Weiner Cites Rubashkin’s Plight

By COLlive reporter

At a debate sponsored by the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition, Democrat candidates for mayor of New York City did not hold back on touting their Jewish credentials.

According to the Jewish Week, the most “over the top” were former U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner and NYC Comptroller John Liu in trying to connect.

Weiner, hoping for a political comeback, greeted people with “Shalom aleichems,” threw in an Eretz Yisrael or two and used his standard remark about understanding the Orthodox community “in his kishkes,” Adam Dickter reported.

For good measure, Weiner mentioned his support of Israel spy Jonathan Pollard and kosher meat executive Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin.

Weiner, when he was Congressman of New York’s 9th district, was vocal about the injustice done to Rubashkin, founder of the Jewish community in Postville, Iowa.

In an August 13, 2010 letter, Weiner urged US Attorney General Eric Holder to “direct a full and immediate investigation of the allegations of impropriety and unfairness in the Sholom Rubashkin case.”

Judge Linda Reade of the US District Court for Northern Iowa sentenced Rubashkin to 27 years in prison for bank fraud and related charges, although prosecutors had sought a 25-year prison term.

“This particular case is also worthy of your attention because of the overly harsh and clearly disparate sentence imposed by the judge,” Weiner wrote to Holder.