An ICE raid at the AgriProcessors plant in Postville, Iowa last week has raised concerns about a kosher meat shortage, according to the Jewish Daily Forward. The raid seriously affected the plant's workforce—the article reports that the raid detained nearly 400 of the plant's 968 employees and caused others to go into hiding. The detainees are mostly from Mexico and Guatemala, though an ICE spokesperson said they also detained three Israelis and four Ukrainians (perhaps the rabbis responsible for kosher supervision?). Since the plant apparently produces a significant percentage of the glatt kosher beef sold in the U.S., consumers fear that kosher meat prices will climb even higher. Kosher industry consultant Menachem Lubinsky told the Forward that "There’s been a...
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