While futile efforts were being made to bring about an amicable settlement outside of court, the kashruth trial involving Swift & Company and Benjamin Cohen on one hand and the kashruth board and the rabbis’ union of Cleveland on the other, continued yesterday, and will be resumed again on Monday with out-of-town rabbis testifying.
The defense scored an important point when the judge ruled that a slaughterer who had been banned by the rabbis must take the decision and suffer the consequences if the banishment is in accordance with Jewish laws. In such event he should not have even the right to appeal to the civil courts, except if his constitutional rights have been violated.
Since the plaintiffs are asking for a permanent injunction to restrain the rabbis and kosher board from informing people that Swift & Company’s kosher meat is certified by slaughterers not approved by the rabbis, the decision of the judge may well have an important bearing on the eventual decision.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
