Postville, IA – A huge immigration raid last week on the country’s largest kosher slaughterhouse could have a substantial impact on the thousands of Jews who follow Jewish dietary laws, as well as on non-Jews who purchase kosher meat.
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Industry-watchers and butchers say they have heard reports of hoarding since the raid, but the impact will not be known for several days, as individuals and stores still have frozen supplies.
“I don’t think the Jewish community can survive at this point without Rubashkin,” Mordechai Yitzhaky, owner of KosherMart in Rockville, said of the family that owns Agriprocessors.
For the estimated 1 million Americans who observe kosher restrictions, Agriprocessors’ latest troubles ramp up a discussion that has been underway for several years: Can a company meet religious standards if it violates ethical ones?
Some rabbis say that even past and current allegations of mistreatment by Rubashkin should not be confused with a scriptural mandate. These rabbis argue that although such allegations may violate other aspects of Jewish law or ethics, they do not disqualify the meat as technically kosher.
So now we are trying to conform the rules of kashrus, observed without modification for thousands of years, to todays Politically Correct Zeitgeist!
Not to worry. R Weissmandel said there will be no shortage of meat and chicken.
Goyim have been trying for millenia to stop yiddishkeit specifically shechita. Even here in Ameriac laws are constantly proposed in shechita states like Iowa and Illinois to put restrictions on shechita. That doesn’t excuse Rubashkin for ethical lapses. In fact we have to be more ethical so that they don’y find excuses to stop shechita.
no shortage of meat – of course not, no shortage of KOSHER meat – that’s another story
Why is everybody jumping on the basndwagon of “ethical violations” by Rubashkin? Has anything been proven? Has government substantiated any of their alegations agains the company?
It’s nothing more then hearsay at this point, so let’s at least try not to spread it…
tzvika55. Be real. By now we all have come to understand that they were not spurious stories, but sadly true patterns of ethical violations of many sorts. Animal abuse, abuse of employees, abuse of dealers, etc.,
I truly pray that Rubashkin survives, and that they use this incident to clean up their act.
I don’t care if their shechita is technically good and kosher. If their behavior is grossly unethical, which is seems to be proven to be, then, in my opinion, it is wrong to eat their products.
yep i guess its not enough that gas, FOOD, airline tickets, are skyrocketing daily but now we have to suffer because there are some selffish and irresponsible ppl if they will charge more now then we shouldnt buy through them and thats it we shouldnt be owned by them they need us more than we need them… so we all will eat milchigs for a while but that they should control us uh uh we shouldnt let this happen
No there will not be a shortage to those of us who anyway refrain from eating Rubashkin since the KAJ (Breurs) removed their supervision!
Meat will go up another 3.50 a lb.
STOP EATING MEAT. BOYCOT any store or supplier that will raise prices.
Perhaps long term this will allow for more sources of Kosher meats. This because there will be a more even playing field for the purveyors of Kosher meats, in that Rubashkin will not have the competitive advantage of using illegal workers . allowing legitimate competition