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The "Kosher Nostra Scam" on the American Consumer

by
Ernesto Cienfuegos
La Voz de Aztlan

Los Angeles, Alta California - 4/27/2002 - (ACN) La
Voz de Aztlan receives quite a few "news tips" per
week from our many subscribers and readers. Some we
dismiss immediately but a very few catch our attention.
Last week we receive an e-mail asking us if we knew
the significance of the small encircled letter "U" or
letter "K" that can be found printed on many food cans,
food packages and on other kitchen products. The
message gave us some clues and suggested that we do
some research into the subject. What we found
certainly was "news" to us and it both shocked and
angered us.

On arriving at my residence, I immediately went to the
pantry to verify that what I had just learned was
actually true. Sure enough, most of the packaged and
canned foods from major companies, like Proctor &
Gamble and others, did have the (U), the (K) or other
similar markings. The Arrowhead water bottle, the
instant Folgers Coffee, the Kelloggs box, the Jiff
Peanut Butter, the Pepper container, the Trader Joe's
tea box and even the Glads plastic sandwich bags
carton had the (U) or (K) mark on them.

We needed a little more verification so we called two
major companies to asked some questions. We chose
Proctor & Gamble that markets the Folgers Coffee and
the Clorox Company that manufactures the Glads plastic
zip lock sandwich bags. Each of the two companies, as
well as most others, have 1-800 telephone numbers
printed on their packages for consumers to call in
case they have any questions about their products.
When we asked the Proctor & Gamble representative what
the (U) meant on their Folgers Coffee container, she
asked us to wait until she consulted with her
supervisor. She came back and informed us that the
mark meant that the coffee was " certified kosher". We
than asked her how and who certified the coffee to be
"kosher" and whether it cost any money to do so. She
refused to answer these and other questions. She
suggested that we write to their Corporate Public
Affairs Department. We than called the Clorox
Corporation to ask what the (U) meant on the package
of their Glads plastic sandwich bags and she also said
that the (U) meant that the plastic bags were "kosher"
but refused to answer questions concerning payments
the Clorox Corporation has to make in order to be able
to print the (U) on their products.

What we learned next, pretty much floored me
personally. I learned that major food companies
throughout America actually pay a Jewish Tax amounting
to hundreds of million of dollars per year in order to
receive protection. This hidden tax gets passed, of
course, to all non-Jewish consumers of the products.
The scam is to coerce the companies to pay up or
suffer the consequences of a Jewish boycott. Jewish
consumers have learned not to buy any kitchen product
that does not have the (U) the (K) and other similar
markings.

Another shocker was learning who is actually behind
these sophisticated "Kosher Nostra Scams." It turns
out that the perpetrators of these elaborate extortion
schemes are actually Rabbinical Councils that are set
up, not just in the U.S. but in other western
countries as well. For example, the largest payola
operation in the U.S. is run by those who license the
(U) symbol. The (U) symbol provides protection for
many products sold here in Aztlan and in the United
States. This symbol is managed by the The Union of
Orthodox Jewish Congregations with headquarters at 333
Seventh Avenue in New York City.

The scam works like a well oiled machine and is now
generating vast amounts of funds, some of which are
being utilized by the Union of Orthodox Rabbis to
support the Ariel Sharon Zionist government in Israel.
The website of the Union of Orthodox Jewish
Congregations is full of pro-Israel and
anti-Palestinian propaganda.

The "Kosher Nostra" protection racket starts when an
Orthodox Rabbi approaches a company to warn the owners
that unless their product is certified as kosher, or
"fit for a Jew to eat", they will face a boycott by
every Jew in America. Most, if not all of the food
companies, succumb to the blackmail because of fear of
the Jewish dominated media and a boycott that may
eventually culminate in bankruptcy. Also, the food
companies know that the cost can be passed on to the
consumer anyway. The food companies have kept secret
from the general consumer the meaning of the (U) and
the amount of money they have to pay the Jewish Rabbis.

It is estimated that the Union of Orthodox Jewish
Congregations, which manages the (U) symbol protection
racket, controls about 85% of the "Kosher Nostra "
certification business. They now employ about 1200
Rabbi agents that are spread through out the U.S. Food
companies must first pay an exorbitant application fee
and than a large annual fee for the use of the (U)
copyright symbol. Secondly, the companies must pay
separate fees each time a team of Rabbis shows up to
"inspect" the company's operations. Certain food
companies are required to hire Rabbis full time at
very lucrative salaries.

The amount of money that the non-Jewish consumer has
paid the food companies to make up for the hidden
Jewish Tax is unknown, but it is estimated to be in
the billions since the scam first started. The
Orthodox Jewish Councils as well as the food companies
keep the amount of the fees very secret. The Jewish
owned Wall Street Journal wrote about the problem many
years ago, but they have stopped writing about it now.

Only public awareness concerning the "Kosher Nostra
Scam" will eventually help stop this swindle of the
American consumer. Public education of the scam may
lead to an eventual non-Jewish boycott of all products
with the (U), (K) or other Jewish protection symbols.
I certainly do not need to pay extra for "kosher water",
"kosher coffee" or "kosher plastic sandwich bags". In
fact, I demand my money back for all the money I had
to pay over the years for the hidden and illegal
Jewish Tax. Are there any bright attorneys out there
that could bring a class action suit against the Union
of Orthodox Jewish Congregations on behalf of the
citizens of Aztlan and other non-Jewish people?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
La Voz de Aztlan
http://www.aztlan.net/koshernostra.htm

i read what you wrote and it seemed interesting, however I've heard different stories concerning the U and K on foods.

For many years I've know that the U and K meant that the food was kosher or parve[sic?]. I've always understood that to get this symbol the facility must be inspected for cleanliness by a rabbi and then (I'm not sure which) either the food or the facility is "blessed"....

About a year ago I went to a camp that happened to follow very strict kosher food guidelines. They couldn't eat anything without the U or K on it, and there was some rule about meat not being allowed to be served in its own sauce. Since I don't eat meat I don't remember the exact guidelines, but I don't think the (cow) meat was allowed to be served with cheese, and chicken couldn't be served with eggs. All the foods were served seperately in their own dishes.

I've also read that the reasons for these laws are because back in the days of the old testament it was very easy to get sick and die from unclean foods. The reason that Jews and Muslims can't eat pig is because back then most pigs carried a type of parasite that was very hard to get rid of, even with cooking. You could waste away and die from consuming this parasite.

The dictionary defines kosher as : ritually fit, clean, or prepared for use according to Jewish Law. In other words the animal can't be sick, the area must be clean, and it must be with the blessing of a rabbi.

Last but not least, if you still don't believe me, there are many Coffee Bean and Teaf Leaf Coffee Shops in LA. All of them are certified kosher and they have the documents to prove it hanging on their walls. If you read or ask them I'm sure they will tell you what it means.

you are not the voice of aztlan. you are not the voice of anything but racism and hate, ignorance and violence, divisiveness and negativity. we have enough problems fighting these things in other people without people like you claiming to be our voice while spewing the same crap all over the place. go away.

The "kosher" sign scam is also on many non food
products like aluminum foil, plastic sandwich bags,
detergents and brillo pads. This products have nothing
to do with the Torah or any blood or dairy products.
What a racket!!!!

I received my education from an Orthodox Jewish day school and I fully understand what this means... and it is not "a jewish tax". It is a traditional people attempting to survive in a modern world. Here is a little run down on Kosher law, what is Kosher, to whom is it Kosher, and where the money goes. Oh, please forgive any spelling errors.

First off, there are many different groups of Jews in America and they all follow different levels of Halacha(Jewish Law). Here is a quick run-down:

Ultra Orthodox- These are the strictest in regards to observance of Jewish Law. They follow what can be best desriced as a neo-tribal organizational form. Their religious leaders are sometimes from dynasies of rabbis.

Modern Orthodox- These folks are strict Jews in observance but, unlike some of their ultra-orthodox brothers, they do accept many modern secular ideas. They comprise the largest following in the Orthodox movement. They also are the ones who run the Orthodox Union (see below).

Conservative Movement- This is considered the middle ground in all Jews sects. They have addapted Halacha (Jewish Law) to be more accpetable to todays world. They have done away with some Halacha (Jewish Law) even.

Reform Jewry- These are the laxest of any still recognizable religious jewish groups. most jews who consider themselves reform attend services on a very irregular basis(once or twice a year). Most Reform Jews also are relativly non-observant of Jewish law.

This is a basic rundown on Jewish religious observance. There are some groups (secular jews, humanistic jews, reconstructionist jews, ect.) that I will not include due to a lack of relevence to this response.

Secondly, we need to decifer what symboles make something Kosher.

If the letter 'U' appears in a circle, this is certified kosher under the supervions kosher by the Orthodox Union. This symbol is accepted as a kosher product by most forms of judaism except some of the ultra-orthodox.

If the letter 'K' appears in a circle, it is accpeted as kosher by all sects of Judaism. This is accpected by all forms of judaism except the some of the ultra-orthodox. I dont know whos supervison this is under.

If the letter 'K' Apeears in a star, this is under the kosher supervison of some orthodox group in texas. This is considered kosher by all forms of jewry except some of the ultra orthodox.

If the Letter 'K' appears and is not in a circle, this means that that product is kosher but onyl two of the groups mentioned above. Reform Jews and Conservative Jews accept this as kosher. This kosher aproval did not come from a rabbi, this kosher aproval came from the company. This is why the orthodox do not consider it kosher.

there are other forms of kosher approval that are much less circulated and that i will not get into.

Now for the defenition of Kosher.
1) No land mammals with split hooves or that does not chew its considered kosher. Also must be apropriatly slaughtered(See #3).

2) All Birds have to be according to tradition (its in the Torah, it specifies a list of birds that are okay to eat). Must be appropriatly slaughtered (See #3)

3) All mammels and birds must be checked for cleanliness (there is a list of this stuff in the torah, i think leviticus). Then the animals must be sluaghtered by a shaliach(ritual slaughteror) in the ritual manner, while he recites a blessing.(This only applies for land animals and birds.. not fish or anything else.

4) No reptiles or insects (there is a mention of a certain species of grasshopper that is an exception, but we dont know whatthat species is anymore)

4) All sea creatures that are kosher must have both fins and scales.

5) Milk- must come from a cow or a goat(I might be wrong on the goat),breast milk is okay for babies. Some of the ultra orthdox have a custom of only using Chalav Yisroel (Literally meaning, the Milk of Israel. This really means that the production has to monitered).

6) No mixing of milk and meat products or their derivatives.

7) All fruit and vegetables must be checked for insects prior to consumption.

8)plastic stuff, detergents, soaps, ect- some groups go as far as to request kosher aproval on other products that might come into contact with their food (think plastic plates, plastic cutlerty, plastic bags, paper towels, ect....)

9) All previous products must have not come into contact with non-kosher products. These products can include machine lubricant that comes from pig fat or a table that might have had a piece of shrimp on it.


Lastly, What about the MoneY?????

All of the groups that provide this service are payed for by the company. If you know any orthodox rabbis (I know many), you would know that they get paid shit for doing this. The Orthodox Union and other kosher supervison groups offer their services to allow Jews to keep Kosher in a society that is not always friendly to people who want to keep kosher. Companies only see getting kosher status in the forms of dollar signs. think about it, by paying a nominal fee to a group that makes virtually no money, you can increase you products market availability by about 2 million people in America alone.

As I said earlier, the rabbis supervising this get virtually no money. maybe some of these rabbis send money to israel, but remember, some orthodox jews are anti-zionist.

Remember, I also remarked on the letter 'K' (not in a circle or star) is not supervised by a rabbi. None of the money made off the product goes to Israel unless that company does it themselves.

If you have any questions, ask your local rabbi.