PR NewsWire - 01.20.2005

Rice Backs Return of Chabad Religious Texts From Russia

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Secretary of State nominee Condoleezza Rice said at confirmation hearings yesterday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the State Department will press the Russian Federation to return rare and irreplaceable religious texts to Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States, a Jewish religious organization. "We will very much push on those issues and issues of the Schneerson documents," said Rice. "We need to pay attention in Russia to what is happening to individual rights as well as religious freedom," she continued. Her comments came in response to questions by U.S. Senator Norm Coleman about the return of Chabad's library and archive, which are being held at the Russian State Library and the Russian State Military Archive.

In recent weeks, Members of Congress, in a bi-partisan effort, have been urging Russian President Vladimir V. Putin to release the religious texts to Chabad. In a letter dated December 15, 2004, Senator Coleman urged President Putin "to uphold the commitments made by the government of Russia" to return the books and archive to Chabad. Similarly, on December 16, 2004, Congressman Tom Lantos stressed that the Russian government's "unreasoning refusal" to return the religious texts to Chabad "disregards the basic principles of human rights, respect for religion and the pursuit of faith."

On November 9, 2004, Chabad filed a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles against the Russian Federation, the Russian Ministry of Culture and Mass Communication, the Russian State Library and the Russian State Military Archive. The suit asserts violations of international law and seeks an order preventing the sale or destruction of the collection and its immediate return to Chabad's central library in New York.

Chabad is represented by attorneys Marshall B. Grossman, Seth M. Gerber and Jonathan E. Stern of Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan.

Chabad is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York with over 2,700 international branches; it is the largest Jewish organization in the world today. Founded in 1772 by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, "Chabad" -- a Hebrew acronym for "Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge" -- is a philosophy of study, meditation, and social outreach that bridges rigorous academics with proactive community involvement. Inspired by seven generations of illustrious leaders beginning with Rabbi Schneur Zalman, Chabad has consistently been at the forefront of Jewish education and community activism. The work of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who assumed leadership of Chabad in 1950, is legendary. Motivated by a profound love for humanity and spurred by boundless optimism and dedication, the Rebbe lifted the global Jewish community from the ashes of the Holocaust, launching an unprecedented range of Jewish institutions, outreach programs and social services.

The religious texts that Chabad seeks to retrieve consist of rare and irreplaceable books, archives and manuscripts on Chabad philosophy, Jewish religious law, prayer and tradition. Over 12,000 books and 381 manuscripts belonging to Chabad are being held at the Russian State Library. In addition, the long-lost archive consisting of over 25,000 handwritten pages is stored at the Russian State Military Archive.

The saga of the Chabad Library goes back to the beginning of the 20th century. The fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneerson (1860-1920), fled the approaching German army during World War I in 1915 and was forced to leave the bulk of the Library in Moscow for safekeeping. The Bolshevik revolution prevented him from returning to recover the Library. In around 1924, the USSR placed it in the Russian State Library where it remains to this day.

The second part of the collection, the Archive, was seized around World War II. The sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Joseph Isaac Schneerson (1880-1950), who was arrested and sentenced to death for his commitment to Judaism in 1927 by the Soviets, ultimately fled to Poland and was granted permission by the Soviets to take the Archive with him. He survived Nazi Germany's attack and capture of Warsaw in World War II and escaped to the United States, but he was forced to leave the Archive behind. The fate of the Archive was a mystery until a portion of it was discovered and returned by Poland to Chabad in the 1970s. Chabad recently learned that the vast majority of the Archive were captured from the Nazis by the Soviet Army and placed in the Russian State Military Archive after World War II.

Despite years of political efforts, Russia has failed to return the Library to Chabad. Notables including President Clinton, Vice President Gore, and Senator Dole have urged the return of the Library to Chabad. In 1992, all 100 members of the U.S. Senate wrote to then-President Yeltsin urging him to fulfill his commitment to return the Library. In Russia, Mikhail Gorbachev and the Russian Supreme Court ordered that the Library be returned to Chabad. After the orders were ignored by the Russian State Library, both Presidents Yeltsin and Putin assured Chabad that the Library would be returned. However, there has been no significant action.

Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan LLP is a Los Angeles-based law firm and enjoys a national reputation for vigorous and creative advocacy in complex business and entertainment litigation and business transactions. Established in 1952, the firm has 100 lawyers.