Federal Court Orders New York Kosher Poultry Plant To Shut Down

A New York federal district judge on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction prohibiting further slaughtering at New Square Meats in the village of New Square-- home of the Skver Hasidic sect. The court agreed with the U.S. Attorney's Office that the plant failed to comply with the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act. Various sanitary violations were found at the plant. The poultry slaughterhouse slaughtered more than 355,000 birds in 2008. Almost all of its product is sold through a New Square grocery, Oneg Poultry. Both The Forward and the Lower Hudson Journal-News yesterday report on the court's order, as well as on several other recent controversies involving the Skver sect. (See prior posting.) The Forward quotes Queens College sociology professor Samuel Heilman:

The fundamental question, of course, is what is it about these people that makes it possible for them to, on the one hand, claim to be more religious and pious, and on the other hand, break rules that are non-halachic rules.

He answered that the Skvers, along with other fundamentalist groups, tend to divide the world into "us and them", and feel they can be less concerned in portions of their lives that involve outsiders.