Letters to the Editor 7-3-09

Issue of July 3, 2009 / 11 Tammuz 5769

'Most thorough' award

To the Editor:

Before entering our family business, I spent 20 years as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New York and Deputy Counsel at one of the State’s largest agencies. I have been interviewed and reported on by countless reporters from the New York Times, New York Law Journal, and many local papers. To say that you were the most thorough and accurate would be an understatement (Streit's Matzo to sport Kof-K in 2010; June 26, 2009). Most articles have misstatements of fact and inaccurate or misleading quotes. Yours do not. Before being interviewed by you, I never met a reporter who went over quotes to make sure he or she got them right.

I specialized in constitutional law and have always been intrigued by the balance of power our founding fathers incorporated into our blueprint for government. A free press is an important component of our freedom but far too often the Fourth Estate is more concerned with circulation and advertising revenue than it is with carrying out the lofty goals of journalism. The pre-Passover assault by the Vaads could have easily passed under the radar but The Jewish Star was the only news organization willing to investigate the facile and unbelievable excuse for the Vaads’ last minute conduct. Your reporting revealed a much deeper issue about the dark side of hashgacha politics and it was picked up by other papers and many internet sites.

While not as far reaching as Watergate, the basic story is the same: abuse of power that is revealed by a free press and responded to by the people. While the local Vaads bit off more than they could chew attacking Streit’s, without your investigative reporting I don’t think we would have gotten the groundswell of support from customers and concerned Jews that we got. It became a national issue and we heard from many people outside the Long Island area.

Thank you for investigating “the powers that be” to get at the truth. In an age when most “journalists” seem content to hype the Swine Flu and unnecessarily scare the public, it is refreshing to see that someone is living up to the noble goals of your profession.

Alan Adler

Not well-known

To the Editor:

I’ve always understood kashrus to be an inyan ne’emonus (trust in the certifier). I would like to know where in halacha the requirement is to have a “nationally known” hashgacha, as you report that the Vaad HaRabonim of Queens and the Vaad HaKashrus of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway claim is necessary (Streit’s Matzo to sport Kof-K in 2010; June 26, 2009).

Moreover, if there is a requirement for a nationally known hashgacha, then neither the hashgacha of the Vaad of Queens nor the hashgacha of the Vaad of the Five Towns is acceptable because neither of those community organizations is nationally known.

Aaron Bernstein

Lawrence