Posted on 09/22/2006 8:31:16 AM PDT by presidio9
Just in time for the High Holy Days, a pair of prominent Jewish leaders are putting the City Council's two Jewish aldermen on notice: They risk incurring the wrath of God if they push to repeal Chicago's foie gras ban.
"Beyond the Kosher dietary laws, God has told us to do what is 'good and proper in the eyes of God,'" Rabbi Asher Lopatin of Anshe Sholom B'Nail Israel Congregation wrote to Aldermen Burton F. Natarus (42nd Ward) and Bernard Stone (50th Ward).
Jana Kohl, former director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies, accused Natarus and Stone of reneging on a "vow" made personally to Kohl to support the foie gras ban as a statement against animal cruelty.
In an angry letter to the two political cohorts, Kohl promised to do "everything in my power to defeat your misguided efforts."
"As the only two Jewish members of the Council, it's particularly shameful and disgraceful of you to turn your back on our cherished concept of 'tikun olam,' namely our obligation to make our world a better, more compassionate place," wrote Kohl, whose grandfather founded Kohl's department stores.
Stone categorically denied that he had promised Kohl he would stand behind a foie gras ban approved by the City Council on April 26 by a vote of 48 to 1.
Natarus could not be reached for comment.
The Illinois Restaurant Association and a coalition of chefs have filed a lawsuit that seeks to overturn a foie gras ban that has made sarcastic headlines around the world.
The proposed repealer was quietly filed with the city clerk's office four weeks ago.
Last week, Daley said a repeal was the next item on his legislative agenda.
In a telephone interview Monday, Kohl argued that Judeo-Christian ethics and precepts mandate that animals
(Excerpt) Read more at nbc5.com ...
Uhh...it's a duck not a human. Where are these rabbis when children are being aborted
If they don't want to eat foie gras then don't order it and let others do as they see fit. oooooooo - I get it, it is not about your dietary needs and requirements, you want to force your views on everyone else.
I know some muslims you can hook up with trying to do the same. and they say you two cannot get along.
It would be nice if more people in my city were so passionate and involved about things that actually mattered.
Just as a side note, Chicago is one of the few cities I truly enjoy visiting. I always stay at the Hyatt on Michigan.
From a religious standpoint, they are correct, IF --- IF --- you deem letting a goose (I believe, not ducks)eat as much as it wants as cruel.
The Rabbis are under a religious obligation to see to it that the goyim follow these laws the seven laws (commonly rendered as Sheva Mitzvot Shel Bnei Noach) are:
Avodah zarah - Do not worship false gods.
Shefichat damim - Do not murder.
Gezel - Do not steal (or kidnap).
Gilui arayot - Do not be sexually immoral (forbidden sexual acts are traditionally interpreted to include incest, bestiality, male homosexual sex acts, i.e. sodomy, and adultery.)
Birkat Hashem - Do not "bless God" euphemistically referring to blasphemy.
Ever min ha-chai - Do not eat any flesh that was torn from the body of a living animal (given to Noah and traditionally interpreted as a prohibition of cruelty towards animals)
Dinim - Set up a system of honest, effective courts, police and laws.
How about a ban on Lox?
All that brine and smoke can't be good for a salmons lungs
What's ironic is that foie gras is a traditional Jewish dish, popular especially in Jewish communities in what are now Lithuania and Hungary, that the French and others discovered and later copied. Fatted duck and goose livers are excellent sources of fat which are especially useful in fleishig dishes, where dairy products (e.g. butter, cream) are prohibited.
That ain't just chopped liver.....
Perhaps Rabbi Kohl should educate himself...
https://www.dartagnan.com/foiegras.asp
It is a nice place to visit. It's not half a bad place to live, either, if you don't let certain things get to you. The Hyatt on Michigan is good. I've spent a couple of weekend getaways there.
There is actually a five hundred year history of rabbinical opinions on foie gras. The Chasam Soifer of all people declared foie gras to be kosher, and that's good enough for me.
No, chopped liver mainly comes from chickens and is cooked very differently. There's also no reason to force feed the chickens. Foie gras comes from force-fed geese and ducks, and is an ancient and traditionally Jewish way of preparing a dish. However, that tradition is now mainly lost (Jews today who eat foie gras tend to order it at Le Cirque).
Ohhh, that second picture is making my mouth water. Good thing it's almost lunchtime.
OH, I agree.
I was just pointing out the basis for their justification for involvement for a "mere animal."
I was, in NO WAY, agreeing with their justification.
They didn't go after Abe Frohman "The Sausage King of Chicago" like this.
Wasn't he the guy who shot health inspectors or something?
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