The Great Kosher Meat War of 1902: Immigrant Housewives and the Riots That Shook New York City

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By Scott Seligman ’73

Published April 19, 2021

What started as frustration with rising prices of kosher meat in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, led to what newspapers referred to as the “modern Jewish Boston Tea Party.” The Great Kosher Meat War of 1902 tells the story of how uneducated Jewish housewives came to discover their own power to fight back against the corrupt Beef Trust and set a precedent for challenging unregulated corporations. 

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PAW's October 2026 cover, featuring a photo of a loaf of challah bread and the headline "The Braids That Bind."
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