The Agriprocessors scandal is now more than three months old, but the story won’t seem to go away.

Instead, the fallout from the May 12 raid of Agriprocessors’ sprawling Postville, Iowa, slaughterhouse has only increased in the last month. The story is no longer just a case of a company flouting U.S. federal law, but also one of Jewish infighting.

First, a little background, in case you’ve missed the story. On May 12, immigration and customs officials in the U.S. entered the Agriprocessors plant, the largest kosher slaughterhouse in America, and arrested close to 400 illegal immigrants who were working there. In the aftermath of the federal blitz, a variety of stories regarding horrific working conditions at the plant surfaced. Some workers alleged that Agriprocessors maintained an unsanitary facility and paid employees lower-than-usual wages. Other stories told of far more dangerous working conditions, including workers carrying weapons into the plant for self-defence. According to various reports, the raid also allegedly revealed a methamphetamine laboratory at the slaughterhouse.

Much has been made of the fact that Agriprocessors is owned by a haredi family. Christian groups, human rights organizations and Conservative and liberal Orthodox Jews have all questioned whether the owner’s background is somehow connected to the dirty shop he operated.

Various other religious groups – including a Roman Catholic church in Postville – have insinuated that the religiosity of the plant’s owners may have been the cause of the scandal. They argue that the haredi way of life doesn’t show true respect for secular laws and regulations.

A number of Jewish groups have also voiced concern and used the Agriprocessors scandal to make a number of larger, sweeping statements about Orthodox Judaism. Conservative rabbis and some liberal and modern Orthodox groups have urged their followers to boycott Agriprocessors’ products, and one Conservative rabbi even voiced a concern that was similar to one raised by human rights groups operating in Postville, questioning whether haredim pay enough attention to the law of the land in their business dealings.

Mainstream Orthodox groups – including the Rabbinical Council of America, Agudath Israel, Chabad and the Orthodox Union – have responded by arguing that many allegations about Agriprocessors are untrue, and that the plant has made great strides in cleaning up its act since May 12. In a Jerusalem Post opinion piece, one Orthodox rabbi even questioned whether the raid was an anti-Semitic act.

Beyond Agriprocessors’ obvious abuse of federal immigration laws in the United States, it’s impossible to know yet which, if any, of the other allegations regarding Agriprocessors will in fact stick. In any case, this unfortunate story offers Jews an opportunity to consider our relationship with the larger, non-Jewish world, as well as our own intra-religious ties.

Regarding the former, the message all Jews should learn, or reaffirm, is that while our dual affiliations – to Judaism and to the state – often present difficulties, and even contradictions, we must do our utmost to adhere to both authorities. To do otherwise threatens the great peace that Jews have found in North America.

As for the duelling within Judaism that this story has kindled, there is reason to see something positive emerging from the embarrassment. Every once in a while, all large, organized groups – religious, ethnic, corporate – need to do a little investigation into their own operations and clean up the dirty, unlawful bits that may have snuck in with the largely good majority. Now is as good a time as any for Jews to look at our business practices and make sure that we are embracing human rights and best workplace practices, along with halachah.

Surely, doing so will only strengthen the health of our religion – internally, as well as in the ever-watchful eyes of the rest of the world.