AMES, Iowa -- Until May 2008, the small town of Postville was home to Orthodox Jews, immigrant workers and native Iowans. On May 12, an immigration raid on the town's kosher meatpacking plant resulted in the arrest of 20 percent of Postville's residents. Since then, the town has been the focal point of considerable study. In a panel discussion at Iowa State University on Nov. 18, coauthors of a new book on Postville will share their personal experiences with this community in crisis.
"Postville USA: Surviving Diversity in Small-Town America," will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18 in the Memorial Union Great Hall. It is free and open to the public.
Panelists for the discussion are coauthors of the book by the same name. They are Mark Grey, University of Northern Iowa anthropology professor and founder of the Iowa Center on Immigrant Leadership and Integration; Michele Devlin, professor of public health at UNI and director of the Iowa Center on Health Disparities; and Aaron Goldsmith, former Postville city councilman and president and owner of Transfer Master Products, who received a rabbinical degree from Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim in Israel.
Their talk is sponsored by the Student Union Board and the Committee on Lectures, which is funded by the Government of the Student Body.