Jewish holiday ritual involving chicken slaughter survives a court test
Sept. 18, 2015 Updated 9:30 p.m.
BY KELLY PUENTE
A judge Friday denied a request from an animal rights group for a temporary restraining order to stop two Jewish centers in Orange County from practicing a holiday ritual in which chickens are slaughtered.
The Animal Protection and Rescue League, a San Diego-based nonprofit, is suing Chabad of Irvine and the Chabad Hebrew Academy-Lubavitch of Orange County, claiming the annual tradition of Kapparot is a form of animal cruelty that violates state and local laws.
In the Kapparot ceremony, a chicken is swung three times over a person?s head to symbolize the transferring of that person?s sins to the chicken. The bird is then slaughtered in a kosher manner and its meat donated to the poor.
The custom is practiced in some traditional Orthodox Jewish communities in the days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur ends at sunset Wednesday.
The Animal Protection and Rescue League sought an emergency restraining order to prevent the killing of this year?s Kapparot chickens. Orange County Superior Court Judge William D. Claster denied the request Friday, saying there wasn?t enough proof that the chickens would be kept or handled in a cruel manner.
Though the judge denied an emergency restraining order, attorney David Simon, who represents the Animal Protection League and serves on its board, said the group plans to move forward with the lawsuit to prevent next year?s ceremony.
Simon said the organization promotes ?cruelty-free? eating and plant-based diets.
?Unfortunately, in this case with the timing we weren?t able to save the lives of a few hundred chickens this year,? Simon said.
Kapparot, which means ?atonement? in Hebrew, is a roughly 2,000-year-old tradition. The practice in recent years has drawn protests from animal activists and some within the Jewish community, while faith leaders have maintained that the ritual is protected as a religious freedom.
Rabbi David Eliezrie, president of the Rabbinical Council of Orange County, said the challenges against Kapparot come from extreme animal rights groups attempting to impose their views on others.
?This is an issue of religious right and religious expression,? Eliezrie said. ?Any slaughter is done in a humane fashion, and the chances are it?s much more humane than the meat you bought in the local supermarket.?
Some recent challenges to the practice have failed.
In New York this week, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge tossed out a lawsuit by a Brooklyn animal rights group saying there wasn?t enough evidence that the ritual was a public nuisance.
In addition to its Orange County case, the Animal Protection and Rescue League is involved in a similar lawsuit in Los Angeles County, where a judge this month also rejected a request for a restraining order, saying the plaintiffs should have filed the request sooner, Simon said.
In its Orange County lawsuit, the animal rights group claims ?hundreds or thousands of chickens are illegally harbored, slaughtered, and disposed in the Orange County area during each Kapparot season.?
The suit claims the practice violates several state and city laws regarding slaughter, sanitation and animal cruelty.
According to the lawsuit, ?Kapparot chickens are routinely left confined for hours or days in tiny, cramped cages or windowless cardboard boxes without room to exercise or even lift their heads.?
Rabbi Alter Tenenbaum, leader of Chabad of Irvine, could not be reached for a comment. In court documents, the rabbi says the chickens are treated humanely and in accordance with the laws.
?The chickens are brought to the synagog in crates supplied by the farmer, that are in conformity with California law,? the rabbi said.
Tenenbaum said the birds are held ?gently? and then are slaughtered in accordance with the religious requirements of the Torah. The rabbi said last year state and city officials were called to investigate the ceremony and determined the synagogue was in compliance.
?This is not the first time a protest group has attempted to stop this religious ritual,? he said.
The meat was traditionally donated to the poor, but today the carcasses are typically thrown away due to state licensing laws regarding the slaughter of animals for human consumption.
Rabbi Jonathan Klein, a Los Angeles-based animal activist and co-founder of Faith Action for Animals, said many synagogues are now choosing to use coins rather than live chickens.
Charles Haynes, director of the Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute, said the animal rights groups may have a hard time proving cruelty.
?It?s a tougher issue when it?s something that is widely slaughtered and consumed in our society, like a chicken,? he said. ?I think (the synagogues) have a pretty strong case that they have free exercise of religion, even if others may find it offensive.?
Contact the writer: kpuente@ocregister.com, 714-834-3773
Sept. 18, 2015 Updated 9:30 p.m.
BY KELLY PUENTE
A judge Friday denied a request from an animal rights group for a temporary restraining order to stop two Jewish centers in Orange County from practicing a holiday ritual in which chickens are slaughtered.
The Animal Protection and Rescue League, a San Diego-based nonprofit, is suing Chabad of Irvine and the Chabad Hebrew Academy-Lubavitch of Orange County, claiming the annual tradition of Kapparot is a form of animal cruelty that violates state and local laws.
In the Kapparot ceremony, a chicken is swung three times over a person?s head to symbolize the transferring of that person?s sins to the chicken. The bird is then slaughtered in a kosher manner and its meat donated to the poor.
The custom is practiced in some traditional Orthodox Jewish communities in the days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur ends at sunset Wednesday.
The Animal Protection and Rescue League sought an emergency restraining order to prevent the killing of this year?s Kapparot chickens. Orange County Superior Court Judge William D. Claster denied the request Friday, saying there wasn?t enough proof that the chickens would be kept or handled in a cruel manner.
Though the judge denied an emergency restraining order, attorney David Simon, who represents the Animal Protection League and serves on its board, said the group plans to move forward with the lawsuit to prevent next year?s ceremony.
Simon said the organization promotes ?cruelty-free? eating and plant-based diets.
?Unfortunately, in this case with the timing we weren?t able to save the lives of a few hundred chickens this year,? Simon said.
Kapparot, which means ?atonement? in Hebrew, is a roughly 2,000-year-old tradition. The practice in recent years has drawn protests from animal activists and some within the Jewish community, while faith leaders have maintained that the ritual is protected as a religious freedom.
Rabbi David Eliezrie, president of the Rabbinical Council of Orange County, said the challenges against Kapparot come from extreme animal rights groups attempting to impose their views on others.
?This is an issue of religious right and religious expression,? Eliezrie said. ?Any slaughter is done in a humane fashion, and the chances are it?s much more humane than the meat you bought in the local supermarket.?
Some recent challenges to the practice have failed.
In New York this week, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge tossed out a lawsuit by a Brooklyn animal rights group saying there wasn?t enough evidence that the ritual was a public nuisance.
In addition to its Orange County case, the Animal Protection and Rescue League is involved in a similar lawsuit in Los Angeles County, where a judge this month also rejected a request for a restraining order, saying the plaintiffs should have filed the request sooner, Simon said.
In its Orange County lawsuit, the animal rights group claims ?hundreds or thousands of chickens are illegally harbored, slaughtered, and disposed in the Orange County area during each Kapparot season.?
The suit claims the practice violates several state and city laws regarding slaughter, sanitation and animal cruelty.
According to the lawsuit, ?Kapparot chickens are routinely left confined for hours or days in tiny, cramped cages or windowless cardboard boxes without room to exercise or even lift their heads.?
Rabbi Alter Tenenbaum, leader of Chabad of Irvine, could not be reached for a comment. In court documents, the rabbi says the chickens are treated humanely and in accordance with the laws.
?The chickens are brought to the synagog in crates supplied by the farmer, that are in conformity with California law,? the rabbi said.
Tenenbaum said the birds are held ?gently? and then are slaughtered in accordance with the religious requirements of the Torah. The rabbi said last year state and city officials were called to investigate the ceremony and determined the synagogue was in compliance.
?This is not the first time a protest group has attempted to stop this religious ritual,? he said.
The meat was traditionally donated to the poor, but today the carcasses are typically thrown away due to state licensing laws regarding the slaughter of animals for human consumption.
Rabbi Jonathan Klein, a Los Angeles-based animal activist and co-founder of Faith Action for Animals, said many synagogues are now choosing to use coins rather than live chickens.
Charles Haynes, director of the Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute, said the animal rights groups may have a hard time proving cruelty.
?It?s a tougher issue when it?s something that is widely slaughtered and consumed in our society, like a chicken,? he said. ?I think (the synagogues) have a pretty strong case that they have free exercise of religion, even if others may find it offensive.?
Contact the writer: kpuente@ocregister.com, 714-834-3773
