The Shalom Center - Justice & immigration

VOTING OUR VALUES: Nonpartisan Guide to Election Issues

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:28:22 -0500

VOTING OUR VALUES
Judaism & American Life
“To be is to stand for.”
—Abraham Joshua Heschel
RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION:
A JEWISH CALL FOR JUSTICE

Judaism & American Life
Elections offer us the opportunity to reflect upon, and
to recommit ourselves to, our core values. This Jewish
non-partisan election guide is intended as catalyst for
thought and action during the 2008 election season.

The guide includes seven topics that the Righteous
Indignation staff has identified as key election issues
based on our research and in consultation with religious
and political leaders across the country. In addition, the

Flashes of Light from the unkosher dark of Postville, Iowa

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:02:29 -0400

By Rabbi Arthur Waskow

Most of the time, as a society we walk in darkness, wounded by walking blindly into an economic barbed-wire fence here, an environmental open manhole there. Once a generation - if we are lucky, once a decade -- there is a flash of lightning in the dark that lights up the truth of our country's politics.

For some of us, Katrina was such a flash of lightning. And now, for some of us, an allegedly kosher meatpacking plant oddly located, far from Jews, in Postville, Iowa.

Even in the dark, there is usually some prophetic voice warning of oncoming damage.

In this case, prophetic calls to apply "eco-kosher" and "ethical kosher" standards not only to food but also to such consumables as coal, oil, plastics went back to the work of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi in the mid-'70s and my own book Down-to-Earth Judaism: Food, Money, Sex and the Rest of Life in the mid-'90s.

From UnKosher Postville to a Decent Society

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:23:26 -0400

Kosher, Eco-Kosher, & Beyond:
From UnKosher Postville to a Decent Society

By Arthur Waskoiw

Dear friends,

My letter two weeks ago, called "Unkosher meat, unkosher politics" addressed the oppression of humans and animals at the allegedly kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, by both the plant owners (Rubashkin family) and the Federal government, which jailed hundreds of its undocumented workers while ignoring the crimes of the owners.. (If you missed it, see –
http://www.shalomctr.org/node/1412 )

We urged our readers to write public letters to editors pressing the US government to stop charging undocumented workers with crimes, and start dealing with the far worse crimes of the plant owners. Our mailing has drawn a great many responses, a few of which we will share –- see below.

Unkosher Meat, Unkosher Politics

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:23:01 -0400

By Rabbi Arthur Waskow

Off-hand, one might think problems at a kosher meatpacking house are the concern of the Jewish community alone. But in a current case, not so.

The Rubashkin meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, which has been the biggest supplier of allegedly kosher meat in America, has violated many moral, ethical, and legal codes of conduct -- American and Jewish. It has tortured the animals it is supposed to kill painlessly. It has exploited its workers, many of whom are undocumented immigrants who were fearful of complaining. It has even had the chutzpah to collect union dues from some workers and then pocket the money instead of passing it on to the unions.

Petition on the treatment of workers at Agriprocessors

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:28:15 -0400

Initiated by the Jewish Labor Committee

In the aftermath of the May 12th Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on the Agriprocessors, Inc. plant in Postville, Iowa, many of the company’s other longstanding labor violations have come to light. In recent years, the following abuses have been documented at Agriprocessors, the largest kosher meat processing plant in North America, and the Jewish community cannot ignore them any longer:

· abuse of child labor laws;
· failure to pay workers the full amount of wages they have earned;
· unnecessary exposure of workers to dangerous – even life-threatening – working conditions; and

Postville Immigration Raid ; The HIAS statement

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:56:56 -0400

Statement of Gideon Aronoff, President & CEO, HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
Press Conference on Postville Immigration Raid (July 2, 2008)

For HIAS and the Jewish community, working to assist refugees and other immigrants, and to promote welcoming policies at the federal, state and local levels, is an important community priority. This stems from the Jewish community’s essential and enduring identification with immigrants -- both current Jewish immigrants and immigrants of other backgrounds. The reasons for this identification are many, but include:

• The centrality of the biblical commandment to welcome, protect, and love the stranger;

Can Agriprocessors Do T'shuvah?"

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:07:36 -0400

Rabbi David Seidenberg

Following on the heels of the recent Forward article(1) about
conditions for Agriprocessors' Brooklyn workers, the Times reports
that Agriprocessors is asking the Supreme Court to deny workers in
their Brooklyn distribution center the right to unionize because they
are "not documented workers and not allowed to work." According to the
Times, Agriprocessors claimed "to have just discovered that…the
workers were illegal immigrants," just a few days after the 2005 union
vote.(2) An image comes immediately to my mind: Captain Renault in
Casablanca declaring, "I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is

Meta-ethical questions in the Agriprocessors debate

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:33:47 -0400

BY RABBI HYIM SHAFNER

The current uproar in the Jewish community regarding Agriprocessors
(Rubashkin kosher meat products) is disturbing. I do not profess inside knowledge of
the company and its management. I do not know the extent to which they are
guilty or innocent of the violations of which they have been widely accused,
violation of labor and immigration laws and of environmental protection regulations,
as well as disregard for human dignity and issues regarding animal pain.

I would like to pose several questions. What instruction does Judaism offer
when the welfare of laborers is in conflict with the welfare and monetary risk

ISRAEL & EGYPT deny asylum to at least 91 fleeing Darfur, etc., in sub-Saharan Africa

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:12:56 -0400

[This urgent report by Amnesty International was circulated by Rabbis for Human Rights in Israel. Please note that the Israeli government is refusing to allow refugees from Darfur and other African countries where they are being oppressed to get any due process for review of their pleas for asylum in Israel. American Jewish groups that have close connections with the Israeli government and that claim to be opposing genocidal attacks in Darfur might want to take action on this matter. For action possibilities, see the end of the report. -- ED. NOTE by Rabbi Arthur Waskow.]

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

New Ways of Accessing Kosher Meat

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:40:24 -0400

By Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

It is very painful to read about a plant that was supposed to be Glatt kosher and manages this by squeaking by the narrowest definition of kosher that could be construed by Halakha [Jewish law]. They ignored many of the issues that had to do with Tza'ar Ba'aley Chayyim [giving pain to animals] and unfair treatment of laborers, as well as knowingly breaking immigration hiring laws.

In the meantime I have received a request from concerned people who would like to be able to engage a Shochet [ritual slaughterer] and find a way to address the needs to get their meat from free-range animals that were not fed hormones and grazed on land that was not polluted by herbicides.

Dark Meat: Postville from an Independent Orthodox Perspective

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:21:56 -0400

By SHMUEL HERZFELD
NY Times August 6, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor

Washington

ACCORDING to the Jewish calendar we are now in the month of Av, a period of increasingly intense mourning that culminates with a total fast on the Ninth of Av, which this year coincides with Sunday, Aug. 10.

One of the customary practices in these nine days is the avoidance of meat: it's the way we commemorate the destruction of the Temple, where daily animal sacrifices were once brought.

Refraining from food is symbolic, of course. The idea is not just to avoid meat but to limit ourselves so that we can better focus on the spiritual.

Kosher Cookies: Reflections on My Trip to Postville

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:26:28 -0400

Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman

[Postville, Iowa, is the town where an allegedly kosher meatpacking company tortured many of the animals it was supposed to be slaughtering painlessly and abused and oppressed hundreds of its workers, many of whom were then rounded up as illegal immigrants by Federal police who sent hundreds to prison and deprted hundreds of others. -- ED]

I was standing next to a long table full of neatly arranged trays of cookies when I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw a woman with white hair smiling kindly at me. Noticing my kippah she offered, “The kosher cookies are over here.” She walked me over to another table, this one with cookies in wrapped packages labeled with a hekscher, a kosher symbol. After finishing our march through the tiny town of Postville, Iowa, the hospitality committee of St. Bridget’s Catholic Church was waiting for us, eager to show their appreciation that we had come.

Jewish activists rally in Postville to back Agriprocessors workers

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:32:36 -0400

By Sue Fishkoff
POSTVILLE, Iowa (JTA) -- When busloads of Jews from Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin started pulling up outside St. Bridget’s Catholic Church Sunday morning, and more than 350 people, some sporting yarmulkes, poured out to take part in a big immigration rally planned for the afternoon, locals noticed.

“We weren’t expecting so many Jews to show up,” said Alicia Lopez.

A Mexican native and former employee of Agriprocessors, the nation’s largest kosher meat plant, Lopez was one of nearly 400 undocumented workers arrested in a May 12 immigration raid at the factory.

Jewish Labor Committee condemns abusive employers

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:06:26 -0400

Agriprocessors Statement
Rosalind Spigel, Interim Director
Jewish Labor Committee
July 2, 2008

The Jewish Labor Committee condemns any employer on moral and legal grounds who abuse workers and their rights under the law.

Since first becoming informed two years ago, the JLC has opposed the practices of Agriprocessors with regard to its workers.

Given the workforce at Agriprocessors was largely composed of undocumented workers, the JLC recognizes that these workers need to be brought into compliance with the law and face the legal consequences of their decisions. Equally, we support fair treatment of workers regardless of where they were born. Two employees working side by side are entitled to the same pay and protections under the law.

Open Letter to Postville Owners

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:31:32 -0400

From: Uri L'Tzedek

Lag b’Omer 5768
May 23, 2008
TO: Mr. Aaron Rubashkin
220 N West St
Postville, IA 52162

Dear Mr. Rubashkin,

We write to you out of a deep sense of ahavat Torah and ahavat Yisrael, with both great respect and great concern.

Your company produces 60 percent of the beef and 40 percent of the chicken provided to the kosher marketplace in America. You employ 968 factory employees and serve as a pillar of the food economy. Your generous philanthropy supports moral and significant causes and is a great source of pride for Israel and Jewish institutions around the world. You are an important and respected leader of the Jewish community.