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Jewish leaders decline boycott of plant's meat
By PHILIP BRASHER • pbrasher@dmreg.com • May 24, 2008

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Washington, D.C. — The national organizations representing Conservative Jews stopped short of calling for a boycott of kosher meat produced by the troubled Agriprocessors packing plant in Postville, Ia.

Conservative Jews are instead being urged to consider whether they should buy the products in light of allegations of mistreatment of workers at the plant.

The allegations surfaced after hundreds of employees were arrested May 12 on fraud and immigration-related charges.


Rabbi Jerome Epstein, executive vice president and chief executive of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, said Friday that it was allegations of worker abuse, not the immigration case, that raised concerns about eating Agriprocessors products.

A joint commission of his group and the Rabbinical Assembly, which represents Conservative rabbis, decided that a boycott was not warranted because the allegations were not proven, he said.

"Right now, we felt that people had to make their own decisions based upon the evidence they were aware of," he said.

He estimated that 20 percent to 30 percent of Conservative Jews make a point of buying kosher products even if they don't keep kosher all the time.



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