Aaron Rubashkin
Encyclopedia
Abraham Aaron Rubashkin, or Aaron Rubashkin, an ultra-Orthodox Jew
of the Lubavitcher
hasidic
movement born in the Russia
n town Nevel
in the former Soviet Union
, is the owner of a kosher
butcher shop in Brooklyn
, New York
, opened in 1953. He is the head, usually referred to as "patriarch", of the Rubashkin family
, dubbed the "kosher meat dynasty" by The New York Times
, a tight-knit family well known among orthodox Jews in Brooklyn for its wealth and generosity towards Jewish causes, and past or present owner and president of most of the family′s businesses
, many of which have faced legal problems, including Agriprocessors
, once the largest kosher slaughterhouse
and meat-packaging factory
in the United States
, that went into bankruptcy after the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) staged a raid of the plant known as "Postville Raid
".
, 20 percent of them Jews. He is the son of Getzel Rubashkin and his wife Rosa, Lubavicher Hasidim who raised their two sons and daughters as observant Jews in spite of the anti-religious repression in the Soviet Union. When the Germans occupied Nevel in July 1941, the Rubashkin family fled east, eventually reaching the Uzbek
city of Samarkand
, where he got married to Rivka Chazanov, of the Chein family of Nevel. After the war, the Rubashkin family left the Soviet Union via Lemberg and spent time in Austria
, before they settled in Paris
in 1947, where his father ran a grocery shop, and his mother served as a cook at a Jewish girls school, and where he became a butcher. In 1953 the family moved to New York City, where he and his partner opened Lieberman & Rubashkin Glatt Kosher Butchers on 14th Avenue in the Borough Park
section of Brooklyn.
.
than a business, and recommended by The Village Voice, was closed several times for sanitary violations by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
(DOHMH) though, the last time to date on March 3, 2010.
. In 1995 he and his son Moshe were found guilty of collecting union dues
from their employees without sending the collected monies on to the "United Production Workers Union" and ordered to repay the money with interest by the National Labor Relations Board
. Their attorney was banned from practicing before the NLRB for six months.
and meat-packaging factory
Agriprocessors based in Postville
, Iowa
, was owned by Rubashkin and managed by two of his sons and a son-in-law. The distribution centers in Brooklyn and Miami, Florida
, were run by one of his daughters and another of his sons.
Agriprocessors faced several accusations of mistreatment of cattle between 2004 and 2008, was fined $600,000 for violating waste-water regulations in 2006, and $9.99 million for various violations of state labor law in October 2008, including illegally deducting money from employees for safety equipment and failing to pay employees. When the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) had staged a raid
at the Postville plant in May 2008, during which nearly 400 illegal immigrant workers were arrested, Rubashkin said that he "had no idea that his workers were illegal". In September 2008, he, his son Sholom Rubashkin
, as well as the company′s human resources manager, and two office employees were charged for state child labor violations. He was never charged federally, and the state child labor charges against him were dropped in May 2010, and his son was acquitted in state court of knowingly hiring underage workers at the plant in June. However, "Agriprocessors, as a corporation, entered a guilty plea to 83 child labor charges with the footnote that the conviction wasn′t based on the knowledge or intent of Sholom Rubashkin or his father, Abraham 'Aaron' Rubashkin, (and) the plant′s human resources manager pleaded to state child labor charges under an agreement with the state."
On November 5, 2008, Agriprocessors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and was bought at auction
in July 2009.
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
of the Lubavitcher
Chabad
Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
hasidic
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
movement born in the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n town Nevel
Nevel
Nevel is a town and the administrative center of Nevelsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on Lake Nevel southeast of Pskov. Population:...
in the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, is the owner of a kosher
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
butcher shop in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, opened in 1953. He is the head, usually referred to as "patriarch", of the Rubashkin family
Rubashkin family
The Rubashkin family is a family of American ultra-Orthodox Jews of the Lubavitcher Hasidic movement of Brooklyn, New York, headed by Aaron Rubashkin. Members of the family were or are active in various family businesses, most of them in the family's main business, kosher meat, for which they...
, dubbed the "kosher meat dynasty" by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, a tight-knit family well known among orthodox Jews in Brooklyn for its wealth and generosity towards Jewish causes, and past or present owner and president of most of the family′s businesses
Family business
A family business is a business in which one or more members of one or more families have a significant ownership interest and significant commitments toward the business’ overall well-being....
, many of which have faced legal problems, including Agriprocessors
Agriprocessors
Agriprocessors was the corporate identity of a slaughterhouse and meat-packaging factory based in Postville, Iowa, best known as a facility for the glatt kosher processing of cattle, as well as chicken, turkey, duck, and lamb. Agriprocessors' meat and poultry products were marketed under the brand...
, once the largest kosher slaughterhouse
Slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...
and meat-packaging factory
Meat packing industry
The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, that went into bankruptcy after the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security , responsible for identifying, investigating, and dismantling vulnerabilities regarding the nation's border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security...
(ICE) staged a raid of the plant known as "Postville Raid
Postville Raid
The Postville Raid was a raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. kosher slaughterhouse and meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa, USA on May 12, 2008, executed by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the Department of Homeland Security together with other agencies. The raid was the...
".
Early life
Abraham Aaron Rubashkin was born in the late 1920s in Nevel, a Russian town with a population of approximately 15,000 at the eve of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, 20 percent of them Jews. He is the son of Getzel Rubashkin and his wife Rosa, Lubavicher Hasidim who raised their two sons and daughters as observant Jews in spite of the anti-religious repression in the Soviet Union. When the Germans occupied Nevel in July 1941, the Rubashkin family fled east, eventually reaching the Uzbek
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
city of Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
, where he got married to Rivka Chazanov, of the Chein family of Nevel. After the war, the Rubashkin family left the Soviet Union via Lemberg and spent time in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, before they settled in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1947, where his father ran a grocery shop, and his mother served as a cook at a Jewish girls school, and where he became a butcher. In 1953 the family moved to New York City, where he and his partner opened Lieberman & Rubashkin Glatt Kosher Butchers on 14th Avenue in the Borough Park
Borough Park, Brooklyn
Borough Park , is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City in the United States....
section of Brooklyn.
Family
The couple has nine children, five daughters and four sons, and many grand- and great-grandchildren.- Chana Zelda Minkowicz-Rubashkin ∞ Sholom Dov Ber Minkowicz, Agriprocessors
- Chayala Gourarie-Rubashkin ∞ Yossie Gourarie, Agriprocessors
- Gutol Goldman-Rubashkin, Shemesh, Inc ∞ Chaim Leiter ∞ Jay Goldman
- Heshy Zvi Rubashkin, senior officer at Agriprocessors′ Postville plant ∞ Basya Rubashkin-Wuensch
- Moshe RubashkinMoshe RubashkinMoshe Rubashkin, , an ultra-Orthodox Jew of the Lubavitcher hasidic movement, is a former Chairman of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council , a private, nonprofit social service organization in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York that receives $2 million per annum in state funding for community...
, Cherry Hill & Montex Textiles ∞ Faige Rubashkin-Friedman, CHJCC- Sholom Rubashkin, Supreme Realty, LLC, CHJCC ∞ Raizel Rubashkin-Vishedsky
- Rochel Leah Rosenfeld-Rubashkin, Crown Deli ∞ Yosef Rosenfeld
- Sara Balkany-Rubashkin ∞ Yehoshua Milton BalkanyMilton BalkanyMilton Yehoshua Balkany is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, past director of the Jewish girls′ school Bais Yaakov of Midwood, conservative political activist and fundraiser from Brooklyn, New York, dubbed “the Brooklyn Bundler”....
, Borough Park rabbi - Sholom M. RubashkinSholom RubashkinSholom Mordechai Rubashkin , an ultra-Orthodox Jew of the Lubavitcher Hasidic movement, is a former executive officer and vice president of Agriprocessors, a now-bankrupt slaughterhouse and meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa formerly owned by his father, Aaron Rubashkin...
, senior officer at Agriprocessors′ Postville plant ∞ Leah Rubashkin-Goldman- Getzel Rubashkin, Agriprocessors ∞ Chana Rubashkin-Jusewitz
- Roza Hindy Weiss-Rubashkin ∞ Yaakov Weiss
- Yossi Rubashkin, Agriprocessors, Shemesh, Inc ∞ Bella Rubashkin-Dubrowski
- Hindy Light-Rubashkin ∞ Nochum Light, CHJCC
Family businesses
Although best known for his role in the kosher meat business, Rubashkin also invested in the textile industry and in real estate. Three generations, including in-laws, have been involved in the tight-knit family′s business venturesFamily business
A family business is a business in which one or more members of one or more families have a significant ownership interest and significant commitments toward the business’ overall well-being....
.
Rubashkin′s
Rubashkin′s, the butcher shop on 14th Avenue in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, which Rubashkin opened in 1953 with his partner Alter Lieberman is still run by him. His office on the second floor is said to be the center, from where he is overseeing his various businesses. Rubashkin′s was also one of the names, under which the kosher meat produced by Agriprocessors' was marketed.Crown Deli
Crown Deli on 13th Avenue in Brooklyn, a restaurant run by Rubashkin′s wife Rivka since the 1960s, described by some as more of a soup kitchenSoup kitchen
A soup kitchen, a bread line, or a meal center is a place where food is offered to the hungry for free or at a reasonably low price. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, they are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church groups or community groups...
than a business, and recommended by The Village Voice, was closed several times for sanitary violations by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is a department of the Government of New York City responsible for public health along with issuing birth certificates, dog licenses, and conducting restaurant inspection and enforcement...
(DOHMH) though, the last time to date on March 3, 2010.
Cherry Hill Textiles
Cherry Hill Textiles, Inc., was a corporation, with its principal place of business in Brooklyn, New York, engaged in the dyeing and finishing of textiles owned by Aaron Rubashkin and his second oldest son Moshe RubashkinMoshe Rubashkin
Moshe Rubashkin, , an ultra-Orthodox Jew of the Lubavitcher hasidic movement, is a former Chairman of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council , a private, nonprofit social service organization in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York that receives $2 million per annum in state funding for community...
. In 1995 he and his son Moshe were found guilty of collecting union dues
Union dues
Union dues are a regular payment of money made by members of unions. Dues are the cost of membership; they are used to fund the various activities which the union engages in...
from their employees without sending the collected monies on to the "United Production Workers Union" and ordered to repay the money with interest by the National Labor Relations Board
National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
. Their attorney was banned from practicing before the NLRB for six months.
Agriprocessors
Founded in 1987, the slaughterhouseSlaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...
and meat-packaging factory
Meat packing industry
The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock...
Agriprocessors based in Postville
Postville, Iowa
Postville is a city in Allamakee and Clayton Counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. It lies near the junction of four counties and at the intersection of U.S. Routes 18 and 52 and Iowa Highway 51, with airport facilities in the neighboring communities of Waukon, Decorah, Monona, and Prairie du Chien....
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, was owned by Rubashkin and managed by two of his sons and a son-in-law. The distribution centers in Brooklyn and Miami, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, were run by one of his daughters and another of his sons.
Agriprocessors faced several accusations of mistreatment of cattle between 2004 and 2008, was fined $600,000 for violating waste-water regulations in 2006, and $9.99 million for various violations of state labor law in October 2008, including illegally deducting money from employees for safety equipment and failing to pay employees. When the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security , responsible for identifying, investigating, and dismantling vulnerabilities regarding the nation's border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security...
(ICE) had staged a raid
Postville Raid
The Postville Raid was a raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. kosher slaughterhouse and meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa, USA on May 12, 2008, executed by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the Department of Homeland Security together with other agencies. The raid was the...
at the Postville plant in May 2008, during which nearly 400 illegal immigrant workers were arrested, Rubashkin said that he "had no idea that his workers were illegal". In September 2008, he, his son Sholom Rubashkin
Sholom Rubashkin
Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin , an ultra-Orthodox Jew of the Lubavitcher Hasidic movement, is a former executive officer and vice president of Agriprocessors, a now-bankrupt slaughterhouse and meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa formerly owned by his father, Aaron Rubashkin...
, as well as the company′s human resources manager, and two office employees were charged for state child labor violations. He was never charged federally, and the state child labor charges against him were dropped in May 2010, and his son was acquitted in state court of knowingly hiring underage workers at the plant in June. However, "Agriprocessors, as a corporation, entered a guilty plea to 83 child labor charges with the footnote that the conviction wasn′t based on the knowledge or intent of Sholom Rubashkin or his father, Abraham 'Aaron' Rubashkin, (and) the plant′s human resources manager pleaded to state child labor charges under an agreement with the state."
On November 5, 2008, Agriprocessors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and was bought at auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
in July 2009.
External links
- Elizabeth Dwoskin: "The Fall of the House of Rubashkin. As the nation's largest kosher empire implodes, Brooklyn's ultra-Orthodox Jews begin to break ranks". The Village VoiceThe Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, December 3, 2008 - David Levine: "A Beef With the Rabbis". Portfolio.com, October 15, 2008
- National Labor Relations Board: "Cherry Hill Textiles, Inc. and United Production Workers Union, Local 17–18". Case 29–CA–17848. Decisions of the NLRB, August 17, 1995
- Jennie Rothenberg: "Torah Amid Corn". Hadassah magazine, April 2004. Retrieved from Shmais.com
- The Rubashkin Story from A-Z: Part 1 and Part 2. Yaakov Astor's Blog, May 12, 2010. Excerpt from "Rubashkin. The Entire Story", Zman magazine, June 2010
- "Lessons in Leadership". Forward 50 2008. The Jewish Daily Forward