Court Denies Appeal
PITTSBURGH — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of the man who killed Canadian rabbinical student Neal Rosenblum, 25, in Pittsburgh in 1986. Steven Tielsch was convicted in 2002 of third-degree murder and is serving 10 to 20 years in jail. Three juries were deadlocked in the case, and Tielsch was convicted after a fourth trial. Prosecutors said Rosenblum, a Torontonian, was shot because he looked Jewish.
Rabbi Turns Self In
SAO PAULO — An Israeli rabbi who fled to Brazil amid child-abuse allegations will likely be extradited for trial. Israeli police said they have asked Brazil to extradite Rabbi Elior Chen, 29, who surrendered to police in Sao Paulo last week. Israel issued an international arrest warrant for the rabbi, who allegedly counselled followers to beat and burn children to rid them of the devil. Some of the abuses caused life-threatening injuries. Rabbi Chen was previously said to be hiding in Canada.
Mistrial Declared
SEATTLE — A mistrial was declared June 4 in the case of the Seattle Jewish federation gunman. The jury wrestled with whether Naveed Haq, 32, was not guilty by reason of insanity when he stormed the federation in July 2006 and shot six employees, killing one woman. During deliberations, the jurors asked the judge to clarify the legal definition of insanity. The judge said she couldn’t give them more help. Haq, who has a history of mental problems, had said he wanted to send a message about Israel and the Iraq war. Prosecutors said he planned the shooting carefully and knew right from wrong. They said they plan to retry the case this year.
Charges ‘A Lie,’ Agriprocessors Owner Says
NEW YORK — Aaron Rubashkin, owner of the embattled slaughterhouse Agriprocessors, America’s largest kosher meat plant, denies he has engaged in unethical labour practices and blames the failure of U.S. immigration policy for his mostly illegal workforce.
In the first substantive comments by a company representative since U.S. authorities rounded up more than one-third of its employees on immigration charges in a May 12 raid on its Iowa plant, Rubashkin flatly denied allegations of worker mistreatment and plant mismanagement.
“Everything is a lie,” Rubashkin, 80, told JTA in an interview May 30 outside his Brooklyn butcher shop.
The firm sells meat under labels such as Aaron’s Best and Rubashkin’s. No criminal charges have been laid, and most of the accusations are unproven. But nearly 300 ex-employees have pleaded guilty to various forms of fraud involving fake work documents and face deportation.
Meanwhile, several prominent Jews signed a boycott threat against the company. Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Ruth Messinger and Rabbi Avi Weiss are among 1,000 people who signed a petition organized by a group of students at the liberal Orthodox seminary Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York. The group says the firm must comply with the labour requirements of both Jewish and secular law or it will begin a boycott on June 15. The Orthodox Union has also said it will withdraw its hechsher if criminal charges are laid.