Brooklyn protests planned over annual slaughter of chickens in Jewish ritual, by Mary Frost, Brooklyn Daily Eagle

A group called the “Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos” will be hosting two demonstrations in the Orthodox Jewish section of Crown Heights this Sunday and Monday to protest the overhead “swinging" and slaughtering of live chickens in Kaporos ceremonies the week before Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. Read the article:
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/brooklyn-protests-planned-over-annual-slaughter-chickens-jewish-ritual

Kaporos Without Wings, by Edmon Rodman, Virtual Jerusalem

Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos is organizing rallies in Brooklyn on September 23 and 24, to "eliminate the 'swinging' and slaughtering of chickens in Kaporos ceremonies the week before Yom Kippur."

While working on this post, I received a tip that a stack of caged chickens were in an alley on Pico Blvd, in Los Angeles. The tipster, who lives nearby and only wanted to be known as "Bill," told me that the chickens were in the hot sun. The next morning, at the hour that I arrived, the cages, in an alley behind a storefront synagogue, were coming into the sun; a hose was nearby. The chickens, many looking bedraggled, were in low, tight cages, and I could hear a soft sound coming from them. "Last year I called animal services. But they wouldn't do anything," said Bill. Read the article:
http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/blogs.php?Itemid=8076

Choose veganism, honor Judaism, and kvell, by Jeffrey Cohan, The Jewish Chronicle

This article, published in the current issue of The Jewish Chronicle, summarizes in clear terms the Jewish basis for veganism. Read the article: http://www.thejewishchronicle.net/view/full_story/20205934/article-Choose-veganism--honor-Judaism--and-kvell

Animal Sacrifice and the Day of Atonement, by Michael Mountain, Earth in Transition

It sounds like something out of some weird “primitive” religion. But the “kaporos” ritual is going on right now, as it does at this time every year, in parts of New York City, Los Angeles, Jerusalem and other cities. Does freedom of religion trump even basic common decency toward nonhuman animals? Read the article:
http://www.earthintransition.org/2012/09/animal-sacrifice-and-the-day-of-atonement/

Chickening out, Editorial in The Jewish Standard

This Sunday and Monday, a group calling itself “The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos” will be conducting two protests in Brooklyn, in an effort to end the practice of hoisting live roosters or hens over people’s heads as a way of atoning for sins. . . . We support the demonstrations. Read the article: http://www.jstandard.com/content/opinion/C8

Video: A Rabbi Demonstrates Kosher Slaughter and Legitimizes Violence Based on Necessity, by Robert Grillo, Free from Harm

“In this video a rabbi explains to his rabbinical students how, according to kosher law, killing an animal for food is morally defensible because it is necessary. In this sense, Jewish law is no different than any other religious or secular tradition that justifies animal use and killing for reasons of necessity. The problem with this argument is that today we are faced with an overwhelming body of evidence to the contrary, indicating that consuming animal products is NOT at all necessary for our health or survival (with quite a bit more research claiming it is actually detrimental).” Read the article:
http://freefromharm.org/videos/why-vegan/video-a-rabbi-demonstrates-kosher-slaughter/

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The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos is an association of compassionate people who seek to replace chickens in Kaporos ceremonies with money or other non-animal symbols of atonement. To learn more about the Alliance and its objectives, please go to www.EndChickensAsKaporos.com.