JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

Gutkind sees Jerusalem through a writer’s eyes

By Uriel Heilman · August 21, 2008

In the following podcast, author Lee Gutkind, whose most recent book is "Almost Human: Making Robots Think," speaks with JTA Israel correspondent Dina Kraft about seeing Jerusalem through a writer's eyes.

Gutkind, who has been dubbed "the godfather of creative non-fiction" by Vanity Fair, has performed as a clown for Ringling Brothers, scrubbed in with heart transplant surgeons, traveled with a crew of baseball umpires, and seen the U.S. on a motorcycle — all as research for his more than a dozen books, and numerous profiles and essays.

In Jerusalem, he says, "there are stories everywhere." He was in Israel this month to teach a writing seminar hosted by Bar-Ilan University's Shaindy Rudoff graduate program in creative writing.

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Postville kosher supervisor denies report of walkout

By Ben Harris · August 21, 2008

The top kosher supervisor at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Rabbi Menachem Weissmandl, is denying reports that some of his rabbis staged a walkout yesterday in frustration over reduced pay. The Jewish Star reports that Weissmandl "denied emphatically" that the rabbis "staged any sort of job action Wednesday."

Weissmandl admits, however, the essential details of what was reported – there have been delays in payments to the supervisors, work shifts (and thus total income) for the rabbis have been reduced, a complaint was made to management about it yesterday, and production was interrupted as a result. Weissmandl says what took place was an impromptu "conversation" that the rabbis engaged in when they spotted Heshy Rubashkin on the production floor. He said the conversation should have happened after hours and called it "shlemazeldik" – not sure exactly what that means, but shlemazel is Yiddish for "unlucky person."

In general, a fee for kosher supervision is paid to a certifying agency who then hires the rabbis who provide the supervision – in this case Agriprocessors pays Weissmandl who then hires the supervisors, who are technically considered his employees. The Star reports that the company has met its financial obligations to Weissmandl in a "timely" manner. He would not say, though, whether it is he or Agriprocessors that directly pays the kosher supervisors.

3 Comments | Share This | Agriprocessors, Kashrut |

Agriprocessors walkout

By Ben Harris · August 20, 2008

News out of Postville today was that kosher supervisors at Agriprocessors, upset by fewer shifts and reduced pay, had staged a walkout. Though we were unable to get in touch with any supervisors, the company has more or less confirmed the essential details of the story. Our brief on the subject is here.

What's clear from this episode is that more than three months after the massive federal immigration raid on May 12, Agriprocessors is still well below its previous production levels, so much so that there isn't enough work for the supervisors. What's less clear is whether the company is having such significant cash flow problems that it is behind in payments to the supervisors. This isn't entirely implausible, given that the company is not only facing much decreased revenues but also increased labor and legal costs. Agri has had to up its hourly wage to attract new workers and the staffing companies they have hired are surely taking a nice cut as well.

Here's company spokesman Menachem Lubinsky's explanation of what went down today:

It is no secret that Agriprocessors was forced to cut back production of meat and poultry after more than 1/3 of its labor force was seized in a May 12th raid by ICE. While the company has made big strides in hiring new workers and restoring production, it is still significantly behind May 12th levels. For the kosher slaughterers (shochtim) and rabbis, this has meant not being able to work multiple shifts and a 6-day work week, cutting into their ability to make more money, while also making do with the company's policy of a lag time in their paychecks. This morning, the rabbis staged a brief 30 minute walk-out to air their grievances. After quick negotiations with Heshy Rubashkin and Rabbi Weissmandl [the chief supervising rabbi], they were satisfied with management's response and returned to work. The rabbis are, of course, hoping for a resumption of pre-May 12th production, which would again offer them the opportunities they had before. Agriprocessors is committed to make every effort to restore full production so that the rabbis can again enjoy the working conditions that attracted them to Postville in the first place.

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Parsing the Russian-Georgian conflict

By Lisa Hostein · August 20, 2008

JTA's Grant Slater, on the ground in Georgia, talks to JTA Senior Editor Lisa Hostein about the conflict, the Jewish rescue and relief effort and the debate over who's responsible for the current mess.

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Show me the money!!

By Ben Harris · August 20, 2008

I asked Rabby Fully Eisenberger, one of the sources for my story yesterday about paying Jewish students to study Torah, for a photo to go along with the piece.

He sent us this one.

Not sure exactly what this is intended to illustrate – perhaps Plan B if the $500 dollar incentive isn't enough?

On a related (and slightly more serious) note, the New York Times reports today on a city program to reward students with cash who score well on advanced placement exams. The program, which is privately financed and runs in 31 schools, pays out $1,000 to students who score a 5 on the exam (the highest mark possible), $750 for a 4, and $500 for a 3.

Not bad. But as the Times points out, the number who passed the exam actually declined in the year the program has been running, even though 345 more tests were taken in 2008.

I bring the story up because it was mentioned in my conversation with Randy Cohen, the resident ethicist at the Times. Cohen's point was that financial incentives in education are fairly common. The question is not whether they're ethical – which Cohen says they are – but whether they work.

Fair enough, but it's also worth noting the New York program is trying to incentivize excellence, while the programs described in my story are just trying to get people to show up. The lesson of the New York program may be students will sit through a class for $500, but that doesn't mean they actually absorb anything.

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How Israel wins

By Alison Klayman · August 20, 2008

Not surprisingly, Israel's first medal of the Beijing Olympics was not won in Beijing, but rather in Qingdao, where the Sailing competition is being held.

In recent days, many Israelis in China have flocked to Qingdao in hopes of seeing better results than they had in Beijing.

Shahar Zubari was able to clinch the bronze after finishing second in the the RS:X (Windsurfer) medal race on Wednesday, August 20. China was so excited for Israel, the official Xinhua news service even wrote a story about Olmert calling to congratulate Zubari.

After Uriel Heilman posted a list about Top Ten excuses from Israeli Olympians for not winning, I thought it was appropriate to see the way that Israeli Olympians talk after they win.

Quotes from bronze medalist Shahar Zubari from the Olympic News Service:

""I feel so happy. I'm only 20 and I feel like a superstar, with all the media paying attention to me. I even painted my nails especially for this event."

(At least his parents are trying to keep his feet on the ground, according to this Haaretz profile, where his mother Vered says, "It has always been and continues to be important to us to not let success get to his head.")

As for his Wednesday night celebration plans:

"I'm going to get drunk."

2 Comments | Share This | Beijing Olympics, Sports |

Huckabee on Jerusalem

By Uriel Heilman · August 19, 2008

JTA Israel correspondent Dina Kraft interviews former Gov. Mike Huckabee during his two-day visit to Israel.

The former GOP presidential candidate is visiting Israel courtesy of the Jerusalem Reclamation Project, the U.S. fund-raising arm for Ateret Cohanim, a Jewish organization that buys Arab properties in eastern Jerusalem to boost the Jewish presence in Arab neighborhoods of the city.

Critics say organizations like Ateret Cohanim are an obstacle to peace, making it more difficult for the Israeli and Palestinians to divide sovereignty over Jerusalem.

But Huckabee says bringing Jews into Arab neighborhoods is good for eastern Jerusalem. He also says he doubts a two-state solution ever will solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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2 Comments | Share This | Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Jerusalem, Podcast, Politics |

The News Shticker

By Uriel Heilman · August 19, 2008

• Kenneth Cole features what is probably the first hasidic Jew in a Kenneth Cole ad:
• Oy gevalt, you should only know how many Yiddish and Hebrew influences have found their way into American English already, writes the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a piece on the upcoming Survey of North American Jewish Language by linguist Sarah Bunin Benor sociologist Steven M. Cohen, faculty members at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
• On JTA Election Central, Eric Fingerhut asks whether a typo in an Associated Press report on vice presidential speculation unconsciously channels the feelings of many Democrats about Joe Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic VP pick.
• Australia's The Age newspaper discovers the "double mitzvah" of Friday night.
• The Jerusalem Post ran a story about how the haredi followers of Rabbi Aharon Leib Steinman say the fighting in Georgia stopped as soon as Georgia's prime minister got a blessing by phone from the rabbi.
• U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice wants to see Saudi women compete in the Olympic Games. Those burkas might make it a bit difficult in the pool and on the uneven bars, however.
• Linday Lohan's dad confirmed his daughter is considering converting to Judaism. "She's exploring right now. She's explored the Church of Scientology, she tried Kabbalah, and now this," said Michael Lohan. "I think it's just another phase. But either way, she's involving God in her life, and I'm happy about that."
• The Press-Enterprise of San Bernardino, Calif., reports on the uncertain future of a local synagogue.

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Defending Helen Thomas

By Ami Eden · August 19, 2008

Yesterday we flagged Tom Shales' review of the new HBO short on Helen Thomas, the dean of the White House press corps. Most notably, he knocked the film for dodging Thomas' criticisms of Israel and America's pro-Jerusalem policies.

Well, today, Greg Mitchell, editor of Editor & Publisher, slams Shales and defends Thomas:

In suggesting that the Rory Kennedy HBO documentary on Helen Thomas performed "cosmetic surgery" on the legendary reporter's alleged major "flaw" – a rabid anti-Israel bias – Tom Shales of The Washington Post revealed, instead, what the Thomases of the world are up against in the media. To criticize Israel at all in the U.S. media generally provokes this kind of outraged and outrageous response. Of course, in Israel itself, Israelis criticize their own government and policies all the time.

Shales accuses Thomas of "stridency in criticizing Israel and defending its enemies" but offers no evidence. There might well be a few quotes out there that would make my head explode, but I'd like to see them.

Mitchell proceeds with a point-by-point rebuttal to Shales' piece. In the end, though, what he seems to be saying is that Thomas stood out in her criticisms of Israel, but in a good way – reflecting not ideological zealotry but the general "persistence, tenacity and guts" that she demonstrates in her job (and was praised by Shales in his review).

"One reason" Thomas is such a good example of these stellar journalistic traits, Mitchell argues, is that "she dares to criticize Israel, just like her colleagues – in the Israeli press."

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More on the Andy Neff minyan

By Uriel Heilman · August 19, 2008

After reading JTA's column by a Bear Stearns "refugee" that includes a story about a mincha minyan at Bear Stearns moving over to J.P. Morgan when Bear collapsed, the editorialists at The New York Sun note the irony of the once-anti-Semitic "House of Morgan" hosting a daily Jewish prayer service.

Andrew Neff's piece in JTA, the Sun's editorialists write,

...sent us scurrying to our bookshelf to retrieve a copy of Ron Chernow's book, "The House of Morgan," which speaks of a "strain of anti-Semitism running through the Morgan story" and quotes an early biographer of J. Pierpont Morgan as writing that "He had a deep-seated anti-Semitic prejudice and on more than one occasion needlessly antagonized great Jewish banking firms." The Chernow book goes on to report that as late as the 1970s, Arab oil potentates prized Morgan Guaranty's "resolutely Christian past (the bank had no high-ranking Jewish officer until the 1980s)."

Count this latest turn as one of the many ways that capitalism is conducive to overcoming prejudice. And an example of how New York derives its energy and success from the way it has functioned as a place where minority groups can participate in great institutions without surrendering their identities or their faith.

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