Rubashkin is in a much more questionable situation. Although accused of other things, the only crime he was found guilty of (bank fraud) was a crime committed after a very irregular raid on the plant and various inappropriate maneuvering afterwards forced the company into bankruptcy. Obviously that is not an excuse, but there is certainly room to argue that the highly questionable actions by the justice department with regard to this case “pushed” Rubashkin into a corner that caused him to lie on the loan application. And it is even more likely that without the unreasonable restrictions the justice department attached to the sale of the business, he would have been able to pay back the loan in its entirety despite the fraud, which would have made it a victimless crime.

Despite the fact that anti-Semitism in various forms is obviously alive and well in the US (hey, it’s a “halacha” after all), on the whole the “Medina Shel Chessed” has done the most Chessed for Klal Yisroel in our entire history of galus. These cases definitely remind us that we are in Galus, but that does not minimize the tremendous Hakaros Hatov we must feel for this medina shel chessed!

Prisoners of Zion??? Give me a break! The medinah shel chesed has plenty of chesed for those who obey its laws, not for those who break them.