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12 October 2016 Bookmark and Share  
Animal-Rights Groups Are Targeting a Jewish Ritual on Yom Kippur
– The Atlantic

https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2016/10/RTSRINL/lead_960.jpg?1476263184
People participate in the Jewish ritual of kaporos,
in which chickens are swung and slaughtered during the week before Yom Kippur.

Animal-Rights Groups Are Targeting a Jewish Ritual on Yom Kippur
The Atlantic

Dear Friends,

Our exposure of the cruelty inflicted on many thousands of chickens each year for the sake of a medieval custom called “Kaporos” (or Kapparot) is gaining more and more traction. Coverage this year by reporter Emma Green in The Atlantic on October 11th, and in The New York Times article A Raw Deal for Chickens, as Jews Atone for Sins on October 6th, attests to the growing mainstream media interest in our “street fights” and legal battles to eliminate the horrific use of chickens in the Kaporos ritual in New York, California and elsewhere, including Israel. See Agriculture Ministry Launching Campaign to Discourage Using Chickens for 'Kapparot' [video] published on October 6th which notes that in Israel:

“The Agriculture Ministry suggests the ritual is causing the birds needless suffering, which, incidentally, is against Jewish Law. Also, the presence of hundreds of chickens in and out of their cages in the middle of towns and villages may lead to the spread of disease. And so, the ministry would much prefer that faithful Jews donate their money to charity rather than do it with chickens.”

Taking on religion (so-called) is never easy where animal victims are concerned, even when, as in the case of Kaporos, the law is on our side, as discussed by Daniel J. Solomon in Animal Rights Group Presses Fight Against Kapparot as Yom Kippur Approaches, published in the Forward on October 10th, and by Marcy Oster in California Judge Blocks Pre-Yom Kippur Kapparot Rite Over Cruelty Concerns, published in the Forward on October 10th.

We are pleased to announce that, thanks to your generous support, we are nearing our target goal of $30,000 to support our lawsuit against the City of New York which is now in the Appeals court. At this writing we’ve raised $23,552 and need only $1,448 to reach our matching donation of $5,000 which will bring us to $30,000! Don’t be shy! DONATE! Help us help the birds in our legal battle on their behalf!

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Kaporos demonstration on the steps of City Hall, New York city.
Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos activists rally at New York City Hall
on October 5th to demand that Mayor de Blasio enforce the law.

Photo by Daniel J. Solomon

 


The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos is a project of United Poultry Concerns. Formed in New York City in June 2010, the Alliance is an association of groups and individuals who seek to replace the use of chickens in Kaporos ceremonies with money or other non-animal symbols of atonement. The Alliance does not oppose Kaporos per se, only the cruel and unnecessary use of chickens in the ceremony.

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