5:40PM EST: The Des Moines Register reports: A day after drawing fire from Iowa’s governor, the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant took heat from a presidential candidate.
Democrat Barack Obama alluded to the controversial plant while answering an immigration question from a voter here today.
“We’ve got to crack down on employers who are taking advantage of undocumented workers,” he said. “When you read about a meatpacking plant hiring 13-year-olds, 14-year-olds – that is some of the most dangerous, difficult work there is. … They have kids in there wielding buzz saws and cleavers? It’s ridiculous. And the only reason they’re hiring these folks is because they want to avoid paying people decent wages and providing them decent benefits.”
Obama didn’t name Agriprocessors, but he was responding to a woman who asked about the situation in Postville. The plant has been accused of hiring underage and illegal-immigrant workers, though managers deny doing so knowingly.
Besides cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants, Obama said the country should strengthen its borders while making it possible for longstanding residents who are here illegally to earn citizenship by paying fines and back taxes and learning English.
“We’re a nation of laws and we’re a nation of immigrants, and I think those two things can go hand in hand,” he said.
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21 Responses
“I rest my case” about Chilul Ha-Shem I posted ealier in another related article!!
This whole episode is Chilul Ha-Shem!
this is Obama’s way of releasing his anger on the Jews
After reading this I am more scared than ever now if Obama gets elected.
the man is as smart as a block of cement
I agree with 1 & 2… sorry… 3 & 4… I think you’re out of touch with the reality of the true Chilul Hashem
nu nu. I heard worst things. this was not so terrible. The meat plant was wrong.
for all this talk of underage workers, not one shred of evidence has yet to be brought, and its been over a month. its an allegation, and probably isn’t true. (i am in no way condoning agri.) this whole underage thing is ridiculous, and the fact that “obama america” is talking about it, when his muslim brothers (yes i know he isn’t muslim, but his brothers are), do with halal meat in the back of their stores all up and down coney isalnd avenue is completely unsanitary, and usually the owners of their stores have their kids helping them. let him talk out against them, the dumb hypocrite. hes a marxist! and we all know how marxist’s love religion.
If they are found guilty, and someone blames HaShem’s Torah or His people for this behavior, then indeed there is chilul HaShem. However to form an opinion about Agri before the verdict is in is, logically, based on anti-Semitism or some other politically driven motive.
As far as Osama’s middle name and fears of ties to Yishmael and his traits described throughout Chazal, it has nothing to do with his stated political views or statements for or against Agri, Israel, tuition tax credits, or anything else any more than someone’s love for a pastrami on rye makes him Jewish. He descends from Yishmael, period. That cannot be denied and that is something to fear.
They Are All Anti-Semitic
We cannot assume that the Republicans are good friends of the Jews and Israel. According to Arutz-Sheva, the Bush administration has, for several years, listed Yad L”Achim — a group wonderful Jews who protect Jews in Israel from missionaries — as a “terrorist” organization, obviously to please their evangelical supporters:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/127116
When I saw this news item, I e-mailed a request to Sen. John McCain to repudiate this reprehensible action. So far, I have not gotten a response.
#9
The Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI) of the Iowa Attorney General’s office was in Postville for the better part of a week taking testimony from child workers at Agri. This is in response to Iowa OSHA’s presentation of 57 separate child labor cases to the Attorney General for prosecution.
“…this whole underage thing is ridiculous…”
Don’t worry, there is much more damaging and embarrassing material that will come out soon. The name Agriprocessor will be associated with shame and embarrassment for the Jewish community for years to come.
To illini07: I do not know you and have no clue to your background. However, this IS Yeshiva World News. Being so, we can assume many of those reading the items share the Torah view of the world/creation on many important issues. That the world at large is pained by the presence of Jews in this world who represent a potential of perfection is a fact according to the sages of the Torah. People who read anti-Semitism in this or any other world event is NOT suffering from “acute paranoia,” nor is s/he playing the “everyone’s out to get us victim card.”
I guess the DNC is feeling really good about their chances of election if this is what they will be worrying about.
Well Obamanation, this wouldnt be a problem if you libs werent so gung ho on allowing illeagals into the country and taking care of them ON OUR DOLLAR.
while it may be a chillul hashem, in essence I believ that we have seen his bad side, that he really hates the Jews. please feel free to correct me if i’m wrong
I would like to remind everyone that there were other allegations about agriprocessor’s, none of which have been in any way substantiated, including the accusation that they had a meth drug lab, had explosives on site and were involved in gun running.
So far, all that Agri has actually been legitimately accused of is hiring immigrant workers who presented fraudulent documentation to gain employment.
Keep in mind, as an employer you CANNOT refuse employment to a hispanic wojrker just because you “suspect” they may be illegal, especially if they present you with documentation that they have a right to work here. Employers have NO WAY of knowing if the documents are real, putting them in a damned if you do/damned if you don’t predicament.
As far as the allegations that agriprocessors purposely violated the law so they could underpay workers, all actual FACTS indicate that they were the HIGHEST paying employer in the area, DID provide benefits to employees, even funding a daycare center for the employees children!
If, and I do say “if,” these new allegations are true, then the underage workers surely had false documents as well. My nephew was already six foot tall when he was 14. Could you have told him from an 18 year old (with papers attesting that he WAS 18)? When I was sixteen I could already grow a beard. I could buy beer (the drinking age was 18 then) and i NEVER got ‘carded.”
Let us PLEASE remember to judge our fellow Jew favorably.
Plp have no clue as to how great a chilul Hashem this is. Noe clue
First of all ICE just raided another site – non-Jewish and arrested 350 No conspiracy. Also, for the skeptics people have already been found guilty at Aggrip.Finally, Obama did not create this problem.
And now that Barack Obama has revealed his true anti-semitic colors, I wonder how many Jews will still vote for him? Too many I am afraid.
I don’t condone Agriprocessors. But isn’t it interesting that Obama is taking the case of Hispanics when the Jews are involved but completelt ignores the much more egregious treatment of fellow blacks in Tyson meat plants or other meat processors who have been abusing their workers for decades?
The worst part is that he never called Agri to make his research if the story is true,thats called a faker
RIDICULOUS and PROVOCATIVE! Obama did not “blast” Agriproccesors. YWN’s own article said he “alluded” to them indirectly when asked a question about illegal workers.
Obama said, “We’ve got to crack down on employers who are taking advantage of undocumented workers,” he said. “When you read about a meatpacking plant hiring 13-year-olds, 14-year-olds – that is some of the most dangerous, difficult work there is. … They have kids in there wielding buzz saws and cleavers? It’s ridiculous. And the only reason they’re hiring these folks is because they want to avoid paying people decent wages and providing them decent benefits.”
He is right and let’s not be juvenile. You cannot tell me that financial “scrupulousness” among many businesses in our community step out of bounds with objective reality or labor laws.
While there most certainly are antisemites who point to Jews like pointer dogs on the hunt, everytime our community members have to be “corrected” by the law, it is not always antisemitism.
A lot of times we schmooze local and state goverment and get a pass others groups dont get, but we cant do that all the time.
Very fair and reasonable posts by many posters.