tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post8175499998735040116..comments2024-03-27T15:07:31.495-04:00Comments on <b><center>Unorthodox-Jew </center></b> <br><small>A Critical View of Orthodox Judaism</small>: On Legislating MoralityPaul Mendlowitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887774341136059873noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-5819650034044218072008-05-30T07:50:00.000-04:002008-05-30T07:50:00.000-04:00http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Rubashkin/signa...http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Rubashkin/signatures.html<BR/><BR/>1 David Adelsberg <BR/>2 Eric Creizman <BR/>3 Jason Snyder <BR/>4 Lili Chen Thank you for putting this petition up. Agriprocessors and the OU are shandas to the Jewish community. <BR/>5 Steven Feldman <BR/>6 John K. Diamond <BR/>7 Catherine Manna As one family that is practicing Orthodox judaism, this is the very reason for our my change and becomming Vegitarian/vegan! I had no Idea !!! and it is morally, wrong against all of what Torah and Hashem stands for!! Love , goodness, kindness and compassion!! These practices, are definitly not Gods ways! No way!! I choose to be on Gods side I choose Compassion, I choose Kindness, I choose to life!! This indeed was the biggest wake up call we have witnessed today!! May it be our finall call! God willing Baruch Hashem C <BR/>8 Shemirah Brachah <BR/>9 Claudia Gaspar Orthodox Judaism must face a renewal immediately and Chabad rabbis be investigated in depth <BR/>10 Lionel Friedberg <BR/>11 Rabbi Elchanan Weinbach <BR/>12 arthur poletti What will everyone do when meat is removed from the food chain? <BR/>13 Jampa Williams AgriProcessors have shamed themselves and the Jewish people, and they have betrayed the most essential values of Judaism and human decency. I am outraged and appalled. Such abuses must cease, immediately! <BR/>14 Rina Deych, RN As long as animals are raised in misery on factory farms and brutally tortured to death at abominations like AgriProcessors, the only Kosher diet is a plant-based one. Vegan diets are better for human health, the planet, and, of course, the animals. <BR/>15 ruth <BR/>16 Sherri G. White I am not Jewish, but I am a citizen of Postville, Iowa, and have heard first hand about some of the attrocities that have occurred at Agri. I take pleasure in signing this petition! I surely hope the Rubashkins can be stopped- <BR/>17 David Siegel <BR/>18 Daniel Ebel The OU can plain kiss my butt! <BR/>19 Paula Lasersohn <BR/>20 Anonymous <BR/>21 DenaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-17254389632420179772008-05-30T07:48:00.000-04:002008-05-30T07:48:00.000-04:00http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Rubashkin/The p...http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Rubashkin/<BR/><BR/>The petition<BR/><BR/>Do we really answer to a higher authority? <BR/><BR/>On May 12, 2008, 389 illegal immigrant workers were detained by federal officials at the AgriProcessors plant in Postville, Iowa, in the largest enforcement action ever carried out by immigration officials at a workplace. As of May 23, 260 of those workers were sentenced for working at the meatpacking plant for working under false documents. Allegations against the company filed in affidavits by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials also include the physical abuse of workers, payment of wages well below minimum wage and the production of methamphetamines at a lab located at the plant. Other allegations by workers include child labor and sexual abuse. In addition, AgriProcessors has been investigated and cited in the past for environmental and animal cruelty claims. AgriProcessors is the largest kosher meatpacking company in the United States, producing an estimated 60% of all kosher meat in the U.S. and 40% of all kosher poultry. AgriProcessors products are sold under many different brand names, including Rubashkin's and Aaron's Best, as well as in butcher shops and kosher markets without any brand name. Chances are, if you have bought kosher meat, then you have eaten meat produced by AgriProcessors. <BR/><BR/>We, the undersigned, are shocked and dismayed at the conditions and situation at the AgriProcessors plant in Postville, Iowa and at the response (or lack thereof) of the Orthodox Union (OU), which certifies AgriProcessors' meat as kosher. The entire episode has brought shame on the Orthodox community. <BR/><BR/>We find it unacceptable that human beings and animals are mistreated to provide us with our kosher food and that, as Rabbi Menachem Genack, head of the OU's kashrut certification division has stated, as long as the slaughter of animals is done in accordance with Jewish law, the OU will not consider terminating their kosher certification of a corporation's products unless the corporation itself is convicted of crimes. The OU is paid for its certification by the very companies it is certifying, an inherent conflict of interest that we believe has clouded the OU's judgment in this case. <BR/><BR/>We believe that the imprimatur of kosher certification should not be based merely on the type of animal and the manner of slaughter but the overall manner with which a corporation treats its animals, employees and customers. <BR/>The events and allegations going back years at AgriProcessors' plants raise many troubling questions, including: Where were the OU's mashgichim (kosher supervisors) at the Postville plant? Either the mashgichim were not present, which calls into question the basic kashrut supervision of the plant, or they were present and turned a blind eye to the abuses of animals and human beings which calls into question their basic humanity and ability to be trusted with such an important responsibility as assuring the kashrut of our kosher meat supply. <BR/><BR/>While as a legal matter individuals and corporations are innocent until proven guilty, we as citizens and consumers are not required to give such presumption of innocence. We believe that the OU should suspend their certification of AgriProcessors' meat and poultry pending the outcome of the government and OU investigation into the company's business practices. <BR/><BR/>Accordingly, we demand that: <BR/><BR/>1. All local butchers and supermarkets immediately cease carrying any of AgriProcessors' products and that all synagogues refuse to allow caterers who use AgriProcessors' products to make use of the synagogues' facilities. The fact the AgriProcessors' various plants around the world, including in countries with less stringent government regulations than in the United States, provide an estimated 60% of the kosher meat and 40% of the kosher poultry should not factor into this decision one iota. <BR/><BR/>2. Menachem Genack immediately step down as head of the OU's kosher certification division and that the OU immediately initiate a review of all AgriProcessors plants and OU's own internal procedure for kosher certification. The OU makes a lot of money certifying AgriProcessors' products and must go the extra mile to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest in this situation. The failure of the OU's mashgichim to notice or report the activities at the Postville plant indicates a failure of leadership at the top of the OU's kashrut division that can only be remedied by a change of leadership. <BR/><BR/>3. All kosher certification agencies adopt rules and regulations requiring humane treatment of animals and employees as a precondition to obtaining kosher certification for any products. <BR/><BR/>As the old saying goes, you are what you eat. Now that we know what goes on at AgriProcessors' plants, if we continue to eat their products, what does that make us? <BR/><BR/><BR/>Please send this petition or a link to this website to anyone you know who may be interested in signing and also print a copy and give it to your local kosher market and synagogue. Through our actions we can send a signal to our so-called leadership that we will not stand for such abuses any longer. <BR/><BR/>Sign the petitionAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-28208062677294779622008-05-30T01:38:00.000-04:002008-05-30T01:38:00.000-04:00whats with shea fishmanwhats with shea fishmanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-59122967145307431702008-05-29T21:15:00.000-04:002008-05-29T21:15:00.000-04:00Getting back to the topic. If the Rabbonim can't ...Getting back to the topic. If the Rabbonim can't treat each other with respect why should they expect respect from the rest of us. When Rabbonim denigrate the principles that Moshe Rabbeinu taught from Hashem's mouth, why would the rest of us not do so. It used to be that ehrliche personalities with scholarship and fearlessness would lead a kehillah. You would go along or go. The standards would be set so that no one would be excluded. Rabbinic tales abound where a Rov wouldn't take a case or except payment if there was a hava minah that the baalei din weren't honest. Rabbonim would bend over backwards to find heterim to aid the poor. <BR/>When you taught that no is the only answer, not just an answer, then you will have people using it against you. This doesn't mean that everything has to be mutar. Rabbinus is not a popularity contest. Being a Rov is not about how well you sing or your droshes or your aftershave. <BR/>They have no respect for each other. They have no respect for Hashem. They don't respect themselves. And it's consistent not an aberration or a one-off, that this respect is lacking.<BR/>Is there a Brisker Rov, a Rav Chaim Ozer, a Satmar Rov, a Bobover Rov out there who commands respect? No, unfortunately there are not. It was once asked, who will be the teachers, the Rebbes, of the next generation? Why ask this question? It is now apparent that the lack of respect was already leaking into our society. <BR/>We Jews have lost our moral compass. We have tutzach's leading the morality brigade. We have janitors teaching our children. We have themes for our simchas. We have become the goyim that Hashem commanded to separate ourselves from and not to follow in their ways.<BR/>I think that all mosdos and yeshivahs should follow the template that the Yeshivah in Radin followed for raising funds, especially the dinners. I think that all Rebbes should have to take a shiur in Mesillas Yesharim. I think that all high school female lemudei kodesh teachers should be brutally honest about marriage. I think that all yeshivah bochurim should not be in dorms, but at home where possible. I think that we shouldn't be telling ourselves that this is only a small number of people and I don't have to worry about myself and mine - Korach's band was 250 and the erev rav was a couple of thousand; they wielded too much influence on Klall Yisroel in a negative fashion. Better to look at the mesiras nefesh of Moshe, Yisro, and Billam (yeah him) and those individuals who had a positive effect on Klall Yisroel. When we demand more of ourselves and ask our role models to model the behavior we want to follow, they will.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-56014553536279448932008-05-29T21:08:00.000-04:002008-05-29T21:08:00.000-04:00My prediction is that the whole Rubashkin operatio...My prediction is that the whole Rubashkin operation will either be sold or shut down by Rosh Hashana. Weissmandel, Strasser and Lubinsky will go down with them. <BR/><BR/>Wow steve,Amen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-61599963795326630342008-05-29T20:10:00.000-04:002008-05-29T20:10:00.000-04:00Genack: We will continue to certify Rubashkin even...<B>Genack: We will continue to certify Rubashkin even if indicted</B><BR/><BR/>http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/108818.html<BR/><BR/>The Orthodox Union had urged the country's largest kosher slaughterhouse to replace CEO Sholom Rubashkin.<BR/><BR/>Rabbi Menachem Genack, who heads the OU's kosher supervision department, confirmed a report last week in the Long Island, N.Y.-based Jewish Star newspaper saying he had urged Agriprocessors to seek new management.<BR/><BR/>The company announced May 23 that it would replace Rubashkin following a massive federal immigration raid two weeks earlier on the company's plant in Postville, Iowa, and subsequent allegations of underage workers, sexual harassment and other claims of worker mistreatment.<BR/><BR/>The situation has generated outrage from certain quarters of the Jewish world, with some calling for a boycott of Agriprocessors' products. <BR/><BR/>Genack has said that if criminal charges are brought against the company, the OU would have to remove its supervision. Bringing in new management, Genack acknowledged, is an effort to head off that possibility. <BR/><BR/>"We don't want to get to that stage, frankly," Genack told JTA. "This is an important supplier. We want the company to succeed."<BR/><BR/><B>Genack said that if Rubashkin is subsequently indicted, the OU wouldn't necessarily have a problem continuing to supervise the company. </B><BR/><BR/>"I would think that if there's new management, completely independent management, why would we withdraw supervision? Because of a history?" Genack said. "That wouldn't make sense."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-74645431210418524802008-05-29T19:57:00.000-04:002008-05-29T19:57:00.000-04:00We should all be bombarding the OU with letters de...We should all be bombarding the OU with letters demanding that they pull the plug on Rubashkin, effective immediately. They just need to write a letter similar to the KAJ with no other explanation necessary. Please mention the 1955 OU letter which is posted on Rav Yudel's blog. We will then see how much longer Weissmandel can keep his fraud of a hashgacha going. Also vote "yes" on the Jewish Press website poll which asks "should a company's kashruth supervision be removed if it is found to have violated laws and ethical standards having nothing to do with kashruth?"<BR/><BR/>OU Contact Info:<BR/><BR/>Orthodox Union Offices<BR/>National Headquarters<BR/><BR/>Eleven Broadway<BR/>New York, NY 10004<BR/>212-563-4000<BR/>Fax 212-564-9058<BR/><BR/>e-mail: info@ou.org<BR/><BR/><BR/>The only thing the OU cares about is money. If they fear a community wide backlash against them, and that their fundraising will suffer, they will surely forfeit the licensing fee that they are collecting from Rubashkin. <BR/><BR/>My prediction is that the whole Rubashkin operation will either be sold or shut down by Rosh Hashana. Weissmandel, Strasser and Lubinsky will go down with them. Genack, Belsky and the OU gang can save themselves by withdrawing now (hibadlu mitoch haedah) or face the same consequences.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-61527574804428603042008-05-29T19:10:00.000-04:002008-05-29T19:10:00.000-04:00Rabbi Menachem Genack of the OU has admitted what ...Rabbi Menachem Genack of the OU has admitted what many of us thought all along – the "ouster" of Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin as Agriprocessors CEO is…<BR/><BR/>…nothing more than a ploy to help the OU leave its mark on Agri products while at the same time telling its irate consumers it has done its job.<BR/><BR/>The JTA reports:<BR/><BR/><BR/>…The situation has generated outrage from certain quarters of the Jewish world, with some calling for a boycott of Agriprocessors' products. <BR/><BR/>Genack has said that if criminal charges are brought against the company, the OU would have to remove its supervision. Bringing in new management, Genack acknowledged, is an effort to head off that possibility. <BR/><BR/>"We don't want to get to that stage, frankly," Genack told JTA. "This is an important supplier. We want the company to succeed."<BR/><BR/>Genack said that if Rubashkin is subsequently indicted, the OU wouldn't necessarily have a problem continuing to supervise the company. <BR/><BR/>"I would think that if there's new management, completely independent management, why would we withdraw supervision? Because of a history?" Genack said. "That wouldn't make sense."<BR/><BR/><BR/>In other words, even though every other Rubashkin remains in place and even though Aaron Rubashkin – long directly involved in recruiting illegal workers and in other crimes – remains as President and Sholom M. Rubashkin remains as Vice President, the OU will leave its supervision on Rubashkin products.<BR/><BR/>This type of slippery parsing of language (and ethics and morality, for that matter) should make clear to all that the OU is not a kosher supervision to be trusted.<BR/><BR/>Those of you boycotting Rubashkin should consider expanding that boycott to include all OU-supervised products.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-79920574962685109842008-05-29T18:31:00.000-04:002008-05-29T18:31:00.000-04:00Ok, we have a soft spot for Gerrer chassidim, even...Ok, we have a soft spot for Gerrer chassidim, even if they are clean shaven. But who is ever going to hire Lubinsky as a PR shill again after he acted like such a transparent putz for Rubashkin?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-43889471216481959702008-05-29T18:26:00.000-04:002008-05-29T18:26:00.000-04:00I assume we can count on Steve & others to write e...I assume we can count on Steve & others to write eloquent letters to DBC exposing Lubinsky for the vile fraud that he is.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-58171070693979183702008-05-29T18:19:00.000-04:002008-05-29T18:19:00.000-04:00Diversified Business CommunicationsP.O. Box 7437Po...Diversified Business Communications<BR/>P.O. Box 7437<BR/>Portland, ME 04112-7437<BR/>United States<BR/>Phone: (207) 842-5504<BR/>Fax: (207) 842-5505<BR/><BR/>This guy is the head of the KosherFest division:<BR/><BR/>Brian Randall<BR/>Vice President<BR/>Kosherfest Show Director<BR/>(207) 842-5592<BR/>brandall@divcom.com<BR/><BR/>Even higher up the chain of command:<BR/><BR/>Nancy Hasselback<BR/>President and CEO <BR/><BR/>Terry Baldwin<BR/>Vice President, Enterprise Services, CIO<BR/><BR/>Vicki Hennin<BR/>Vice President, Strategic Marketing & Business Intelligence<BR/><BR/>Tom Tomczyk<BR/>Vice President, Business DevelopmentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-34788048183504000632008-05-29T18:08:00.000-04:002008-05-29T18:08:00.000-04:00The Jewish Telegraphic Agency is reporting that Ru...The Jewish Telegraphic Agency is reporting that Rubashkin is back to his old tricks of rehiring the illegals but this time paying them cash so there is no paper trail.<BR/><BR/>Shmarya is getting reports that the Putz is even placing Spanish language ads in Guatemalan newspapers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-22572710117942756982008-05-29T17:10:00.000-04:002008-05-29T17:10:00.000-04:00"Right now I'm worried. I'd be lying to you if I s..."Right now I'm worried. I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't," she said."<BR/><BR/>Ah, get that pitchfork out of your tuchess & lighten up.<BR/><BR/>A little fibbing never hurt anyone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-71430936244484552902008-05-29T16:05:00.000-04:002008-05-29T16:05:00.000-04:00http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5...http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5806781.html<BR/><BR/>Claudia Avalos and her family might soon become vegetarians — but not exactly by choice.<BR/><BR/>The genesis of their dietary dilemma can be traced to an unlikely place: Postville, Iowa. In this northeastern Iowa town, federal immigration authorities raided and jailed nearly 400 undocumented workers two weeks ago at Agriprocessors Inc., the nation's largest kosher meat and poultry plant.<BR/><BR/>The plant quickly reopened to slower production, and the subsequent trickledown impact was felt immediately throughout the country. Consumers and businesses, Jews and non-Jews alike, including those in Houston, now worry about a shortage of kosher meat and rising prices. The raid, hailed by officials as the largest in U.S. history, was, to some, another example of the dependence of the U.S. labor force on undocumented workers.<BR/><BR/>On Wednesday, Avalos experienced this dynamic of economics firsthand.<BR/><BR/>She was shopping at Belden's grocery in Meyerland for kosher meat and poultry, only after finding none at the nearby H-E-B, where she usually buys it.<BR/><BR/>''We came to stock up," she said. ''If they ran out of kosher meat, we would just have vegetables."<BR/><BR/>Avalos said her family eats kosher because of the quality and their Jewish faith. She also thinks it's healthier.<BR/><BR/>Stores and restaurants that specialize in kosher products are mostly found in the Meyerland area. David Martinez, store director at Houston's only kosher H-E-B, said Agriprocessors was the store's supplier, and that they would be without kosher meat until they could find another.<BR/><BR/>Menachem Lubinsky, editor in chief of koshertoday.com, doesn't expect increases in kosher food prices or a need for hoarding.<BR/><BR/>"Pending any legal action from the federal government (against Agriprocessors, Inc.), it appears that we're OK," Lubinsky said.<BR/><BR/>However, Shelley Rappaport, manager of kosher Houston caterer Nosher, ordered meat the day after the raid, and prices had gone up, she said. Susan Goldstein, owner of Suzie's Grill, said kosher meat now costs twice as much as before.<BR/><BR/>"It's (difficult) for me to get meat, and it's a problem for customers who have to pay the price," she said.<BR/><BR/>Goldstein has plenty of meat this week and remains hopeful, despite being unsure about her future shipments. She said she'll persist, "Rubashkin or no Rubashkin," referencing the family that owns Agriprocessors.<BR/><BR/>Belden's store director Darryl Ames said they were well-stocked after buying from other manufacturers after the raid. Alvin Mata, co-manager of the Rice Epicurean on West Holcombe, said they were low after the raid but were fine now.<BR/><BR/>Zev Comer, a mashgiac, or kosher supervisor, said kosher price increases would greatly affect the consumer.<BR/><BR/>"Friday night through Saturday night is the sabbath. People have big sabbath meals and visit," he said. "Tradition calls for meat because it's a bigger meal, more festive, and some people feel very strongly that meat should be included."<BR/><BR/>Lee Payne, a sales representative for food distributor Ben E. Keith Co., said that employers hiring undocumented workers can face consequences and impact other parts of the U.S. food industry, noting the April raids of five Pilgrim's Pride poultry plants that netted about 300 illegal immigrants.<BR/><BR/>"There are a lot of illegal immigrants here working," he said. "Everyone's trying to reduce costs by hiring people with somewhat questionable backgrounds. It's going to cause ripples in the system."<BR/><BR/>Even with big events on her schedule, Goldstein said she and others would survive.<BR/><BR/>"Right now I'm worried. I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't," she said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-89361813963365681212008-05-29T15:46:00.000-04:002008-05-29T15:46:00.000-04:00This is another example of tribalism. It's Kolko a...This is another example of tribalism.<BR/><BR/> It's Kolko all over again. As the pile of evidence against that reprehensible pedophile was growing higher and higher we heard from men who dress like him, and from men who talk like him, who all urged us to to ignore the facts, who told us the case against Kolko was the work of the Jew-hating media. They were wrong, but they helped a monster escape justice.<BR/><BR/> Now the Lubovs at Agriprocessors are on the hot seat, so of course the Lubovs at Circus Tent are running interference. Don't even consider the evidence, they say. Ignore the facts. There's nothing to see here. After all the arguments are being made by a Modern Orthodox Rabbi.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-30516152762489044982008-05-29T15:19:00.000-04:002008-05-29T15:19:00.000-04:00If Richard Nixon was alive, he would tell you that...If Richard Nixon was alive, he would tell you that his presidency would have somehow survived - if not for the cover-up!<BR/><BR/>He (should) would have done a mea culpa - clap al chet - and in a few days or weeks it would have been over. The same with Clinton.<BR/><BR/>The cover-ups here will be the undoing of the OU and Rubashkin. <BR/><BR/>Ask Lipa Margulies what he would have done with the Kolko affair - if he could have done it over.<BR/><BR/>Every idiot Jew thinks they're smarter than the other idiot Jew!Paul Mendlowitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05887774341136059873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-63057988512943984832008-05-29T15:12:00.000-04:002008-05-29T15:12:00.000-04:00Hamayvin yovin about the problems with the meat ho...Hamayvin yovin about the problems with the meat hooks years ago. But the agents who cover up for us, deny there was even a problem to fix.<BR/><BR/>Do you think the OU & Rubashkin have the monopoly on cover ups?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-45688027838765925352008-05-29T15:09:00.000-04:002008-05-29T15:09:00.000-04:00Lubinsky should get together with Neuhoff. The Bun...Lubinsky should get together with Neuhoff. The Bungalow Putz's favorite target after UOJ, the modern orthodox, are leading the main Rubashkin boycott.<BR/><BR/>So let's see ..Lubinsky lies through his teeth that Conservative, Reform, unaffiliated and modern orthodox are not significant Rubashkin customers in the least bit. Most chassidim haven't eaten Rubashkin since day one anyhow. So that means that the yeshiva crowd must be the only group consuming Rubashkin's tens of millions of dollars of meat.<BR/><BR/>I suggest someone write a letter to Lubinsky's non-Jewish bosses at Diversified who own Kosher Fest and let them know what a fraud he is.<BR/><BR/>UOJ? Anyone?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-73188721090034932482008-05-29T15:03:00.000-04:002008-05-29T15:03:00.000-04:00Most of the public doesn't know either that there ...Most of the public doesn't know either that there was a problem in the slaughterhouse with the Baltimore meat years ago. It was fixed after pressure from independent rabbis who found out about it. But because of various other shenanigans that were institutional with Heinemann, Rabbi Shain's followers and many others don't touch the stuff even today.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-4205157458636044932008-05-29T14:44:00.000-04:002008-05-29T14:44:00.000-04:00The gezeireh from R' Leizer Silver and fellow gedo...The gezeireh from R' Leizer Silver and fellow gedolei America from 70 years ago is not just on Rubashkin & the OU to not have such a set up. The issur is worded so that these greedy fleish geshefts should not sell it and gluttonous consumers should not fress it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-63669540788304890202008-05-29T14:41:00.000-04:002008-05-29T14:41:00.000-04:00Dov Bauman is an honorable pastrami peddler.Dov Bauman is an honorable pastrami peddler.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-16383370658193896082008-05-29T14:35:00.000-04:002008-05-29T14:35:00.000-04:00One blog commenter says he called Baumann personal...One blog commenter says he called Baumann personally to ask if any of his meat is Rubashkin.<BR/><BR/>I also know the fellow whose story was posted in the winter here & on R' Yudel Shain's blog about the ruckuss he caused inside Glatt Mart. He was told they don't sell any Rubashkin because it's poorer quality than the Baltimore meat. About 30 seconds later he saw them slicing a Rubashkin pastrami. When he confronted them, they admitted they do in fact use that & other Rubashkin product too, like for the deli kugel. They started giving him a propaganda speech that all the stories about Rubashkin are "lies made up by the union." He left a large order they just packed for him and went to shop again elsewhere.<BR/><BR/>Maybe that particular Baumann was not involved but Glatt Mart has had their share of incidents.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-62574802248862391962008-05-29T14:27:00.000-04:002008-05-29T14:27:00.000-04:00http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c37_a1194...http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c37_a11941/News/National.html<BR/><BR/>Responding to the boycott efforts, AgriProcessors spokesman Menachem Lubinsky said: “Company officials are saying at this point give us our day in court before you do anything. Nobody’s been charged or indicted. They’re hoping not to be charged ... Some say with new management they may avoid it.” <BR/><BR/>("Some" = Rabbi Genack?)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-51046889526575449312008-05-29T14:24:00.000-04:002008-05-29T14:24:00.000-04:00Let's put this in English: The OU was forced by pu...Let's put this in English: <BR/><BR/>The OU was forced by public outrage to say that it would remove its supervision from Agriprocessors if the company's management was indicted and charged with felony counts related to the ICE immigration raid and the related extortion, child labor and RICO allegations. <BR/>The OU does not want to remove its supervision. <BR/>Aaron Rubashkin and his family do not want the OU to remove its supervision. <BR/>Solution? Have Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin "replaced" as CEO. <BR/>Of course, there's a hook to this the OU and the Rubashkins hope you'll miss – Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin is also Agriprocessors Vice President and holds other corporate offices, as well. <BR/>In other words, Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin "steps down" as CEO (but retains his control behind the scenes), the OU leaves on its supervision, and everybody is happy ever after. <BR/><BR/>If this is indeed what transpires, the OU must be made to pay a very steep price – a price at least as steep as it paid in the Baruch Lanner affair. <BR/><BR/>Nothing less than the ouster of Rabbi Menachem Genack and the OU's entire kashrut and lay leadership should be acceptable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-77918786616910087782008-05-29T14:20:00.000-04:002008-05-29T14:20:00.000-04:00http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1211872...http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1211872840140&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter<BR/><BR/>"Pressure (from non-Orthodox) didn't seem to deter them in the past," said Lubinsky. "These calls were not from the core consumer, and in the past sales kept going up.<BR/><BR/>(Lubinsky thinks he can dance around the fact that non-Orthodox are the majority in America by a long shot and buy most of Rubashkin's "kosher labels)<BR/><BR/>"They (Rubashkin) are an extremely important part of the kosher food industry, and the hard core consumer doesn't want to damage the potential of supply," said Lubinsky. "They feel Rubashkin has been more a victim than anything else, and that this is a left wing gang up." <BR/><BR/>(Shades of a vast Hillary Clinton conspiracy)<BR/><BR/>Avrom Pollak, president of Star-K, a Baltimore based kosher certification agency, said the recent allegations into Agriprocessors is having a widespread effect, that extends beyond the Jewish world. <BR/><BR/>Rubashkin has called previous allegations against the company anti-Semitic. <BR/><BR/>"I don't know whether the Rubashkins are guilty, but this has been going on for years, and certainly these issues should have been cleared up long time ago," said Pollak. "To claim it is anti-Semitism is ridiculous actually."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com