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Review of the book "Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America" (Harcourt, Inc., 2001), by Jewish author Stephen Bloom (Bloom's indictment of a racist, chauvinist, seclusionist Chabad community that is taking over an Iowa town)

Subject: Michael Samuels Reports On Media Blackout. Quebec Government Funds Racist Jewish Cult That Claims All Christians and Muslims Are 'Evil,' MSA News (Moslem Student Association), October 16, 1999
[cached at google.com]
"My name is Michael Samuel. I am a former professor in the Judaic studies department of Concordia University, Montreal, and I have a question for you: What would you do if a racist cult tried to build its headquarters in your neighborhood? What if the cult targeted specifically young people, teaching them that all Christians and Muslims are:- 1. evil, Satanic creatures from birth (making all Gentile babies "little demons"); 2. no better than worms; 3. not really living beings at all, but already 'dead;' 4. all to be forcibly converted or subjugated by the 'Messiah,' whose arrival it is their sacred duty to hasten. These are just some of the racist teachings of the fanatical messianic cult named 'Chabad-Lubavitch.' This cult, masquerading as 'authentic Judaism,' has been promised nearly one million dollars in funding by the government of Premier Lucien Bouchard of Quebec in order to build its new religious complex in Cote St. Luc, Montreal. Why should you care? Because Chabad-Lubavitch is not just our problem, it may be yours as well. It is an extremely powerful, worldwide organization. Its power has until now intimidated the media, who are afraid to expose the evidence of racism produced here to the public, lest they be accused of anti-semitism. We desperately need your help in breaking this media blackout. Chabad-Lubavitch preys on young people in search of religious identity and meaning. It is aggressively missionizing and spreading its religious bigotry around the globe, especially on university campuses. Chances are, there is a Chabad-Lubavitch presence in your city already. Here are three typically racist passages taken from the basic textbook of Chabad-Lubavitch called 'Likute Amarim' or 'Tanya.' It is one of the primary texts used in their indoctrination or 'outreach' programs. Please note that I am using their own, officially sanctioned English translation (published by their 'Kehot Publication Society' New York -- London, 1973). In the very first chapter of this work, we read: 'The souls of the nations of the world (i.e. all Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, etc.), however, emanate from the other, unclean `kelipot' (evil forces) which contain no good whatever" (page 5). Further on, we read: "However, the `kelipot' (evil forces) are subdivided into two grades, one lower than the other. The lower grade consists of the three `kelipot' which are altogether unclean and evil, containing no good whatever. ... From them flow and derive the souls of all the nations of the world (i.e. all Christians, Muslims, etc.), and the existence of their bodies, and also the souls of all living creatures that are unclean and unfit for consumption' (chapter 6, page 25). Thus, Chabad-Lubavitch lumps non-Jews together with pigs, snakes and worms, and all other 'creatures that are unclean and unfit for consumption.' The third passage leaves absolutely no doubt as to their racist and religious bigotry: 'To elucidate still further, it is necessary to clarify the meaning of the verse, `The candle of God is the soul of (neshamah) of man.' What it means is that the souls of Jews, who are called 'man,' are, by way of illustration, like the flame of the candle, whose nature it is always to scintillate upwards... Now this is a general principle in the whole realm of holiness... This stands in direct contrast to the so-called `kelipah' (evil forces) and `sitra achara' (the other, evil side), wherefrom are derived the souls of the Gentiles... Therefore they (the Gentiles) are called `dead'..." (chapter 19, page 77 and 79). This text makes it clear that for Chabad-Lubavitch, only Jews are considered human ('called man'). They teach that non-Jews are sub-human creatures who barely even qualify as living beings (they are called 'dead'). If you would like to receive photocopies of these quotations which are taken verbatim from the Chabad-Lubavitch textbook (Hebrew original with their own official English translation), please send me your mailing address. If you would like to learn more about the hatred preached by Chabad-Lubavitch via email, especially about the theoretical (Kabbalistic) underpinnings of their 'metaphysical racism' please write me at: Michael Samuel ... Email: micsamu@total.net"

Sin City Shaliach,
Jewish Journal of Metropolitan Los Angeles, November 16, 2001
"Rabbi Shea Harlig, father of seven and founder of the Desert Torah Academy, is first of three Chabad shlichim (emissaries) sent here, and he doesn’t find anything unusual about living in the center of Sin City ... Now, the center of Vegas Chabad is a $1.5 million building, which was donated by Sheldon Adelson, owner of the luxurious Venetian on the famous Strip. This building houses the school (complete with a state-of-the-art computer lab, physical education instruction and 120 students), a mikvah, offices and a shul. On any given Shabbat, one finds a surprising number of men sporting black hats and long beards, and the services are spirited in a way that is reminiscent of shteibls in religious enclaves like Crown Heights — not hot and sunny places where palm trees line the streets and bright lights beckon to reckless endeavors. There are also two other Chabad houses in different suburbs, as well as various social, welfare and community services ... Yet, in true Chabad style, Harlig imagines that all problems will be solved with the coming of the Messiah. 'I envision when Moshiach will come, all the [Las Vegas] hotels will be big yeshivas [orthodox Jewish religious schools]. All the rooms will become dorm rooms, the big dining rooms will be where we will eat and the casinos will become learning halls. That is why I think these hotels were all built — so that they can become yeshivas."

Russian Rabbi Confident in Putin, Washington Post, November 14, 2001
"The chief rabbi of Russia [who is a Chabad] flew home Wednesday convinced that Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to fight anti-Semitism and 'eradicate it completely.' Rabbi Berel Lazar led a delegation of a half-dozen Russian and American Jews that met with Putin Tuesday night at the Russian Embassy. 'The meeting proved to me the commitment of President Putin for the well-being of Russian Jewry, his commitment to fighting anti-Semitism in any form in Russia and letting Russian Jews travel freely and retain their dual citizenship [i.e., Russian and Israeli citizenship],' Lazar said in a telephone interview from his airplane ... 'Jewish identity is our biggest problem,' the rabbi said. 'Seventy percent of Jews haven't come forward to identify as Jews. They used to be ashamed of being Jewish.' But now, Lazar said, 'there is a pride in being Jewish,' although it has not reached Jewish communities in remote areas of Russia. Synagogues are being returned to Jewish control and religious schools are being built."

A Messianism Some Call Heresy, Jerusalem Post, October 19, 2001
"Chabad is a potent force: 2,600 institutions around the world, large numbers of English-speaking rabbis, control of most of Judaism in Italy as well as the chief rabbinate of Russia (its Russia budget alone is $20 million a year). It is an organization with immense world-wide financial resources ... In fact, Chabad is a movement of monumental importance. Observant Jews are profoundly dependent on its emissaries all over the world, it plays a major role in kosher food preparation and supervision worldwide, its rabbis dominate or are poised to dominate Jewish communities in a startling number of countries."

Haredim, Shas, NRP and Chabad, All Under One Zionist Roof,
Haaretz (Israeli newspaper), January 2, 2001
"What's really important," [Eliezer Sheffer] went on, 'is that 60 percent of Jewish education in the former Soviet Union is provided by Chabad, and much of the rest by other Haredi organizations.' He noted that tycoon Lev Levayev, himself Orthodox and a guest of honor at the event, 'brings hundreds of youngsters [from there] to Israel. Religious Zionism only has one school there.'"

In Defense of Dr. Laura, The Jewish Homemaker
"It was at this time that, as she humorously puts it, she [famous radio talk show host 'Dr. Laura Schlessinger], [husband] Lew, and [son] Deryk elected to 'upgrade' their Jewish status. Having become aware that a Conservative conversion did not pass muster in the eyes of traditional Judaism, the family flew to Canada, where Rabbi [Reuven] Bulka converted Laura, Lew, and Deryk k’halachah, in accordance with traditional Jewish law. Deryk now attends Shalhevet, a yeshivah in Los Angeles. This summer he went to Israel with Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis. Today the family makes its spiritual home at the Chabad of the Conejo, in Agoura, California, and has developed a close relationship with the synagogue’s leader, Rabbi Moshe Bryski. Dr. Laura recalls their first visit to the shul. 'The first person we saw said, ‘Welcome. Would you like to come to our house for lunch?’ Everyone was just so nice. We all liked it a lot, so that’s been home.' She says of Orthodoxy: 'I’m enthralled with the mentality' of people actually living their beliefs."

Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel,
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, March 2000
"Common to both the Talmud and Halacha, Orthodox religious law, is a differentiation between Jews and non-Jews. The late, highly revered Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the 'Lubovitcher Rebbe' who headed the Chabad movement and wielded great influence in Israel as well as in the U.S., explained that, 'The difference between a Jewish and a non-Jewish person stems from the common expression: ‘Let us differentiate.’ Thus, we do not have a case of profound change in which a person is merely on a superior level. Rather, we have a case of ‘let us differentiate’ between totally different species. This is what needs to be said about the body: the body of a Jewish person is of a totally different quality from the body of [members] of all nations of the world…A non-Jew’s entire reality is only vanity. It is written, ‘And the strangers shall guard and feed your flocks’ (Isaiah 61:5). The entire creation [of a non-Jew] exists only for the sake of the Jews…' Rabbi Schneerson always supported Israeli wars and opposed any retreat. In 1974 he strongly opposed the Israeli withdrawal from the Suez area. He promised Israel divine favors if it persisted in occupying the land. After his death, thousands of his Israeli followers played an important role in the election victory of Binyamin Netanyahu. Among the religious settlers in the occupied territories, the Chabad Hassids constitute one of the most extreme groups. Baruch Goldstein, the mass murderer of Palestinians, was one of them."

Lubavitcher Annual Telethon Creates an Enduring Mystery, Jewish Bulletin of Northern California, September 3, 1999
"One of the enduring mysteries of Los Angeles Jewish life is Jon Voight. Each year, Jews turn on their televisions to see the Oscar-winning actor, who isn't Jewish, dancing the hora with a Chassidic rabbi, appealing to viewers to give money to the rabbi's cause, and generally looking like a yeshiva bocher on Simchat Torah. And each year, Jews turn to one another and ask: What's that all about? And it's not just Voight. Anthony Hopkins, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Danza, Edward James Olmos and Carroll O'Connor, among dozens of stars, turned up Sunday at the studios of the annual Chabad Telethon to show their heartfelt support to West Coast Chabad founder and telethon creator Rabbi Boruch Shlomo Cunin. It aired in the Bay Area on KTSF-TV, Channel 26. This year, Vice President Al Gore added his voice to the fund-raising appeal via a videotape. For weeks before the telethon, Los Angeles is awash in giant billboards that feature a stylized image of the dancing rabbi. One year, he popped up on every Vons grocery bag. It's a level of publicity beyond the dreams or abilities of most Jewish organizations in town. Come telethon time, the high profile pays off with big bucks. Sunday's telethon brought in more than $4.7 million, according to Chabad Lubavitch. But along with the high profile comes, of course, the carping. As much as people love to love Chabad, there are those who love to hate it. The whisper campaign of allegations can be deafening. It's important to note that none of the worst charges that have arrived on our desk comes with any hard evidence ... If 20 years ago a devout, bearded rabbi had asked you whether a relatively small group of Jews in traditional black garb who adhere to an Orthodox, non-egalitarian interpretation of Jewish practice could raise millions of dollars on television and attract Hollywood and music industry stars, you would have said, 'Yeah, right, and how about an Amish game show while you're at it.' But Cunin pulled it off. And this is how: His organization knows how to convey its passion for Jewish life."

Netanyahu Woos LA Jews,
Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, January 18, 2002
"In Los Angeles this week — at the Chabad of the Marina and the Golan Fund Humanitarian Award Dinner — [former Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu didn’t comment specifically on plans to run, but he did speak generally about security in Israel and the world. In an eloquent speech to some 600 friends of Chabad of the Marina at The Regent Beverly Wilshire hotel on Sunday night, Netanyahu focused on refuting the Palestinian claim that 'the Jews have stolen our land' from a historical, legal, political and demographic perspective. The event was dedicated to the deeds and teachings of Rabbi Menachem. M. Schneerson, and Netanyahu recalled a conversation he had with the Lubavicher Rebbe in the 1980s. 'He urged me to light a candle of truth in the House of Lies, by which he meant the United Nations,' said Netanyahu, who closed his address by exhorting his listeners to 'light a candle for truth, for the Rebbe, for Israel and for the future of our people.'"

Ari Fleischer: Reform Lubavitch, by James Besser,
Baltimore Jewish Times, 10/26/2001, V.262, N.8, p. 30
"Like that of most high-ranking White House officials, press secretary Ari Fleischer's life has been an exhausting blur since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But he took a few hours off last week to pick up an award from American Friends of Lubavitch, and to help boost the group's extensive Jewish outreach efforts on Capitol Hill -- efforts that Mr. Fleischer, a former congressional staffer, has supported from the beginning. He was given the group's Young Leadership award and Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) was the night's honoree at a dinner that drew hundreds of Washington political bigwigs, Capitol Hill staffers and Washington money people. Mr. Fleischer was an early leader and co-president of Chabad's Capitol Jewish Forum, which brings together lawmakers and congressional and administration staffers for Jewish events study ... In a show of bi-partisanship, both Mr. Fleischer and Mr. Lieberman lavished praise on the active Chabad effort that emphasizes the army of young staffers in government and political jobs."

Rabbi vs. Rabbi,
Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, March 22, 2002
"Last Monday night, shots were fired into the front window of the Living Judaism Center (LJC) in Marina del Rey and into a car belonging to center board member Harris Toibb. Toibb is a major supporter of LJC, which is involved in a public legal battle for control of the property at 2929 Washington Blvd. in Marina del Rey, currently occupied by LJC and formally known as Chabad of the Marina. The struggle has pitted two charismatic leaders against each other, and brings into question the right to dissemination of Chabad Torah teachings in Los Angeles. At press time there was an active effort within the Chabad community to bring both parties to a mutually agreed beit din (rabbinical court), which will bring a resolution between the sides. If both parties agree to go to the rabbinical court, all civil litigation will be revoked. The skirmish between Rabbi Shmulik Naparstek of the LJC and Rabbi Boruch Shlomo Cunin of Chabad of California has been percolating for some years. The trouble began in October 2000 when Barron’s magazine published the article 'Unholy Gains: When stock promoters cross paths with religious charities, investors had best be on guard,' in which Naparstek admitted that he received a gift of stock from Australian financier Joseph Gutnick. (No charges were ever filed against Naparstek, and he denies any wrongdoing.) For the next year, Cunin and Naparstek traded letters over the matter, and in January, Cunin fired Naparstek. Naparstek then filed for control over the synagogue, and on March 4, Cunin’s legal team filed a counter-complaint in the Los Angeles Superior Court accusing the Chabad of the Marina of ties to 'an alleged international stock manipulation scheme.'"

Bush Meets Lubavitch Rabbis to Mark Rebbe's 100th Birthday,
Haaretz [Israeli newspaper], March 26, 2002
"U.S. President George W. Bush hosted a delegation of 10 leading rabbis and officials from the Lubavitch Hasidic movement at the White House yesterday. The 90-minute meeting took place in the framework of events organized by the movement to mark the 100th birthday of the late Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson ... Bush added his signature to a document declaring the late Rebbe's birthday 'The day of education and charity.' [Avraham] Rabbi Shem-Tov thanked the president for his support of Israel and presented him with a Passover Haggadah."

In Israel, Distressed Signals from Ethiopians,
Christian Science Monitor, May 22, 2002
"The gap between black and white Israelis seems, with some exceptions, to be growing. For Ethiopians, it is visible in impoverished neighborhoods, soaring unemployment, and the highest high-school dropout rate of any Jewish group in Israel. Twenty-six percent of Ethiopian youths have either dropped out or do not show up for classes most of the time, raising concerns that the community's current difficulties may become chronic. Drug use, including glue-sniffing, is on the rise, and criminal activity, hardly known among Ethiopians before they came to Israel, has been growing ... to Asher Elias, a staff member at the Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews (IAEJ). 'Ethiopians have lots of motivation to become Israelis, but they are not accepted,' he says. 'In jobs, in education, people feel they are discriminated against because they are black. I'm not saying it is right or wrong, but it is what we are feeling, and that is enough.' A low point in the relationship between Ethiopian Jews and Israelis came in 1996, when it was revealed that Israeli hospitals had thrown out all blood donated by Ethiopians. "These were donations to help other Israelis," Mr. Elias says. "[Ethiopians] said to each other: 'What do they think? That we are not humans?' Habad, one of Israel's stronger orthodox religious groups, doesn't recognize Ethiopians as Jews or allow their children into its kindergartens."

Corn Belt Estate Saga Pits Orthodox vs. Orthodox,
[Jewish] Forward, November 22, 2002
"The only two Orthodox synagogues in Des Moines, Iowa, are battling in court over the $240,000 estate of a late congregant who willed her fortune to both synagogues at separate times. The dispute is pitting the Orthodox Union-affiliated Congregation Beth El Jacob against the Judaic Resource Center of Chabad Lubavitch of Iowa. The two synagogues of different Orthodox stripes are located on opposite sides of the same block, bisected by a creek. They serve a tiny Orthodox community of a few hundred families in the state's capital. Beth El Jacob filed a lawsuit claiming the elderly Blima Fordonski was not of sound mind when she signed away her assets to the Chabad institution five years after bequeathing her estate to Beth El Jacob. Beth El Jacob is also demanding the second will be thrown out on technical grounds, including charges that the rabbi and president of the Chabad synagogue were invalid witnesses because they stood to gain from the will ... But outside of court, synagogue leaders are lobbing charges of deception and libel at each other in a Jew vs. Jew conflict that seems to be rocking the remote Orthodox community to its very core. In a city with a total Jewish population of 3,200, the two Orthodox synagogues count 230 families participating in services between them. Like the clash chronicled in Stephen Bloom's 2000 book 'Postville,' the dispute features a chasidic Chabad community in dispute with its neighbors in a small Iowa town. Unlike the book, however, the neighbors in this case are fellow Orthodox Jews. 'There are elements of Beth El Jacob who have waged a campaign of unfounded hate and defamation against Rabbi Jacobson and Chabad Lubavitch of Iowa,' said a board member of the Chabad synagogue, David Feder, '... I was raised in Texas in the early 1960s and by far the worst antisemitism I have ever encountered in my life has been in Des Moines, Jew against Jew.'"

Court Reverses Cincinnati Ban on Menorah Display,
ABC News, November 30, 2002
"A U.S. Supreme Court justice has struck down the city of Cincinnati's ban against a Jewish display of the menorah on a downtown square -- and all other religious exhibits -- during the holiday season. Justice John Paul Stevens ruled late Friday that the city may not enforce its restriction against such displays, which was designed primarily to block the Ku Klux Klan from erecting a cross on Fountain Square as it has several times during the Christmas season in the past. In upholding a decision Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott, Justice Stevens said the city was denying citizens' rights to use the square as a 'public forum.' Judge Dlott called it an 'offensive violation' of free-speech rights for the city to confine the use of Fountain Square to a city-sponsored display, including a huge Christmas tree, during the seven-week period ... When the Ku Klux Klan has put up Christmas crosses in the past, the city has been forced to protect them from protesters who have dismantled them on several occasions. Such disorders have discouraged people from shopping downtown, the mayor said. Chabad of Southern Ohio, the Jewish organization which sought to overturn the city restriction, had applied for a city permit to erect a 10-foot-high candelabrum known as a menorah during the eight days of Hanukkah, which began Friday."

Chabad's lost son,
by Yair Sheleg, Ha'artez (Israel), December 26, 2002
"Very few among Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidim know this story, and those who do go to great lengths to deny it. After all, it is not easy for the Hasidim to accept that Rabbi Moshe, the youngest son of the founder of their movement, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1902-1994) [sic: wrong century]- better known in Jewish history as the Ba'al Hatanya and the author of the Likutei Amarim Tanya, a basic book on Hasidic philosophy - converted to Christianity. In Eastern Europe of the last 200 years, conversion to Christianity was certainly not unheard of, and was most often motivated by a desire to alleviate the conditions of life - to find a job or be accepted to studies - or romance - falling in love with a non-Jew. But the conversion of a major Hasidic rabbi's son is certainly the most celebrated case. The story was first made public by Professor David Assaf, a lecturer in Jewish history at Tel Aviv University, in an article he published some two-and-a-half years ago in a journal called 'Zion.' According to Assaf's research, involving the study of a wide variety of Hasidic sources related to Christianity, Moshe converted at the age of 36, when he was already married and had children. Moshe was his father's favorite son and viewed as his father's successor. Despite Moshe's young age, he was appointed to the prestigious position of hozer - the one who repeats the rabbi's sermons for the Hasidim ... Assaf takes the view that Moshe's conversion to Christianity occurred as a result of mental illness. As he puts it: 'He lost his mind and then his religion' ... Assaf says that the sixth Lubavitcher rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak Schneerson (1880-1950), was the first of the Hasidic movement's leaders who tried to contend with the story of the conversion by means of total denial."

With warmth and hard work, Chabad grows quickly on campus,
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Dec. 27, 2002
"'At Chabad we use a phrase, ‘Every Jew is family,' said Rabbi Hirsch Zarchi, 29, who heads the Chabad house at Harvard, where he is known to everyone as Hirschy. As Jewish organizations of all stripes wonder how to get young people more involved in Jewish life, Chabad’s approach appears to be working. Chabad is the 'fastest-growing Jewish presence on campus,' said an official with one Jewish organization. There currently are full-time Chabad houses on 61 college campuses across the United States. Chabad offers part-time programming at another 80 schools. The fervently Orthodox movement is in the midst of a new push to open full-time houses on another 20 campuses. Of those, 12 already have opened. The campuses targeted in the latest wave are those considered prestigious or that have large Jewish populations, and that have requested a Chabad house, according to Rabbi Menachem Schmidt, a member of Chabad’s campus executive committee and the Chabad representative at the University of Pennsylvania. The rationale was to find students with leadership potential and groom them into Jewish leaders, said George Rohr, the philanthropist who funded the initiative."

20 New Chabad Centers To Open on West Coast,
Lubavitch International
"Coming from San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and dozens of cities in between, 150 shluchim gathered last weekend for the 35th annual West Coast Chabad Shluchim convention at the Ontario Marriott. Appropriately themed Unity, the convention focused on the collective strength achieved through a unified, cohesive body of shluchim, working together towards the same goal of reaching every last Jew, and creating vibrant communities throughout the West Coast ... Prominent on the agenda, said Rabbi B. Shlomo Cunin, director of West Coast Chabad since its founding in 1965, is CAFA, or Chabad Action For America, a program that will link Chabad programs in California and Nevada to the new White House faith-based initiatives. CAFA will identify Chabad’s social service and outreach programs that might be eligible for the funding provided by the initiative so that 'programs that were previously overlooked because of their religious affiliations will now benefit from government funding, creating the possibility for further growth and establishing a paradigm for other Chabad centers across the nation,' says Rabbi Chaim Cunin, spokesperson for Chabad of the West Coast. In a gesture of solidarity with their fellow Jews in Israel, Chabad announced that it will work with the Israeli Consulate and the Israeli Ministry of Tourism to send Chabad rabbis to Israel, to offer much-needed encouragement and support. The first group is scheduled to travel to Israel at the end of February. The initiative, Chabad is hopeful, will in turn encourage members of the rabbis’ respective communities to do likewise, generating goodwill and support for Israel during these difficult times. To date, there are 180 Chabad-Lubavitch couples serving communities along the West coast in more than 100 centers, 25 day schools, and 30 summer camps. Topping off the conference announcements, Rabbi Cunin publicized plans to dramatically expand Chabad’s services in California by establishing an additional 20 Chabad centers here during the upcoming year, bringing the total number of centers serving California and Nevada’s Jews to 200."

Jewish Astronuat Takes Mitzvah Into Space,
Lubavitch International
"The Shuttle Columbia launched successfully this morning January 16, to the lively singing, of 'Oseh Shalom.' Hundreds of proud Israelis swelled with joy, having arrived from Israel to witness firsthand the launch of the Shuttle, which carries the first Israeli Astronaut, Col. Ilan Ramon. On hand to serve the Israeli guests is Rabbi Tzvi Konikov, Chabad-Lubavitch representative to the Space Coast, who has arranged for the only simultaneous translation in Hebrew of the live countdown coverage of the Shuttle Columbia launch ... Ramon, who consulted with Rabbi Konikov months ago (see lubavitch.com archives http://www.lubavitch.com/article.asp?ID=17)about how to mark Shabbat in space, had asked Rabbi Konikov for a dollar bill from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, which he carried with him on his mission. The dollar bill represents the mitzvah of tzedaka, charity-giving, which the Rebbe promoted by distributing dollars to all those who came to seek his blessing. The dollar bill was meant to be given to charity, but most people cherish the particular bill that was held by the Rebbe, preferring to give another one or more, in its place to charity."

Pnina Feldman Resources Debut on list Sydney,
Sydney Morning Herald (Australia),
"Joe Gutnick's sister Pnina Feldman, is one of the extraordinary events of 1997. Investors were tantalised by tales in the prospectus of her search for the 12 gemstones from the breastplate worn by the high priest in the Jerusalem temple more than 3000 years ago. Feldman, a member of the Lubavitch Jewish community, launched Diamond Rose on April 19, the birthday of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Schneerson, who is reported to have told Gutnick that the stones were in Australia. Diamond Rose includes 17 gemstone, precious and base-metal exploration tenements in north-western Australia."

Three years ago this Australian rabbi was a laughing stock. Now he controls companies worth $2.4 billion and is calling Israeli elections. "Diamond Joe" Gutnick and the Rebbe's prophecy,
By Matthew Schifrin, Forbes, December 2, 1996
"On his second visit to the U.S. after becoming prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu visited a small cemetery in Queens, N.Y., not far from Kennedy airport. There he paid respects at the grave of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Rebbe (grand rabbi) of Judaism's ultraorthodox Lubavitcher sect. Netanyahu was paying a political debt. Escorting the prime minister was another Hasidic rabbi, Joseph Gutnick, a Schneerson disciple. But Gutnick is more than a rabbi. Little-known outside of Australia and Israel, the bearded, black-coated Gutnick, 44, has amassed a $400 million fortune in Australian mining. But for Gutnick, Bibi Netanyahu and his Likud Party would probably have lost the Israeli elections. The story begins in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1990, when Rebbe Schneerson became concerned about Israel's left-leaning politics. He summoned the wealthiest among his 200,000 followers - Joseph Gutnick - and made him his special emissary for the 'integrity of the land of Israel.' Lubavitchers and most other Orthodox Jews felt Israel's Labor government was giving too much to the Palestinians for too little in return. Gutnick reportedly spent millions campaigning against the Labor Party and for Netanyahu, who takes a harder line with the Palestinians. With money and propaganda from Gutnick, 5,000 Lubavitcher volunteers went door-to-door in Israel campaigning - especially among Russian immigrants ... After marrying the daughter of a wealthy Australian textilemaker, Max New, in 1974, Gutnick studied to become a rabbi at Lubavitcher headquarters in Brooklyn and returned to run a girls' seminary in Melbourne. But his father-in-law's business beckoned, and soon Gutnick found himself more interested in trading stocks than in making garments. He bought mostly mining shares and eventually accumulated enough large stakes to sit on more than a dozen boards, including that of gold mining company Great Central Mines. In the 1970s and 1980s Gutnick rode the boom in Australian mining stocks. By the mid-1980s he had built an initial $200,000 or so into over $100 million, but he then lost two-thirds of it when the Australian stock market collapsed in October 1987. 'I learned that cash flow assets are much more important than paper assets,' says Gutnick, whose Australian accent is right out of Crocodile Dundee. What he means is that paper assets can lose their value in a short time but income-producing properties keep money coming in day after day. To that end he invested in gold production at Great Central Mines. Unlike most religious Jews who believe in keeping a low profile, Gutnick understood the value of publicity. He began saying that Rebbe Schneerson had encouraged him to forge on after the crash by blessing him and assuring he would make major discoveries in gold and diamonds ... At home in Australia, Gutnick cuts a prominent figure. He has a city home and a beach home in Melbourne. A Bentley transports his wife and ten children around Melbourne. His name is frequently in the headlines, his face and voice on TV. He is courted by Australian politicians, including the prime minister." [More Gutnick family]

[As usual: one standard for Jews, another for everyone else. Note what Chabad is here. Jews are innately victims, is that not so? POWERFUL, vengeful victims too. And we must always compensate them -- including special rules -- for their intrinsic benevolence.]
Synagogue wins at 6:06 a.m.,
Miami Herald, March 15, 2003
"After nine hours of fiery testimony, heated debate, dazed disbelief and audience catnaps, a city board decided early Friday to allow the Hollywood Community Synagogue-Chabad Lubavitch to stay in its Hollywood Hills location in a block of single-family homes. The decision came at 6:06 a.m. Homeowners who complained about noise, traffic and parking problems lost their battle to oust the house of worship from the midst of their residential neighborhood. The board voted 5-2 to give the Chabad a special exception allowing it to stay, with several conditions, including having them come back every three years for a review ... The board's decision is being questioned. Commissioner Sal Oliveri, a staunch opponent of the Chabad's request who attended the marathon meeting, said he will ask for an appeal and will challenge the board's decision. 'Their procedure was very irregular,' Oliveri said. `That has never been done before' ... In 2001, the Chabad was the focus of a 13-hour Hollywood City Commission meeting over whether the a synagogue should be allowed to stay in two houses at 2215 and 2221 N. 46th Ave. Commissioners gave the congregation a one-year pass. Last year, the Development Review Board voted to allow the congregation to stay at the site, with conditions, for an additional six months ... Jamie Mardis, a resident who presented evidence at the hearing, said he saw 127 people go into the synagogue recently. The rabbi disputed that number."

[Here's a case where the Yahoo! web company merely passed along a Chabad "press release" as news.]
Press Release. Source: Mitzvah Tank Office Parade 53,
Yahoo! Financial News, April 10, 2003
"Chabad Lubavitch Headquarters, 770 Eastern Parkway. 53 mitzvah tanks will roll through the streets of New York City this Thursday to honor this century's most influential Jewish leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. This year on Thursday, April 10th 2003, people around the world will be celebrating the Rebbe's 101st birthday. Chabad Lubavitch will head this celebration with a motorcade consisting of 53 mitzvah tanks, which will parade throughout the streets of New York, spreading the Rebbe's message of goodness across the metropolitan area, as we stand shoulder to shoulder with our President in his fight against evil, and in solidarity with the Jewish community of Israel in their fight against Arab terrorism (please see www.truepeace.org). The 'mitzvah tank,' launched by the Rebbe in 1974, is a motor home that has been transformed into a synagogue on wheels. Unlike an army tank, which represents war and destruction, the mitzvah tank is meant to represent peace. The mitzvah tanks, armed with religious articles and manned by young orthodox rabbis, welcome all, regardless of race, religion or gender. Young and old are invited aboard the motor home and encouraged to do their part in making this world a better place. The mitzvah tanks travel across the globe, offering spiritual refreshment on the spot for people on the go. Their message of hope touches millions around the world ... World leaders such as Margaret Thatcher, Yitzchak Rabin, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Menachem Begin, listened to the Rebbe, learned from the Rebbe and honored the Rebbe. The Rebbe is involved in everything from women's rights to the Gulf War. Dedicating his life to helping others, the Rebbe spreads his simple message of increasing in acts of loving kindness and reaching out to anyone interested in learning what traditional Jewish life is all about, including teaching universal principles of morality to non-Jews. In 1995, President Clinton awarded the Gold Congressional Medal of Honor to the Rebbe."

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