tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811301296967331254.post7731194164153989351..comments2023-08-07T06:24:57.715-07:00Comments on peepleofthebook: Raid Unsettles Kosher BeliefsRob Hoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211809421832142963noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811301296967331254.post-23535989066005546312008-07-01T11:02:00.000-07:002008-07-01T11:02:00.000-07:00Just and KosherAn Uneeded Redundancy, a Financial ...Just and Kosher<BR/>An Uneeded Redundancy, a Financial Burden, and an Opportunistic Venture<BR/><BR/>By: Wolf Blachore<BR/><BR/>Change for change’s sake is a flawed argument doomed to failure. The motivation behind any successful cause campaign stems largely from events fresh in the minds of the targeted public. Without an urgency looming, the cause is likely doomed to failure in a wastefully prolonged struggle that eventually vexes the public. Activism needs a cause, but even more, it needs the motivation; without the latter, there is no reason for change.<BR/><BR/>The case of Agriprocessors in Postville, IA, a large national kosher meat producer, is a prime example of politics being played and activism being employed for the sake of a cause that may indeed have little to do with the situation in Postville itself. The call for a new breed of kosher certification, one that steps beyond the pages of Biblical scripture and into the realm of the ever evolving, is the cause; the situation that Agriprocessors finds itself in now, following the largest illegal immigrant raid in U.S. history that took place at the company’s Postville, Iowa plant, is the motivation.<BR/><BR/>Is the cause just? Is the call for a kosher certification that employs the term Tzedek (righteousness) - a cause that has already started rumors and gossip, has harmed reputations, can potentially destroy the economy of a small town, has spurned a fight between streams of Jews, and even within the streams itself, and that is backed by a bizarre cross-section of supporters who may have never come together before – one that needs to be heard?<BR/><BR/>There has been a rush to judgment against this large producer of kosher meat. For its part, Agriprocessors has broadened the availability of kosher meat across the country in every direction. To get there, during its 20-year history, the company employed thousands of people, some of whom were illegal immigrants in the U.S. In addition there is the argument that the company has had numerous worker safety issues, employee harassment complaints, health code violations and other concerns. Some of these are genuine matters that need fixing, while others are part and parcel of the type of work, the nature of the staff and the size of the workforce – hence, issues that are unfortunate, but not necessarily programmatic policies of the company or its management team.<BR/><BR/>It should be known, that to date, there are no charges of any kind, just innuendo, hearsay and saber rattling for a cause.<BR/><BR/>The players in this game have primarily been People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA); a labor union that is attempting to unionize the plant; a Conservative Jewish rabbi attempting to create a new kosher certification called Heksher Tzedek (Justice based kosher certification); and group of students from the liberal Orthodox rabbinical New York school Chochvei Torah who wish to form an Orthodox kosher certification call Uri L’Tzedek (Awaken to Justice).<BR/><BR/>Each group seems to have its own agenda, but when agendas converge, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” PETA wants to ban kosher slaughter; heck, it wants to ban animal slaughter altogether and have us all embrace vegetarianism.<BR/><BR/>The union wants the plant to organize.<BR/><BR/>Rabbi Morris Allen, the Conservative Rabbi, sees a golden opportunity to get in on the business of kashrut and begin what he views as a universally accepted kosher certification that can rival those of the existing Orthodox ones.<BR/><BR/>Finally, the Yeshiva Chochvei Torah, is trying to use this as the wedge to open the door to acceptance and no longer be in the shadow of Yeshiva University.<BR/><BR/>This is not a battle against one kosher meat producer. It’s an attack by converging agendas; socialist, liberal vegetarianism, and opportunist (The start a new financially driven kosher-standard), all the while interfering with a capitalistic system. Let it also be clear that the two people leading the efforts behind the different “T’Zedek” movements, Shmuly Yanklowitz of Chochvei and Rabbi Morris Allen are themselves vegetarians, and together with PETA, they’re in similar company; hardly the ones to objectively pursue a cause that will effectively raise the prices of meat and potentially reduce the current widespread availability of kosher meat within this country.<BR/><BR/>Certainly Agriprocessors needs some fixing, but that is not the issue. PETA can wage its own war against a meat processor, and we can all be sure that it will. Agriprocessors is but one in the sea of many that it must contend with. The labor union can and will fight to unionize, PETA/Rabbi coalition or not. That leaves us with the pressing fight taking hold - arena of kosher supervision and holy wars between and among the different streams in Judaism.<BR/><BR/>Rabbi Allen organized a group of Bnai Brith teens who then issued a press release calling for rallies and an “avoidance” (not a boycott) of Agriprocessors’ meat from their camps without doing the just thing and asking for more information. In the news release, the teen leaders quoted newspaper stories as their source of valid information. That is like suggesting that The New York Times’ accounts of news on Israel is reality. Is this the right thing to do, rather than searching for the truth or the solution the problem? Is their “avoidance” for the purpose of getting Agriprocessors to shape up or is it to put them out of business?<BR/><BR/>Uri L’Tzedek claims to have 1,500 signatures garnered from the Internet and email polling. Seeing that there are hundreds of thousands of kosher eating Jews in the United States, 1,500 is hardly a sampling.<BR/><BR/>So what is Tzedek and how is it to be meted out in terms of kosher laws? Will justice mean merely that a company must treat its workers nicely? Will it mean to keep employee and financial dealings in accordance with federal, state and local laws? It will be nearly impossible to accomplish. Almost every business or entrepreneur has some area where he is playing financial games with taxes, cash, charitable donations and employee issues. Will there be a limit as to how much of a law “bender” one can be to be considered a Tzedek Tdzadik (Righteous person)? Will Agriprocessors be expected to maintain perfection, but small grocery stores and restaurants in which the dishwashers, stockroom clerks, cooks and janitors may be illegal can get a “Tzedek” free pass? Will other slaughterhouses be called to task, or dairy producers and candy makers? Whose morality will they be expected to uphold? Mine? Yours? Rabbi Allen’s? Mr. Yanklowitz’?<BR/><BR/>It would seem to be a highly subjective feat getting everyone together on one ideal; and a great challenge to see the rule book remain unchanged as business owners complain that it is too onerous, or as consumers ease their ideal requirements to fill their true needs, and as the need to fund the oversight increases.<BR/><BR/>As it remains, we’re not at this point yet, because the excitement of knocking the Iowa plant to pave the way for this Tzedek undertaking is just too great. Ask yourself this question: When the dust settles, Agriprocessors and its compliance professionals bring the company up to speed, and everyone can get their meat again as they did before, how robust will the call and drive for Tzedek be then?<BR/><BR/>The truth is that many meat processors have similar issues like those affecting Agriprocessors, yet Agriprocessors became the sacrificial lamb (pun fully intended) because of its size, growth and market dominance in both the kosher and non kosher industries. Frankly, it was an easy target that perhaps also painted the target on itself. For PETA, there is no kind way to kill an animal, and for the faint of heart, there are not many people in the United States who want those kinds of jobs.<BR/><BR/>Agriprocessors hired people who needed jobs, and now they are looking to the homeless; offering them jobs, residences and a chance to get back up. That is Tzedek that you do not see too often, and it matters not that it may be rooted in necessity rather than philanthropy. Jobs are jobs, and a second chance is priceless.<BR/><BR/>Before you join efforts to judge and execute, take a look at the issue, the source and the whole picture. A Heksher Tzedek is unrealistic. The marketplace, we the consumers, are smart enough to know what we want, and our own desire to buy a product, patronize an establishment or find an alternative, can guide a company’s fate. The success of the Toyota Prius is a prime example. Few automakers had the gumption to move toward hybrids quickly, so it was the consumers who helped push the giants to move faster.<BR/><BR/>We must not allow some organization or group to legislate Tzedek for us. It will never conform to anything any individual could ever live up to or even believes he must. Legislating religion is bad politics, and bad policy. Kosher certification needs to be transparent, but the principles of kosher do not need to be changed.<BR/><BR/>###<BR/><BR/>Wolf Blachore is a sociologist who has a specialty in Jewish history and activism. He has published several articles on the evolution of Jewish laws and lores.Black Wolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11386442210031037477noreply@blogger.com