Thread: Scandal Rocks US Kosher Meat Industry: Not Quite Kosher

Scandal Rocks US Kosher Meat Industry: Not Quite Kosher

Yaniv Halily
Israel Jewish Scene
11-12-8

Scandalous affair causes storm in US Jewish community as country's largest kosher meat supplier is expected to shut down after owners are charged with immigration and labor violations, leading to bankruptcy

NEW YORK Â* A recent criminal affair threatens to cause a great shortage in kosher meat in the United States, as Agriprocessors, the country's number one kosher meat provider filed for bankruptcy last week and is expected to shut down.

The Iowa-based slaughterhouse, which have been run by a family of Lubavitch hassidism for many years, was raided last month by immigration police, who allege the owners 80-year-old Aaron Rubashkin, and his son Sholom (49) were personally involved in the large scale forgery of identification cards for hundreds of illegal workers in the factory.

The company provides some 60% of American Jews' kosher meat and in many small communities is the sole meat provider.

An investigation revealed that the Rubashkins employed over 400 illegal immigrants from Guatemala, and a production line manager at the factory told detectives that he received cash from Rubashkin that he distributed among a few dozen workers to purchase their fake IDs.

It was also revealed that the Rubashkins illegally employed minors in abusive conditions including excessive hours and poor wages. The under-age workers were allegedly exposed to dangerous chemicals and were required to operate dangerous machinery without the proper protection..

According to testimonies, some of the minors were even beaten by shift managers if they failed to meet the required production quota.

American media estimate that the allegations that have been uncovered so far are just the tip of the iceberg, and many Jewish organizations in the US called for a boycott of the company's kosher certificate in light of its owners' non-kosher behavior.

"Kashrut is also a matter of ethics and morals," one rabbi who supports the boycott said.

The Agriprocessors affair has not only left American Jews with a damaged image, but could also pose a threat to many isolated Jewish communities that depended solely on the factory for their kosher meat, and will now have to do without.

Rabbis across the United States warned that if the factory closes, hundreds of thousands of traditional Jews will be left without a meat supply.

The state of Iowa has already given the company a $10 million fine for illegally employing under-age workers, and barring any last minute changes, the factory will go bankrupt and shut down.

If Sholom Rubashkin is convicted of the line of offenses he has been charged with, he is expected to spend up to 22 years in prison.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340 ... 36,00.html

http://www.rense.com/general84/scan.htm

AirborneSapper7
Great story thanks for posting.

Slave labor at it's finest. If I was Jewish I would be disgusted knowing that I have been eating the meat in the first place, might even abandon kosher completely. And to me its worse that they abandon other meat because its not kosher, but the kosher meat that they were eating came from slaves that's more tainted to me than eating non kosher meat.