Russia, U.S. Fight Over Stolen Chabad Manuscripts
MOSCOW — Russia on Thursday harshly criticized a U.S. court ruling fining it $50,000 a day for holding onto tens of thousands of religious books and manuscripts stolen from Jews during the Russian revolution and World War II.
Russia’s State Library and the Russian military archive have refused to give up the books, some hundreds of years old, even after a U.S. court ruled that the Brooklyn-based Chabad-Lubavitch group is the rightful owner. The country says the books are part of its national heritage.
Chief Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court ruled Wednesday that Russia should pay the fine until it complies with his 2010 order to return the collection to the Jewish group.
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday called the ruling “an absolutely unlawful and provocative decision” and threatened a tough response if U.S authorities try to seize Russian property in an attempt to get the fine.
There are two collections at issue: 12,000 religious books and manuscripts seized during the Bolshevik revolution and the Russian Civil War nearly a century ago; and 25,000 pages of handwritten teachings and other writings of religious leaders stolen by Nazi Germany during World War II, then transferred by the Soviet Red Army as war booty to the Russian State Military Archive.
Efforts to get the materials returned date back decades, involving presidential administrations and members of Congress of both parties. Mikhail Shvydkoi, a culture adviser to President Vladimir Putin, insisted that Moscow and Washington reached a compromise in the 1990s when Russia pledged to provide public access to the documents.
“Russia made good on all of its promises regarding this issue,” he said, adding that the Russian State Library built a special prayer room inside the library to accommodate Jewish pilgrims who come to study the manuscripts.
Following Lamberth’s 2010 ruling, Russia completely halted the loan of its art treasures for exhibit in the United States, for fear that they would be seized and held hostage in the court battle.
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From the Huffington Post
The Vatican Too
We should also get a judge to fine the Vatican too until they return all the stolen books and items from the Beis HaMikdash they are holding.
Milhouse
There’s no reason to believe they have anything from the BHMK. How would they have got it?
They probably do have sforim that were once stolen from their owners, but there’s no evidence for it, and even if there was, who owns them now?
woah woah woah woah woahhhhh
@ number 2….
It is KNOWN to everyone that Vatican has menorahs and other holy things from the BHMK. but number ones comment is pointless, obiously hashem doesnt want us to have it at this point.
and if we got it, what would we do? Keep it in 770? keep it in my house? no mine! no miine!
Milhouse
It is “KNOWN”?! Who knows it, exactly?
There is no reason to believe it, and it makes little sense. How exactly would the Vatican have obtained these objects?
Menachem the priest
It’s known?
Please present a source, I’m searching for it myself.
Here are a few facts and you decide.
1.What’s known is that the Vatican became a church in the mid 300’s by emperor Constantine.
2.The Bais Hamikdash was destroyed in the year 69 .
3.Josephus writes that they placed the booty from the bais hamikdash on display in the temple of peace.
4.The arch of titus erected in 81 portrays images jof the minorah.
5. The Gimara in Shabbos (63b)and other places discuss what rav Elazar ben rav Yossi saw in Rome, namely the tzitz and the curtains (poroches).
6. Rome was sacked many times by barbarians namely the Visigoths, vandals and goth’s between the years 410-546CE.
7.vatican displayed yochin and boaz two pillars from the Bais Hamikdash in the 19th century.
8. Vatican posses over 900 Hebrew manuscripts including Rambams…as well as the oldest known siddur from the 9th century which is on loan to the Jewish museum of London.
9. President of Israel katsav and many chief rabbi’s have requested as to the whereabouts of the minorah from the Vatican and never received a reply.
Many historians claim that when they looted gold they would melt it all down to make transport feasable.
So it might have been burried or hidden in one of the vaults in the bais hamikdash. We would like to think that it’s as simple as that the Vatican has it and they should give it to us. But derEmes is Ver veist???
Milhouse
1. The Vatican isn’t a church, it’s a hill, on which several churches and other buildings were built over the centuries. It didn’t “become” a church in Constantine’s day; Constantine simply built a church there, in what was a cemetery.
7. This is utter nonsense. Think about it. How on earth could Yachin and Boaz have ever got to Rome, let alone to the Vatican?
8. Yes, they own lots of seforim. Where is the evidence that any of them were stolen? Let alone who owns them now?
Nobody has yet explained how they imagine the Catholic Church could ever possibly have obtained anything from the BHMK. Who would have given it to them,and why?
shlomo, as always with bad english
what problem today, scan all this book and learn it. confrontation can harm to russian jews