Postville, IA – A group of high-profile rabbis on Monday will visit Sholom Rubashkin, the former CEO of Agriprocessors being held at the Dubuque County Jail, and then address the issues surrounding his detainment.
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The rabbis will be accompanied by Rubashkin’s attorney, Guy Cook, of Des Moines law firm Grefe & Sidney.
Rubashkin is being held on federal charges of harboring illegal immigrants, document fraud, identity theft and bank fraud. Rubashkin was denied bail Dec. 22.
Federal authorities argue that Rubashkin poses a flight risk, in part because of the Law of Return — Israeli legislation enacted in 1950 that gives Jews and those of Jewish ancestry, as well as their spouses, the right to migrate to and settle in Israel and gain citizenship. Rubashkin’s supporters say the argument is unjust.
The former CEO presided over a kosher meatpacking company that was the subject of one of the biggest immigration busts in U.S. history.
Hatzlacha Rabba! We as a people must work to get R’ Sholom out of jail. you are always in my thoughts
Unfortunately the prison is probably the biggest and only employer in town
untill he shows some type of remorse for what he did the prosecutors will not let himgo so easily . everyone except rubashkin knows he did wrong and this is one of the reasons he is being held. tell rubashkin not to be such an akshin
Curious to know which Rabonim these are that are going there. Indeed it behooves me that a Shomer Torah u’Mitzvohs is rotting in jail without being tried in Court. What are they waiting for? bring him to Court and be fair about it. Of course we”ll then know who’s really behind this as we see whose trial lawyers speak up against him etc. May the Almighty have Rachmanus on him and his family and kay see the err in his ways and pay a penalty and get on with his life.
Do these “High Profile Rabbis” have names anyone would know?
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Yes, he HAD a day in court. He was re-arrested later, and denied bail do to his own misbehavior.
His attorneys wanted this delay to help prepare a case.
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Yes, as a Heimshe Yid, I want a fellow Heimishe Yid to get out of jail. BUT, to be honest, he is not being help unjustly. If I were the judge, I would have ruled the same way.
Mr Anonymous #7 :
*sigh*
I see that you write such sarcasm just to get your word out on a web site.
LOL!
you should have better things to do then to bash this man.
This is someone who worked everyday to provide food for his family!
You seem the type that sits a whole day and “learns in kollel” while the food for your family is being provided [ONLY] through government programs.
We unfortately have a very corrupt government and the news all over proverp it but looks like they spill it on innocent individuals they’re jealous of.
Yes, I am ready to put up my house, 100%.
there are HUNDREDS of pple in NY ready to do that.
there is noone that knows rubashkin that thinks he will run away. he is committed to his family, extended family and community at large. he has never hurt a single yid and is a tremendous baal tzedaka. (and he is too well connected and too well known to even pull it off)
That’s not the issue, the judge won’t accept.
95% of the lubavitch community will do whatever they can.
but this is an act of anti semitism against us ALL, and they are not accepting the millions of dollars worth of bail security.
Bernie Madoff was out on bail, but did things that made the judge nervous. He should have learned from Sholom Rubashkin.
to #18
How in the world can you call another Jew such a name?
You do not understand anything.
Everyone is entitled to an attorney who will advocate for him, no matter how guilty he is (or is not) but it is the job of attorney to defend those who are (accused of being) guilty.
If an Attorney takes on a case, to defend even the biggest criminal, there is no shame in it because someone has to do it and it’s the job of an attorney to do this (dirty) work.
But when “rabbis” try and play “attorney” and when “rabbis” try and defend their own kind, it reflects badly on them, that they are doing it only because he is “one of them”, one of their own kind of “frum” and that’s makes it a Chilul Hashem and does not look good in the press and makes all yidden look bad (that we are all crooks because our LEADERS deffend crooks at all costs).
There are thousands of Yidden who are in jail and many others without bail too. Why aren’t these “rabbis”s taking pictures for the press (just for show) to visit them too?
The answer is obvious and that’s why it is a major Chilul Hashem, what these “rabbis” are doing here.
Devorah, Shetichye
Sholom Mordechai is facing a very long drawn out case. He may be facing a good part of the rest of his life in prison. The case must be handled with a focus on the long picture, not on the immediate.
He will have another day in court in 8 months. Yes, those are months which I cry to realize SM will spend in Jail. But, it seems that is where he will be.
More important is to see how to help at his TRIAL, how to help his attorneys prepare the best case they can. Once that trial is over, he will be, lo alainu, sentenced if convicted. After that, there will be no bail anyway.
The time spent in jail now, is likely to come off as “time served” from his prison term, so it is not thrown out time.
I really hope he is exonerated and acquitted on all charges. However, with all the charges, especially the big on with the bank, that is really asking for a big one (smile)… but I hope it comes true anyway.
I am trying to say, that we may have to face the fact that SM will be spending some time in prison after all the legal stuff is over. This time will come off that. In fact, he may prefer this jail to the prison he may have to spend time in eventually.
So, instead of tilting at windmills, complaining about a bail situation which has already been appealed and lost, we need to focus on how to minimize the likelihood of convictions, and if convicted, minimizing his eventual sentences.
There may come a time when a judge will have a choice to give him sentences for each of these many, many counts. If the judge is in the right frame of mind, SM can daven for him to sentence him to have the sentences run concurrently. So, if he gets, let’s say for example, ten 3-year sentences. The Judge may have a choice of making them consecutive, meaning 30 years, G-d forbid, or concurrent, meaning only 3 years.
I want to see SMR face a judge who is not totally agry and hateful at the time of sentencing.
Also, throughout the trial, the Judge will have many opportunities to allow evidence or not allow. Again, we want him in an objective mood.
I do not believe further harrassment from us AT THIS TIME will do Sholom Mordechai any good. I do believe it MAY hurt him in the long run.
Also, keep in mind, there is likely to be a Jury trial. How angry we make the residents of Iowa is how angry these jurors will be. I hope he faces a non-angry jury.
That is why you always see me wish we would all stop making such loud noises in trying to get him out today. I think about the long run.
The other guy above called me a goy for not having rachmonus. WRONG. I am thinking about a wife and 10 kinderlach. Do I want them to get their Tatti and husband back for 8 months, then loose him for 30+ years? Or lose him for 8 months and maybe get a shorter sentence.
That is why I say, If I were the judge I would make the same decision. Why? because he, Judge Scoles IS working with information, evidence, and information given him by both sides, and needs to make a decision. With the evidence he is given, he made a normal decision. Not an anti-semitic one, not a biased one, not an unfair one. He is a good judge. Understand? Are you reading between the lines?
you ask who are the rabbis going to visit SMR, i will bet you it is none of those who took his money ie the OU, CHK, KAJ, or that other holy guy. they seem to have gone into hidding, but their still cashing the checks. these rabbis will do more harm than good, their in it for free PR, perhaps they are looking for new jobs! stay the hell at home worry about your community, give the money to your local school to pay teachers, or help a family with a food basket isn’t that what you should really be doing? the world has enough problems without you guys causing more.
I just returned from a tehillim gathering for a person who was hit by a car, and seriously injured, while jaywalking. Although the person was breaking the law and careless, we nevertheless offered our prayers and offered assistance and emotional support to the family. It is not for us to judge whether or not the person “deserved” the injuried but it is simply our role to offer help, support, and prayers.
I don’t think that it is a chillul Hashem to offer prayers, assistance, and rabbinical counseling to someone who is accused of a crime and is sitting in jail. It doesn’t mean that we agree with the crime that the person is accused of. If we are capable of reducing the person’s sentence or getting him into a better situation, I don’t think that we appear to be agreeing with the crime. I think that if anyone here chas v’sholem had a family member in that situation, you would do everything possible to get that loved one home as soon as possible, regardless of public opinion. If anything, the non-Jews will realize that Jews stand by their brethren.
Bail was in order. He did not follow the proper behavior while on bail. The day he was released on bail, he told his managers at AGRI to destroy incriminating records. That violated the rules of his bail.
He was about to re re-arrested on the bank fraud charge, and knew it. The police arrived to arrest him, and discovered a suitcase with $20,000 in cash, and his birth certificates, and his children’s passports. They were not in his safe. That was open, and all this was in a packed suitcase.
When these two factors were presented to Judge Scoles what in the world was he supposed to do? He had no choice.
There is no argument in the world which would convince a judge to give bail under these conditions. The first incident is proof of his not following bail restrictions, the second is certainly a good reason to make any sane, normal judge fear a flight risk.
As far as his conditions now…
He is in Jail. He is treated like a prisoner. This is not New York. Some jails and prisons are not nice places. Many have strict rules and regulations, and certainly deprive the person of the luxuries we grow to believe are “rights.”
In jail we do not have these “rights.”
I am sure he is being treated as any other inmate is being treated in that facility. Many have set shower times, and only for a limited duration. Some allow a long 15 min shower, others 5 min! Some give long showers to well behaved inmates, and some allow even more than once a day. Depending on the facility, the state of crowding, and the status of the inmate.
If you tick off the officers, you will not like your stay in jail or prison. (smile) [DUH]
Do you believe the warden of this facility or the officers are not aware that all Jewish eyes are on how they are treating SMR? I am sure they are crossing every “T” and dotting every “i” making sure they give him everything he is entitled to.
Of course, he may not be satisfied with that. But he is not at a fancy hotel. He is in Jail. It is not fun in Jail.
Judge Scoles is NOT Haman, and SMR is not Mordechai. Scoles is doing his job, and I am sure he is doing it to the letter of the law. In fact, I am sure he asked for advice from other judges on this one. Just to cover himself.
I really daven for him to be acquited. That would be wonderful. But to make believe that WILL happen is foolish. Faith in Hashem is one thing. Faith that this man, this friend/brother of ours is really innocent, is not the same as faith in Hashem.
“Federal authorities argue that Rubashkin poses a flight risk, in part because of the Law of Return …”
And to post #31
If you read the Judge’s ruling you would know that the Law of Return played a very minor role in the Judge’s decision not to grant bail. Of much greater weight was a) he violated the rules of his previous bail release, and: b) A travel bag filled with passports, birth certificates and money was found in his bedroom. Those were the critical elements in deciding not to grant SMR bail. Under the circumstances the Judge could not have done anything other then deny bail.
Of much greater concern for the frum community is the farce that will happen tomorrow. It is good that people are visiting SR in jail. But as someone noted on another blog if they hold a press conference afterward they will make this into a three-ring circus and bring scorn and contempt down on the Jewish community for mocking a judges well reasoned decision.
Keep in mind three people, two of them indicted, associated with this scandal have fled the country. Only a fool would not take steps to insure another person does not do the same, and the best way to insure they face justice is to deny them bail.
Mandrowitz and Rubashkin? How dare you put the two in the same paragraph? All you so called religious people doesn’t the Torah say not to judge someone else? Love a fellow jew like you love yourself? Do you pick and choose what laws you want to obey? I guarantee you if any one of you came to Sholom Mordechai for ANYTHING he would give and do wholeheartledy without casting judgement or asking questions. Who gives any one of you a right to cast judgement? What audacity! I don’t call you Jewish. Jewish people are supposed to have pitiful hearts. All I see is stone. And that is the biggest chilul hashem. Forget how the other nations see you. How about how another Jew sees you? In the black communities if one of their own God forbid murders someone they all go out to unite and protest for their fellow brother. What does our community do? Forget support. or even keeping their mouth shut, they condemn! How sick? How Pathetic? What a sad day for the Jewish people. I am so glad I do not live amongst any of you. It would sicken me.
NO one should be calling for the continued incarceration of Rubashkin. That is utterly ridiculous. We should be united a sone voice in hoping for his immediate release.
While I do not subscribe to the opinions of those who believe this is an anti semitic conspiracy, and while I also believe the RUbashkins made some serious errors in judgment, I point out that we all have, although perhaps on a less public scale. But I can’t believe there is a single Jew out there who wants to see this man separated from his wife and children for even another hour.
#62
What we all want – and demand – is justice.
In order to insure that justice will be done the Judge has determined that it is in the interest of society that Shalom Rubashkin remain in jail until his trial. And, because he must remain in jail, my heart goes out to his family.
Some people are trying to view this through the lens of vistimhood – this is something being done to us by others.
Nothing could be further from the truth. This has happened because of what Shalom Rubashkin and other members of his family have done to themselves. Accepting responsibility for oneself and ones actions is part of being an adult. For some reason many in our frum community want to find someone else to blame. After all, if we are all tzaddikim, HaShem would never allow a frum yid to do such things. Therefore it must have been caused by anti-Semites or “others.”
Sorry this is not the case.
Devorah, check your reading comp skills. I have consistently derided those that cry antisemitism and support the PETA / ICE / Boogeyman conspiracy theory. I have also put forth the opinion that much of what will ultimately come of this case will indicate anything from poor judgment to corporate misconduct as the root cause. And there is a strong undercurrent of arrogance in much of what the Rubashkin’s have put out there. But I defy you to find any post where I took an iota of joy out of SMR’s incarceration.
While I believe the Scoles decision to be based in Law and opinions like Boteach’s to be far fetched and even reckless – I would only hope on a personal level for the soonest release of SMR regardless of the outcome of the case.
I would also point out that as a maimon and a believer in HKBH, I must accept that if the reality is what it is then it is the Will of HKBH and part of His cheshbonos.
From Dubuque paper today: News You Can Use
At 2 p.m., a group of rabbis will publicly call for Sholom Rubashkin’s release on the Iowa Street side of the Dubuque County Jail.
The rabbis, who represent several prominent Jewish organizations, will explain why they believe the imprisonment is discriminatory against Jews.
Planning to attend are Rabbi David Zwiebel, Agudath Israel of America; Rabbi Pesach Lerner, National Council of Young Israel; Rabbi Yaakov Wasser, Rabbinical Council of America; Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum, Rabbinical Alliance of America, Igud Horabbonim; Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Orthodox Union and Rabbi Shimon Hecht, National Committee for Furtherance of Jewish Education.
Chana Rivka, your posts are as significant or as insignificant as any one else’s. In my world, as well as in America, I can write whatever I want without conforming to your zeitgeist. I reply to you with trepidation, for fear of actually validating your opinions. I intend no such repsect. Preaching, which is your forte, is really not appreciated, at least by me, on this board.