By Simon Round
The United Synagogue could be about to benefit from a massive cash injection, courtesy of an unexpected benefactor: billionaire Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich.
According to sources close to the Russian oligarch, whose fortune is thought to be in excess of £8 billion, he has fallen out of love with football and is said to be seriously considering funding Britain’s biggest Jewish religious organisation.
Abramovich’s possible change of direction may explain why big-money signings at Chelsea have been thin on the ground in recent months.
The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, confirmed that recent talks with senior figures at the US are likely to result in a huge investment — possibly in excess of £100 million.
He told the JC: “Mr Abramovich has become passionate about his Judaism in the past year or two. His vision is to transform the United Synagogue into a world-class religious organisation which will be able to take on the best in Europe, notably the Catholic Church.”
Although Mr Abramovich has expressed confidence in the work done over the years by Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks, he is said to be enthusiastic about bringing in a new director of religion to work alongside Sir Jonathan in rejuvenating the organisation. He is also said to be considering investing in other personnel. Mr Abramovich plans to use the bait of higher salaries to recruit world-class rabbis from the continent and the USA.
A huge sum of money will also be earmarked to bring the organisation’s facilities up to date, with the flagship synagogue, St John’s Wood, set for demolition and reconstruction. Another plan Mr Abramovich is said to be considering is the building of a brand-new headquarters for the organisation — possibly at Stamford Bridge.
Said the source: “Two hotels were built as part of the Stamford Bridge complex by the previous Chelsea owner, Ken Bates. They could be converted into a state-of -the-art United Synagogue HQ. The Star of David would then stand alongside the Chelsea lion at the gates of the stadium.”
This is not the first time Mr Abramovich has donated funds to Jewish organisations.
In Russia, he is a long-time supporter of the Lubavitch-led Federation of Jewish Communities.
Showing posts with label United Kingdom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United Kingdom. Show all posts
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Chabad seeks a new chief executive
By Leon Symons
The Lubavitch movement has started a search for a new chief executive and director of fundraising as it seeks to repair the rift caused by the departure of its former chief fundraiser, Rabbi Faivish Vogel.
A letter from the movement’s council of management and executive committee has been sent to the entire Lubavitch community, asking for suitable candidates to be put forward.
Rabbi Vogel resigned after allegations were made that Chabad’s £1.5 million debt crisis had been precipitated by the opening of the Gaon Club for young business professionals in London’s West End in January last year. The club was run by Rabbis Yosef and Mendy Vogel, Rabbi Vogel’s sons.
Both sides faced each other at the London Beth Din at the end of last year, when the brothers were banned from any outreach work for six months.
After Rabbi Vogel’s departure, Lubavitch called in Bolt and Partners, a specialist “turnaround” company, to run its affairs. Bolt appointed a non-Jewish interim chief executive and was asked to produce a three-year plan to ease the movement’s economic crisis.
The letter to members, a copy of which has been seen by the JC, hinted that Bolt was already having an effect, saying: “An enormous amount of work has been achieved over the past few months in regard to organisational, governance and fundraising structures of the Lubavitch head office. An important component is to ensure there is continuity of leadership for Lubavitch UK for the next generation.”
Rabbi Nachman Sudak, the senior outreach emissary of Lubavitch, said: “This is all about achieving much greater transparency for the organisation.
“Bolt’s work will be finished at the end of this month. They have introduced new operating systems that should be modern and practical. Now we are looking for a new chief executive who will run the organisation.”
The Lubavitch movement has started a search for a new chief executive and director of fundraising as it seeks to repair the rift caused by the departure of its former chief fundraiser, Rabbi Faivish Vogel.
A letter from the movement’s council of management and executive committee has been sent to the entire Lubavitch community, asking for suitable candidates to be put forward.
Rabbi Vogel resigned after allegations were made that Chabad’s £1.5 million debt crisis had been precipitated by the opening of the Gaon Club for young business professionals in London’s West End in January last year. The club was run by Rabbis Yosef and Mendy Vogel, Rabbi Vogel’s sons.
Both sides faced each other at the London Beth Din at the end of last year, when the brothers were banned from any outreach work for six months.
After Rabbi Vogel’s departure, Lubavitch called in Bolt and Partners, a specialist “turnaround” company, to run its affairs. Bolt appointed a non-Jewish interim chief executive and was asked to produce a three-year plan to ease the movement’s economic crisis.
The letter to members, a copy of which has been seen by the JC, hinted that Bolt was already having an effect, saying: “An enormous amount of work has been achieved over the past few months in regard to organisational, governance and fundraising structures of the Lubavitch head office. An important component is to ensure there is continuity of leadership for Lubavitch UK for the next generation.”
Rabbi Nachman Sudak, the senior outreach emissary of Lubavitch, said: “This is all about achieving much greater transparency for the organisation.
“Bolt’s work will be finished at the end of this month. They have introduced new operating systems that should be modern and practical. Now we are looking for a new chief executive who will run the organisation.”
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Cash crisis tears apart Lubavitch
The Lubavitch movement in Britain has been plunged £1.5 million into the red, forcing it to close an expensive West End of London club for young Jews which had been open less than a year.
The funding crisis has left teachers at Lubavitch schools unpaid since April and caused splits in the leadership of the movement that pioneered Orthodox outreach in this country.
Rabbi Faivish Vogel, principal fundraiser of the organisation, is understood to have tendered his resignation last Friday, following the departure in November of his sons Rabbis Yosef and Mendy Vogel, who ran the Gaon Club off Bond Street, a prime Central London location.
Supporters of Lubavitch were told in a letter that “by far the largest proportion” of donations secured by the movement’s fundraising arm in recent years had been spent on the club, including “almost all” of this year’s £750,000 yield.
As a result, the movement had amassed large debts “in unpaid teachers’ salaries, bank loans and unpaid PAYE”, wrote Rabbi Shlomo Levin, recently appointed as a trustee of the Lubavitch Foundation to help plug the financial black hole.
Rabbi Levin confirmed to the JC this week that the movement’s debts now amounted to £1.5 million, although donors had stepped in to pay the teachers’ wages. If further funds could not be raised to cover the shortfall, the movement would probably have to “sell off an asset”, he said. “It’s early days yet.”
Differences between the Vogels and the Lubavitch Foundation culminated in a hearing at the London Beth Din, which issued a ruling two weeks ago. Rabbis Yosef and Mendy Vogel were barred from conducting outreach activities for six months without permission of the dayanim and from using the names “Lubavitch” or “Gaon Club”.
According to the rabbinical court judgment, a “rift” opened between Rabbi Faivish Vogel and his then fellow-trustees of the Lubavitch Foundation, Rabbis Nachman Sudak and Yitzchok Sufrin, who reported complaints from Lubavitch donors “alarmed by the lavish expenditure on The Gaon Club in its glitzy new premises”.
But Rabbis Yosef and Mendy Vogel felt undermined by “backstabbing emanating from the very highest echelons of the Lubavitch establishment” and a “whispering campaign” accusing them of “excessive expenditure and accounting irregularities”.
They maintained they had been “scrupulously honest” and had been “forced out of an organisation which they loyally served”. The Beth Din is due to hear a claim from the brothers that Lubavitch had “constructively dismissed” them.
The Gaon Club began some years ago as a series of ad hoc events, mainly for young professionals and business people, before moving in January into its elegant new home, the floor of an Adam building equipped with plasma TV screens and internet terminals. The premises, according to the Beth Din papers, had been offered rent-free by a businessman, Colin Gershinson.
Rabbi Sudak, the foundation’s principal, said: “The activities of the Gaon Club are laudable, but contrary to our expectations did not raise the necessary funds to support the ongoing Lubavitch commitment to schools and other activities.”
The Lubavitch network, which comprises schools, Chabad Houses and other outreach ventures, runs to an annual budget of £6.5 million. Rabbi Levin wrote that it was “obligated to close the Gaon Club in its present form”.
Rabbi Yosef Vogel said a statement would be issued in due course.
The funding crisis has left teachers at Lubavitch schools unpaid since April and caused splits in the leadership of the movement that pioneered Orthodox outreach in this country.
Rabbi Faivish Vogel, principal fundraiser of the organisation, is understood to have tendered his resignation last Friday, following the departure in November of his sons Rabbis Yosef and Mendy Vogel, who ran the Gaon Club off Bond Street, a prime Central London location.
Supporters of Lubavitch were told in a letter that “by far the largest proportion” of donations secured by the movement’s fundraising arm in recent years had been spent on the club, including “almost all” of this year’s £750,000 yield.
As a result, the movement had amassed large debts “in unpaid teachers’ salaries, bank loans and unpaid PAYE”, wrote Rabbi Shlomo Levin, recently appointed as a trustee of the Lubavitch Foundation to help plug the financial black hole.
Rabbi Levin confirmed to the JC this week that the movement’s debts now amounted to £1.5 million, although donors had stepped in to pay the teachers’ wages. If further funds could not be raised to cover the shortfall, the movement would probably have to “sell off an asset”, he said. “It’s early days yet.”
Differences between the Vogels and the Lubavitch Foundation culminated in a hearing at the London Beth Din, which issued a ruling two weeks ago. Rabbis Yosef and Mendy Vogel were barred from conducting outreach activities for six months without permission of the dayanim and from using the names “Lubavitch” or “Gaon Club”.
According to the rabbinical court judgment, a “rift” opened between Rabbi Faivish Vogel and his then fellow-trustees of the Lubavitch Foundation, Rabbis Nachman Sudak and Yitzchok Sufrin, who reported complaints from Lubavitch donors “alarmed by the lavish expenditure on The Gaon Club in its glitzy new premises”.
But Rabbis Yosef and Mendy Vogel felt undermined by “backstabbing emanating from the very highest echelons of the Lubavitch establishment” and a “whispering campaign” accusing them of “excessive expenditure and accounting irregularities”.
They maintained they had been “scrupulously honest” and had been “forced out of an organisation which they loyally served”. The Beth Din is due to hear a claim from the brothers that Lubavitch had “constructively dismissed” them.
The Gaon Club began some years ago as a series of ad hoc events, mainly for young professionals and business people, before moving in January into its elegant new home, the floor of an Adam building equipped with plasma TV screens and internet terminals. The premises, according to the Beth Din papers, had been offered rent-free by a businessman, Colin Gershinson.
Rabbi Sudak, the foundation’s principal, said: “The activities of the Gaon Club are laudable, but contrary to our expectations did not raise the necessary funds to support the ongoing Lubavitch commitment to schools and other activities.”
The Lubavitch network, which comprises schools, Chabad Houses and other outreach ventures, runs to an annual budget of £6.5 million. Rabbi Levin wrote that it was “obligated to close the Gaon Club in its present form”.
Rabbi Yosef Vogel said a statement would be issued in due course.
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