Pizza in the Jerusalem’s Bukharian Quarter for more than two years was fired at the insistence of über-haredi rabbis.

Controversial Kosher Meat Now To Be More Widely Available

It took more than a 1,000 years to bring to fruition, but now an ancient form of kosher meat will be commercially available on wide scale for the first time since Hai Gaon – and the rabbis don't like it. 

Rabbi Milton Yehoshua Balkany Loses Tax Appeal Because He Is “Completely Unreliable,” NY State Tax Panel Says

"…We note that Rabbi Balkany’s testimony is insufficient to overcome petitioners’ inadequate documentation, given the Administrative Law Judge’s finding that the Rabbi’s credibility was “completely unreliable,” a finding to which we defer…"

Wife Of Late Chief Rabbi Says Rabbis Should Not Put Kosher Seals On Food Produced By Israeli Companies That Employ Arabs

"Tzviya Eliyahu insisted Jews should only buy food from God-fearing Jews. There is no trusting a goy [an often derogatory term for a non-Jew], “even in his grave,” she said, because all goyyim all hate Jews and a goy “cannot maintain kosher standards for me. Don’t ask me why the [state] Rabbinate gives hashgacha [kosher supervision] to these stores [that employ Arabs].…"

Dutch Government Agency Recommends Ban On Kosher Slaughter

Haredi, Chabad and Orthodox rabbis from across Europe lashed out at a new recommendation from the Dutch government’s official consumer safety watchdog that calls for all kosher slaughter to be banned.

Who Owns Chabad's Crown Heights Kosher Seal?

The Va'ad HaKashrus of Crown Heights is suing several Chabad-hasid-owned businesses and a Chabad rabbi for allegedly misusing their CHK kosher symbol. The parties being sued apparently allege that the CHK doesn't actually control the symbol – the hasidic Jews of Crown Heights do.

Defendants In Halal Meat Fraud Plead Guilty

Cedar Rapids, IA-based Midamar and Islamic Services, along with brothers Jalel and Yahya Nasser Aossey, were named in a Dec. 5 indictment alleging 92 charges. However, all defendants reached plea agreements with government prosecutors just before a jury trial that was scheduled for last month. In a separate trial in mid-July, William B. Aossey Jr., father of the two Aossey brothers, was convicted by a jury on 15 of the 19 charges brought against him. He was taken into federal custody pending sentencing, and his appeal for a new trial was recently denied.

 

Sefardi Haredi Chief Rabbi Refuses To Make Reasonable Change In Kosher Supervision Procedure Meant to Root Out Alleged Corruption Heavily Tied To Sefardi Haredi Politicians

Many of the violators are Sefardi haredim who got their patronage positions through the Sefardi haredi Shas Party, and now Jerusalem’s Sefardi haredi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, a former chief rabbi of Israel, has reportedly blocked implementation of a simple and otherwise non-controversial proposal designed to reduce that corruption.

Hasidim Lied: Video Shows Thousands Of Kapparot Chickens Dumped In Garbage

A video shot by an anonymous citizen shows thousands of dead, bloody kapparot (kaporos) chickens dumped in the garbage in Crown Heights, Brooklyn even though kapparot spokesmen have insisted the chickens are donated to the poor to eat.

Crown Heights Kapparot Turn Ugly As Hasidim Jostle Protesters And Media, Try To Block Cameras

"…A white-bearded man waded into the chaos brandishing two chickens by their wings in the face of Michelle and other activists gathered to protest the slaughter. Reaching over a barricade with both hands, he mashed the two chickens into a protester's shirt. Asked to explain his actions, he declined to identify himself, but said a woman had grabbed his wife and daughter. Another circle formed around a videographer and Michelle. This time she yelled, "You people are sick!" and "Don't fucking touch me!" The assembled men responded with chants of "Shiksa, shiksa," "Go fight ISIS," and "What about abortion?" A young man named Larry McDrew jeered from one side, "I'm gonna get you."…"

More Anti-Chicken Kapparot Protest Videos

Anti-chicken-kapparot (kaporos) protesters sometimes behaving badly as haredim try to defend a cruel and wasteful custom that was widely regarded by medieval rabbis as pagan in origin and something that should not be done.

Video: Anti-Chicken-Kapparot Activists Violently Attacked By Haredim In Ashdod

Haredim in Ashdod, Israel attack a car occupied by anti-chicken-kapparot activists, smashing the car's windshield and shoving tree branches though the car's side windows.

Haredi Papers Refuse To Run Anti-Chicken Kapparot Ad Placed By Government

When Israel's Ministry of Agriculture tried to place ads in haredi newspapers asking haredim to use money for the kapparot ritual rather than live chickens, the newspapers – Yated Ne'eman, HaMevaser, BaKehila, HaPeles and Hamodia – refused to run the ads. The lone haredi publication to agree to run the ads was the relatively moderate Mishpacha Magazine, which agreed to run the anti-chicken-kapparot ad – but only if a quote from Rabbi Yosef Karo, the author of the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law) opposing kapparot was removed from it.

Video: Anti-Chicken Kapparot Demonstrations In Israel And Brooklyn

Animal welfare activists protest haredi kapparot (kaporos) centers in Israel and in Brooklyn. The protest in Brooklyn was especially large, and the mood on the street outside haredi neighborhoods and among non-haredim who live in or adjacent to haredi neighborhoods appears to have shifted from a sort of disinterested neglect to a growing anger at haredim and at the corrupt politicians who do haredi leaders' bidding.

Chabad Leader Calls Animal Welfare Activists "Anti-Jewish…Forces"

"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.…"

Undercover Video Shows Unsanitary And Cruel Brooklyn Kapparot Center Being Reported To Police

In hidden camera footage you can see and hear police make statements about the Brooklyn kapparot center's operation that are false. They don't appear to be lying, they just appear to be badly informed by their superiors. There's also video of an unsanitary kapparot center and the public sidewalk and street that abuts it and another video of chickens being mistreated.

Video: Hasidic Kapparot In Action

Watch Brooklyn hasidim curse at anti-chicken-kapparot (also spelled; "kaparos") activists in front of children and try to get a chicken to defecate on a female activist's head.

Picture of the Day: Hasidic Kapparot In Action

"…Feces and feathers were everywhere on a public sidewalk and the stench was overpowering.[…] Behind a curtain blowing in the wind, we could see chickens being dismembered. A man wearing a bloody white apron intentionally stomped on an unlucky bird who fell to the ground while trying to get away…" And a hasid used a well-known non-verbal sign to tell an anti-chicken kapparot activist to f-off.

The Entire Kapparot Court Decision

Plaintiffs repeatedly asked New York City to enforce the law and stop the unsanitary and often cruel chicken slaughter-cum-haredi-ritual known as kapparot (kaporos) from being held on public streets and sidewalks. The city refused, despite more than ample evidence of animal cruelty and dangers to public health. But a Manhattan judge known in the legal community for her bizarre decisions ruled the city doesn't have to enforce the law. Now you can read her reasons for saying so.

Kapparot Lawsuit Judge Viewed As Dense, Out Of League, By Attorneys

Judge Debra James, who issued a confused ruling Monday that essentially said citizens can't sue to force governments to enforce health, safety and other public codes, has a long history of befuddling rulings that make little – and sometimes no – legal sense.

Judge Rules New York City Does Not Have To Enforce Health And Safety Codes Against Haredi Street Pop Up Chicken Slaughter, City Residents Have No Choice In The Matter

Slaughter chickens on the streets of New York City to your heart’s content no matter who it offends or potentially sickens. An elected New York State judge, Debra James, ruled Monday that there was insufficient evidence to ban the kapparot chicken slaughter atonement ritual. Why? Essentially, because she says so.

UPDATED: Sholom Rubashkin (Junior) Is An Abusive Slumlord, Tenants Say In New Lawsuit

A Ditmas Park [Brooklyn, New York] landlord is attempting to harass his rent-stabilized tenants out of their apartments by failing to keep heat and hot water on in winter, allowing vermin and mold to run rampant, and refusing to keep the property safe and secure for kids, claim residents who filed a suit against the owner, Sholom Rubashkin, on Tuesday.

Controversial Kosher Meat To Be Commerically Available

"…You are most likely aware, that for the last ten years or so I have been the consulting Rabbi for the development of a line of very special Ben Pekuah cows and sheep…These animals are unique: they are Kosher without the trouble or the expense of needing to check their lungs, so there is zero risk of hurried or improper checking. They are all Glatt Kosher. Their hind-quarters may be eaten without the trouble or the expense of removing the forbidden fats nor the sciatic nerve, the Gid HaNasheh, so there is zero risk of incomplete removal of these forbidden components.…"

Video: What Do You Get When You Buy Some Cholov Yisroel Yogurt?

Take a look:

Judge Asked To Stop Public Kapparot Chicken Slaughter Over Health And Animal Welfare Concerns

The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos was in Manhattan court today to back 19 Brooklyn residents who have asked a judge to issue an order to stop the ritual slaughter of chickens on public sidewalks and streets during the run-up to Yom Kippur.

Haredi Kosher Food Company Allegedly Misrepresents Calories, Fat, Fiber And Carbs By Large Amount, Fooling Consumers

Mauzone Mania allegedly misrepresented the calories, fat, fiber and carbs in its products posing "unacceptable risks to consumers, especially those with medical conditions that would put them at risk if they consume the mislabeled or falsely advertised products"

Australian Legislators Investigate Sale Of Unlabeled Kosher-Slaughtered Meat, Causing Orthodox Pushback

Administrator Rabbi Moshe Gutnick, of the Kashrut Authority which supervises kosher food services, said labeling [non-kosher] meat sold to the general public as kosher-slughtered would lead to "hysteria" from people who don't understand and unnecessary economic backlash.

Chabad Kosher, Melbourne Style

What was Chabad's standard of kosher when Rabbi Yitzchok Dovod Groner was still alive? Groner clearly covered up child sex abuse, helped abusers flee justice and enabled known pedophiles, giving them open access to the children put in Groner's care. But was Groner and his personally appointed kashrut team any better about enforcing kosher regulations? Apparently not.

Ladies, Are You Having Fertility Troubles? Try This Rabbinic Recipe For Baby Success On For Size

Ladies, you can even choose what sex your child will be – as long as you make sure to keep your eyes on the ball.

Hebrew National Promotes It’s Kosher Hot Dogs To Be Eaten With Bacon, Shellfish And Other Non-Kosher Foods, But Are OU Supervised Companies Any Better?

Hebrew National, the iconic producer of kosher deli meats and hot dogs whose slogan is “we answer to a higher authority,” has posted videos on its website touting the use of its kosher hot dogs in high-end recipes that include bacon, shellfish and other non-kosher ingredients. But are OU supervised food companies any better?

Haredim Extort Business Owner To Force Café To Close On Shabbat

The Landwer café located in Independence Park near downtown Jerusalem has agreed not to open on Shabbat after haredim threatened to pull the kosher certification from Landwer Coffee, a separate company founded by the same family but now completely separate from the café chain.

Knesset Hears About Haredi Corruption In Jerusalem City Kosher Supervision As Police Decide Whether Or Not To Open Criminal Corruption Investigation

The Knesset Internal Affairs Committee began an investigation of Jerusalem’s official state religious council and its associated kosher supervision company today after Jerusalem’s Zionist Orthodox Chief Rabbi Aryeh Stern went public with evidence of widespread corruption. Police are now deciding whether or not to open a criminal fraud and public corruption investigation.

Corrupt State Religious Officials And Rabbis Threaten To Fire Chief Rabbi's Top Aide After Aide Uncovers Their Alleged Criminal Behavior

After finding widespread alleged corruption, including many rabbis who hold no-show jobs as kosher supervisors for the city's kosher supervision agency, top aide to the new Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem Aryeh Stern is slated for dismissal by the allegedly corrupt rabbis who control Jerusalem's official government religious council. Stern is Zionist Orthodox and a relative moderate, as is his top aide, Avinoam Kushner. The corrupt rabbis and public officials Stern and Kushner are fighting appear to be haredi and Sefardi-haredi.

Cops Raid Netanya Religious Council

The raid took place after police first completed an undercover investigation that uncovered as yet unspecified illegal activity at the council, which oversees all local religious services from synagogues and mikvahs to local kosher supervision.

Zionist Orthodox Jerusalem Chief Rabbi’s Office Burglarized In Ongoing Fight Over Control Of The City’s Official Kosher Supervision Company

It reads like something out of an American political scandal from early 1970s. Dirty tricks. An office burglarized and sensitive information stolen. But this isn't Washington, DC – it's Jerusalem, and players involved are almost all rabbis.

Kosher Supervision Company Run By Alleged Rapist Rabbi To Close

Rabbi Ezra Sheinberg was the co-founder and day-to-day head of a kosher supervision company based in Sefat in Northern Israel. Accused by more than 10 women of rape and sexual abuse, Sheinberg has been jailed since he tried to flee Israel more than two weeks ago. Now his kosher supervision will likely be disbanded.

High Court Likely To Hear Controversial Kosher Food Case Sunday

On Sunday, the High Court of Justice is slated to hear the petition of restaurants that want to be allowed to sell their food as “kosher but not under rabbinic supervision.” Israel's haredi-controlled Chief Rabbinate and both haredi political parties strong oppose the restaurants' petition and are demanding the government pass a new stronger kosher food law that would force restaurants to get official kosher supervision from the Chief Rabbinate or from one of its local satellites.

Kosher Fraud Alert

Several witnesses have seen a food truck [in New York City] bearing an unauthorized KOF-K symbol.  The company is called King Tut Halal Food and the KOF-K– PAREVE symbol is prominently displayed.

Alliance To End Chickens As Kaporot v NYC, Chabad's NCFJE, Et Al

Here's the entire lawsuit as filed by the Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos on July 2. It's meant to stop kapparot operators like Chabad's National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education from operating in residential areas of New York City.