Postville

(JTA) -- Kosher meatpacking executive Sholom Rubashkin was acquitted in an Iowa state court of child labor violations.

Rubashkin was found not guilty on all 67 counts of child labor violations, relating to 26 teenagers from South America who worked at the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa.

Several then-underage workers at the Agriprocessors plant were flown in from Guatemala by the court to testify against Rubashkin.

The jury reached its verdict during the second day of deliberations. The state trial in Waterloo, Iowa, had lasted a month.

With the trials of Sholom Rubashkin, the former CEO of the Agriprocessors kosher slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa, still looming large over the kosher food industry, the Conservative movement is ready to make its mark on a field that is dominated by Orthodox companies.

After years of discussion and planning, the “Magen Tzedek” — which the Conservative movement calls the world’s first Jewish ethical certification seal — will complete beta testing with two food companies by the end of 2010.

(JTA) -- On the eve of the sentencing hearing for Sholom Rubashkin, his lawyers are denying prosecutors' claims that the former kosher meatpacking executive bribed the mayor of Postville, Iowa.

Accusations that Rubashkin, the ex-Agriprocessors official, bribed Robert Penrod, Postville's mayor from 2006 to 2009, are included in sentencing memos filed by prosecutors in Rubashkin's financial fraud case, according to the Des Moines Register. The Agriprocessors plant in the Iowa town was the site of a federal raid in May 2008.

People who do bad things should be punished. It is something we learn in our schools and teach in our synagogues.

But as Jews, we are often conflicted when one of our own commits a crime. While a sense of community may give some the urge to protect a community member, we are embarrassed that the crime has come from someone who carries a Jewish identity. And we are steadfast that those responsible must face the same punishment as everyone else. Advocating for or even anticipating anything less would send the wrong message about our community.