Rubashkin Is
Acquitted In
Child Labor Case
Postville/JTA — Kosher
meatpacking executive
Sholom Rubashkin was
acquitted in an Iowa
state court of child labor
Sholom
violations.
Rubashkin
Rubashkin was found
not guilty on all 67
counts of child labor violations, relating
to 26 teenagers from South America who
worked at the Agriprocessors kosher meat-
packing plant in Postville, Iowa.
Several then-underage workers at the
Agriprocessors plant were flown in from
Guatemala by the court to testify against
Rubashkin.
The jury reached its verdict during the
second day of deliberations. The state trial
in Waterloo, Iowa, had lasted a month.
Rubashkin was convicted last November
on 86 federal financial fraud charges in
connection with the plant. His sentencing
in that case is set for this month.
The Agriprocessors plant was the site of
a federal immigration raid in May 2008 in
which 389 illegal immigrants, including 31
children, were arrested.
Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg of Sara
and Morris Tugman Bais Chabad Torah
Center in West Bloomfield, who has vis-
ited Rubashkin in jail, commented on the
acquittal.
"The news of Sholom Mordechai
Rubashkin's acquittal of all charges of hir-
ing and abusing minors, plus the fact that
the government had already dropped all
charges of hiring illegal aliens, demon-
strates that the initial case that the gov-
ernment built against him was baseless:'
Silberberg told the N.
"Hopefully, it will put to rest the vicious
canards leveled against him from so many
quarters concerning his treatment of fel-
low human beings.
"May God grant that the judge who is
sentencing him in the secondary case
— for inflating invoices to receive loans
from the bank — will show compassion
to an individual who, although not entirely
blameless, is basically a fine and decent
human being."
JN Senior Writer She'll Liebman Dorfman
contributed to this story.
Israeli Navy Thwarts
Terrorist Frogmen Off Gaza
Jerusalem/JTA — Israel's Navy killed four
men that it said were planning a terror
attack at sea.
Early Monday morning, the Navy forces
fired on Palestinians wearing diving suits
off the coast of Gaza. The men were "on
their way to perpetrate a terrorist attack:'
according to the Israel Defense Forces
spokesman. No Israeli forces were hurt.
Along with the four men who were
killed, another man is missing, said the
Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, according to
reports.
The brigade, the armed wing of
Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party, told media
outlets that the men, who were carrying
weapons, were participating in a training
exercise and were not on a mission to
attack Israel.
Israel has been more concerned about
the possibility of attacks from the sea
since explosive barrels sent from Gaza
reached Israeli beaches in Ashkelon,
Ashdod, Netanya and Tel Aviv.
Also Monday, Israel's Air Force struck
a terrorist squad preparing to launch
rockets into Israel from the northern
Gaza Strip, the IDF said.
The Air Force scored a direct hit on
the launch squad, according to the state-
ment.
At least 10 rockets and mortars have
been fired at Israel in the past three
weeks.
Pope Benedict
XVI
Rome/JTA — Pope
Benedict XVI renewed
calls for international
efforts toward Middle
East peace and urged
respect for the embat-
tled Christian minority
in the region.
Digest on page 30
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Conservative
Jews Launch
Campaign To
Free Shalit
New York/JTA — The
Conservative move-
ment has launched
a campaign to raise
Gilad Shalit
awareness of the cap-
tivity of Israeli soldier
Gilad Shalit.
The United Synagogue of Conservative
Judaism's youth and young adult services
department has begun a Yellow Balloon
campaign to mark the fourth anniversary
of Shalit's captivity. Shalit was kidnapped
in a cross-border raid on June 25, 2006,
and is being held by Hamas terrorists in
Gaza.
Participants can e-mail virtual yellow
balloons that say "Bring Gilad Home"
and draw attention to the campaign over
Facebook, Twitter and other social net-
working sites.
The campaign calls for the display of
real yellow balloons in front of syna-
gogues, affiliated organizations and pri-
vate residences during the week of June
21 to show solidarity with Shalit.
The campaign urges people to write
to their elected officials asking them to
maintain pressure on the international
community to free Shalit and to write to
his parents expressing support.
United Synagogue also is providing
materials for information tables in syna-
Pope Issues Call:
Respect Mideast
Christians' Rights
gogues and other settings, and is calling
on people to "reserve a seat for Gilad" at
synagogue on June 26, to recite a special
prayer written by the Masorti movement
— the Conservative movement in Israel
— and to study the Jewish mandate to
redeem captives.
"We know that it is only if the world
is reminded of his plight that he stands
any chance of being freed:' said Richard
Moline, United Synagogue's youth and
young adult services director.
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June 10 2010
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