In his new book "Postville" author Stephen Bloom examines the conflict that erupted when a group of Hasidic Jews from New York moved to a small Iowa town in the late 1980s and opened a kosher slaughterhouse. The relationship began on a friendly note, with the locals welcoming the Jews who were bringing hundreds of jobs to the economically depressed region. But soon the relationship soured and when the locals lobbied in favor of a referendum to annex the slaughterhouse, the Jews claimed anti-semitism was fueling the vote. For Bloom, the clash of cultures was particularly interesting since he too, is a Jewish man who traded in big city life for Iowa cornfields.

This file was digitized with the help of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).