US president-elect expresses his profound sorrow over terror attack at Jewish center in Mumbai, says 'Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg carried out in their corner of the world Chabad Lubavitch's mission of service to the Jewish community'
Yisrael Bardugo
US President-elect Barack Obama send a letter of condolences to the Chabad community, expressing his sorrow over the terror attack in the Jewish center in the Indian city of Mumbai, which left six people dead.
The letter was handed over to Chabad emissary in Chicago, Rabbi Daniel Moskowitz."Michelle and I want to express our profound sorrow and heartfelt condolences over the terrible tragedy that befell the Chabad Lubavitch community, and indeed the entire Jewish community, last week in Mumbai," Obama wrote.
He went on to express his condolences to the Holtzberg and Rosenberg families, who lost their son and daughter in the Chabad center terror attack.
"We mourn the loss of Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, and all their Chabad House guests, in these attacks. They were taken from us by terrorists with no regard for human life, and we must remain steadfast in support of efforts to bring the perpetrators of these attacks to justice."
Addressing the ultra-Orthodox organization's activity in Mumbai, Obama said, "In running the Chabad House in Mumbai, Gavriel and Rivka provided a home away from home for so many Jewish travelers, carrying out in their corner of the world Chabad Lubavitch's mission of service to the Jewish community. They gave selflessly of themselves to others, and touched many lives along the way.
The US president-elect concluded his letter by saying, "As you mourn and remember those we lost, you should know that so many Americans share your grief and pain. May their memories be a blessing."
Chabad's ties with the White House go far back. Many Americans view the late Lubavitcher rabbi as a particularly influential person. Since the 1970s, in honor of the rabbi's activity, his birthday is marked as a special education day.
Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Chabad’s representative in Washington and the person who founded the Capitol Jewish Forum, told Ynet about the connection between Chabad and the White House.
"Only recently the White House praised the Chabadniks' activity in the New Orleans floods and the resourcefulness they showed during the California fires, when they lent a hand to thousands of helpless people," he said.
Shemtov explained that the Jewish organization's connection with the White House was "Way beyond the traditional candle lighting and making the presidential kitchen kosher on Hanukkah."
Showing posts with label President. Show all posts
Showing posts with label President. Show all posts
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Election enclave
Two days before the election, the Hasidic Jewish community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, is strongly leaning towards John McCain, in contrast with predominantly Democratic New York City. Many members of the Lubavitch community expressed concerns about foreign policy, school vouchers and social conservatism. Barack Obama's perceived lack of experience and weakness in the war on terror have contributed to the community's overwhelming support for McCain. However, some voters stated ambivalence or indifference toward the presidential race.
2 Comments to "Election enclave"
1. November 05, 2008 9:42:23 PM Could not be happier that this group may not be happy with what the majority of 133,000,000 voters wants. They have had 8 years of George Bush in there pockets and I hope they will not be as strong a lobby with our new president.
— ralph barquin, NYC
2. November 06, 2008 3:54:11 PM I'm sure you're overjoyed that instead of well intentioned Rabbis having influence, Bill Ayers and Rashid Khalidi will be the lobby.
— Daniel, Brooklyn
2 Comments to "Election enclave"
1. November 05, 2008 9:42:23 PM Could not be happier that this group may not be happy with what the majority of 133,000,000 voters wants. They have had 8 years of George Bush in there pockets and I hope they will not be as strong a lobby with our new president.
— ralph barquin, NYC
2. November 06, 2008 3:54:11 PM I'm sure you're overjoyed that instead of well intentioned Rabbis having influence, Bill Ayers and Rashid Khalidi will be the lobby.
— Daniel, Brooklyn
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Russia chief rabbi: Repeal Jackson-Vanik
Russia's chief Chabad rabbi castigated the United States for its refusal to repeal the Jackson-Vanik amendment.
In an interview published Wednesday in a Russian newspaper, Rabbi Berel Lazar said the only reasoning behind retaining the amendment was political and that it's usefulness had long ago passed.
The Cold War-era measure places restrictions on countries that do not allow their citizens to freely emigrate. Enacted 33 years ago, it was targeted at alleviating the constraints on Jewish intellectuals.
Jackson-Vanik, named for the two major co-sponsors in the U.S. Congress, remains in place for Russia and several other former Soviet countries, preventing their admittance to organizations such as the World Trade Organization.
Lazar said Chabad representatives have brought up the issue with President Bush and the U.S. State Department.
Jews have been able "to emigrate and to freely travel" for a long time, Lazar told Nezavisimaya Gazeta, while many have returned to Russia.
"No one has forced them to return," he said. "It was their free choice."
Lazar said the amendment is now harming the Jewish people because their struggle for human rights has been tied to economic policy.
"The repeal of the amendment is now tied to things like American chicken imports to Russia," Lazar said. "People and their spiritual freedom have been placed on the same plane with chicken."
In an interview published Wednesday in a Russian newspaper, Rabbi Berel Lazar said the only reasoning behind retaining the amendment was political and that it's usefulness had long ago passed.
The Cold War-era measure places restrictions on countries that do not allow their citizens to freely emigrate. Enacted 33 years ago, it was targeted at alleviating the constraints on Jewish intellectuals.
Jackson-Vanik, named for the two major co-sponsors in the U.S. Congress, remains in place for Russia and several other former Soviet countries, preventing their admittance to organizations such as the World Trade Organization.
Lazar said Chabad representatives have brought up the issue with President Bush and the U.S. State Department.
Jews have been able "to emigrate and to freely travel" for a long time, Lazar told Nezavisimaya Gazeta, while many have returned to Russia.
"No one has forced them to return," he said. "It was their free choice."
Lazar said the amendment is now harming the Jewish people because their struggle for human rights has been tied to economic policy.
"The repeal of the amendment is now tied to things like American chicken imports to Russia," Lazar said. "People and their spiritual freedom have been placed on the same plane with chicken."
Friday, April 18, 2008
Bush cites Chabad education project
A U.S. president for the 30th consecutive year has proclaimed Education and Sharing Day USA, a project of Chabad-Lubavitch.
Ten Chabad emissaries from around the world visited President Bush in the Oval Office Tuesday. Bush signed a proclamation making Wednesday Education and Sharing Day USA.
Rabbi Abraham Shemtov, the chairman of the executive committee of Agudas Chassidei Chabad, said the annual event was instituted by the Lubavitcher rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in 1978 when Jimmy Carter occupied the White House.
It is repeated annually on Schneerson’s Hebrew birthday, which began Tuesday night, in honor of his interest in teaching moral values in school. Schneerson was an early advocate of a Department of Education separate from the former Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
“It’s symbolic but an important component of calling attention to education, which the rebbe said was far more than teaching tools” such as math and reading skills, “but involve the development of character,” said Shemtov, who also is the national director of Friends of Lubavitch. “Education is the root of civilization, and the lack of it, or its distortion, is the reason for all the evils in the world.”
Some presidents receive the annual delegation more warmly than others, Shemtov said, adding that "today we came away with the feeling it was more than symbolic.”
The emissaries presented Bush with a Passover Haggadah. Bush signed a second Haggadah that will be sent to Jewish troops overseas.
Ten Chabad emissaries from around the world visited President Bush in the Oval Office Tuesday. Bush signed a proclamation making Wednesday Education and Sharing Day USA.
Rabbi Abraham Shemtov, the chairman of the executive committee of Agudas Chassidei Chabad, said the annual event was instituted by the Lubavitcher rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in 1978 when Jimmy Carter occupied the White House.
It is repeated annually on Schneerson’s Hebrew birthday, which began Tuesday night, in honor of his interest in teaching moral values in school. Schneerson was an early advocate of a Department of Education separate from the former Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
“It’s symbolic but an important component of calling attention to education, which the rebbe said was far more than teaching tools” such as math and reading skills, “but involve the development of character,” said Shemtov, who also is the national director of Friends of Lubavitch. “Education is the root of civilization, and the lack of it, or its distortion, is the reason for all the evils in the world.”
Some presidents receive the annual delegation more warmly than others, Shemtov said, adding that "today we came away with the feeling it was more than symbolic.”
The emissaries presented Bush with a Passover Haggadah. Bush signed a second Haggadah that will be sent to Jewish troops overseas.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
A Shameful Appointment
The appointment of Dr. David Berger as head of the Yeshiva College Jewish Studies Department was addressed in Joel Shteir's article and Dr. David Berger's response in a previous issue of The Commentator. Dr. Berger, as we know, is the author of The Rebbe, The Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference, a screed against Lubavitch Chassidim. Shteir wrote that Dr. Berger's appointment was in conflict with "cultural open-mindedness" and "acceptance."
This is not an issue of closed or open-mindedness. The real issue is that Dr. Berger is a promoter of division whose radical views should not be legitimized by our university. Yeshiva University has brought upon itself shame and disgrace by appointing an advocate of baseless hatred.
Dr. Berger begins by claiming we are trying to "intimidate and silence him." That he should attempt to paint himself as a victim is absurd. As an academic, he is free to express his opinions, but that does not mean that those opinions deserve respect or that Yeshiva University should reward an advocate of such views with a department chairmanship. Freedom of speech is a two-way street. When you voice your offensive vision, don't call it "intimidation" when people respond to it. Dr. Berger was even given the last word in The Commentator a few weeks ago.
I have been to Chabad Houses in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Israel and China and never once met anyone who says the Rebbe is "pure divinity." That is pure poppycock. I have furthermore been to many Chabad Houses where the Rebbe is not thought to be the Messiah. Undoubtedly there are those who espouse that view, but to vilify an entire Chassidic sect with roots to the Ba'al Shem Tov is nothing less than abhorrent. No organization has done more good for Judaism around the world, literally bringing Torah and Mitzvot to Jews no matter where they are physically or religiously. Chabad is not "hijacking [our] religion." It is driving Judaism around the world and inviting so many to return to it. Dr. Berger ignores the unparalleled and multi-faceted good done by Chabad; to see in Chabad an "existential threat to the Jewish religion" not only ignores the obvious opposite reality, but enters Dr. Berger into the realm of fringe fanaticism that he himself decries.
Dr. Berger argues that there is a need to ask questions of a Lubavitch Chassid who serves as a "rabbi, a dayyan, a Jewish Studies principal, and, in the context of avodah zorah, a shochet, a sofer, and a wine producer." In the context of avodah zorah? No such context exists! His own article is written in the context of unsubstantiated mistruths about a "very substantial number" of phantom Chassidim who view the Rebbe as the equivalent of Jesus.
The interrogation of Lubavitchers is unwarranted. Implementing this policy would accomplish nothing but harm many innocent people and devastate the unity of the Observant Jewish Community at a time when we desperately need to work together.
Dr. Berger has no right to demand that so many Lubavitch Chassidim be denied "automatic Orthodox legitimacy," when Lubavitchers are far more stringent than many of us in many facets of halacha and they include scholars in Jewish law and philosophy every bit as accomplished as Dr. Berger.
Bringing the issue closer to home, he further states in his article that he does not see "the need to ask questions of Lubavitch students" at YU, but only because we don't ask questions of those not "fully committed" to Orthodoxy. His condescending comparison between Lubavitch and nonobservant students is both naive and offensive. He further equates Lubavitch Chassidim to Conservative Jewry when he says that he does not advocate anything "more draconian than the policies maintained by moderate Modern Orthodox Jews toward traditional Conservative Jews," as if the two groups are remotely comparable. Ignoring semantics for all practical purposes, this proposal is very close to a threat of excommunication. Dr. Berger's words are a profound personal insult to those committed Orthodox Jewish students affiliated with Chabad Lubavitch - an insult that demands an apology.
In light of the comments made by Dr. Berger in his article, one can only imagine the "analytical and non-polemical" classroom discussion in his messianism course at the Revel Graduate School. It is beyond imagination to think that his extremist analysis of Chabad does not make its way into the classroom, and is not accorded special deference, as the professor's point of view.
As members of the "orphaned generation," we students of Yeshiva University should applaud "all those who have thus far been silent"- those who have refused to join Dr. Berger's foolish anti-Lubavitch crusade, and who refuse to recognize him as the arbiter of Orthodox legitimacy.
This is not an issue of closed or open-mindedness. The real issue is that Dr. Berger is a promoter of division whose radical views should not be legitimized by our university. Yeshiva University has brought upon itself shame and disgrace by appointing an advocate of baseless hatred.
Dr. Berger begins by claiming we are trying to "intimidate and silence him." That he should attempt to paint himself as a victim is absurd. As an academic, he is free to express his opinions, but that does not mean that those opinions deserve respect or that Yeshiva University should reward an advocate of such views with a department chairmanship. Freedom of speech is a two-way street. When you voice your offensive vision, don't call it "intimidation" when people respond to it. Dr. Berger was even given the last word in The Commentator a few weeks ago.
I have been to Chabad Houses in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Israel and China and never once met anyone who says the Rebbe is "pure divinity." That is pure poppycock. I have furthermore been to many Chabad Houses where the Rebbe is not thought to be the Messiah. Undoubtedly there are those who espouse that view, but to vilify an entire Chassidic sect with roots to the Ba'al Shem Tov is nothing less than abhorrent. No organization has done more good for Judaism around the world, literally bringing Torah and Mitzvot to Jews no matter where they are physically or religiously. Chabad is not "hijacking [our] religion." It is driving Judaism around the world and inviting so many to return to it. Dr. Berger ignores the unparalleled and multi-faceted good done by Chabad; to see in Chabad an "existential threat to the Jewish religion" not only ignores the obvious opposite reality, but enters Dr. Berger into the realm of fringe fanaticism that he himself decries.
Dr. Berger argues that there is a need to ask questions of a Lubavitch Chassid who serves as a "rabbi, a dayyan, a Jewish Studies principal, and, in the context of avodah zorah, a shochet, a sofer, and a wine producer." In the context of avodah zorah? No such context exists! His own article is written in the context of unsubstantiated mistruths about a "very substantial number" of phantom Chassidim who view the Rebbe as the equivalent of Jesus.
The interrogation of Lubavitchers is unwarranted. Implementing this policy would accomplish nothing but harm many innocent people and devastate the unity of the Observant Jewish Community at a time when we desperately need to work together.
Dr. Berger has no right to demand that so many Lubavitch Chassidim be denied "automatic Orthodox legitimacy," when Lubavitchers are far more stringent than many of us in many facets of halacha and they include scholars in Jewish law and philosophy every bit as accomplished as Dr. Berger.
Bringing the issue closer to home, he further states in his article that he does not see "the need to ask questions of Lubavitch students" at YU, but only because we don't ask questions of those not "fully committed" to Orthodoxy. His condescending comparison between Lubavitch and nonobservant students is both naive and offensive. He further equates Lubavitch Chassidim to Conservative Jewry when he says that he does not advocate anything "more draconian than the policies maintained by moderate Modern Orthodox Jews toward traditional Conservative Jews," as if the two groups are remotely comparable. Ignoring semantics for all practical purposes, this proposal is very close to a threat of excommunication. Dr. Berger's words are a profound personal insult to those committed Orthodox Jewish students affiliated with Chabad Lubavitch - an insult that demands an apology.
In light of the comments made by Dr. Berger in his article, one can only imagine the "analytical and non-polemical" classroom discussion in his messianism course at the Revel Graduate School. It is beyond imagination to think that his extremist analysis of Chabad does not make its way into the classroom, and is not accorded special deference, as the professor's point of view.
As members of the "orphaned generation," we students of Yeshiva University should applaud "all those who have thus far been silent"- those who have refused to join Dr. Berger's foolish anti-Lubavitch crusade, and who refuse to recognize him as the arbiter of Orthodox legitimacy.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Ukranian president, Jewish leaders to meet
Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko will meet local Jewish leaders to discuss recent anti-Semitic attacks.
Yuschenko on Monday also will meet with representatives of the Ukrainian community and law enforcement generals about a spate of anti-Semitic attacks in Ukraine and the lackluster reaction by law enforcement agencies. There have no been no arrests or successful prosecutions, a member of Yuschenko's administration told JTA.
Yuschenko is expected to make a statement about combating the rise of ethnic hatred and anti-Semitic attacks in his country.
In late September three separate attacks on observant Jews took place in Zhitomir, Sevastopol and Cherkassy. On Oct. 5, the Chabad house in the city of Uzhgorod was set ablaze and robbed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)