Chabad HQ Clarifies: No Political Endorsements
Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters today released a statement that, in contrast to a banner for Rubain Dorancy with a backdrop of the Kinus Hashluchim group portrait, they do not endorse political candidates and have not authorized use of the photo for his campaign.
The statement reads:
“It is a long standing policy that Lubavitch World Headquarters does not endorse political candidates for any political office.
It has come to our attention that political campaign literature has been circulated using a photo of Chabad Lubavitch emissaries against the backdrop of Lubavitch World Headquarters.
This was done without our knowledge and authorization.”
Update: CrownHEights.info has learned that Rubain Dorancy personally phoned Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, to apologize for his campaign’s unauthorized use of the Kinus Hashluchim photo.
His apology was readily accepted, and the campaign was instructed to dispose of remaining flyers depicting the photo.
Now what?
What will the Dorancy people do now? My guess, they will use it anyway because Merkos isn’t threatening to sue.
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Ironically, almost no one in that picture is a crown heights resident.
Jay Sorid, Esq.
I recently confronted candidate Dorancy about whether his endorsement by Yvette Clarke would tie his hands in preventing the oversaturation of homeless and mentally ill individuals in Crown Heights since Uma Clarke founded Camba which just built two new buildings for homeless individuals and affordable housing on Albany & Winthrop. I was booed to sit down by his supporters.
Three recent knockout attacks in our area were by homeless and mentally ill.
Instead of building a research hospital, the old Brooklyn psychiatric center is under construction for 279 units for the homeless and affordable housing. Affordable housing includes housing for the mentally ill, drug addicted, alcohol addicted as well. This third adjacent building, 560 Winthrop will also be run by CAMBA. A proposal to create a laboratory for research and development was turned down in favor of this third building for CAMBA to house the homeless. These are all in addition to the homeless shelter on 681 Clarkson.
Thanks for making my neighborhood safer Rubain Dorancy, while your family lives in Mill Basin.
Milhouse
This is not some new stand. Lubavitch has a long-standing policy, going back at least a century, of nonpartisanship. Individual members can and do participate in partisan politics, and always have done, but as a movement Lubavitch is strictly nonpartisan. (The Rebbe only broke that policy once, when he endorsed the Agudah in the 1988 Israeli election, and he made it clear at the time that this was a never-to-be-repeated exception because the issue that triggered the Agudah-Degel split was the Rebbe’s kovod.)
K
Lies!
Lubavitch of Israel officially endorse candidates at nearly ever election, starting with the “Bibi is good for the Jews” champaign and continuing on.
The irony is that EVEN when these candidates have proven to go AGAINST the directives of the Lubavitch Rebbe Z”L, they STILL continue to endorse them!
I am melamed zchus that in Israel, endorsing certain candidates will result in a financial gain, so they are meshuchad (bribed and blinded) by the money. However, such motivation can apply in the USA too…
Further, those in the know – know, that the Agudah-Degel split had hardly anything to do with Chabad.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but the Frum world does not revolve around Chabad.
Milhouse
The misnaged K repeats his lies. Here are the facts, which are well-documented, and which everyone in Lubavitch who follows politics already knows:
* Lubavitch in Israel has never officially endorsed anyone, except in 1988.
* “Bibi tov layhudim” was a private campaign by an individual, and was not endorsed by the Lubavitch movement.
* Only the rabbeim set Lubavitch policy, and for as long as modern politics have existed the rabbeim have had an official policy that “Lubavitch is nonpartisan”. As I wrote, 1988 was an exception.
* The issue over which Degel split from the Agudah was explicitly the Rebbe’s kovod. The Lev Simcha took a stand for the Rebbe’s kovod, and the menuval formed his own newspaper and his own party. I am well aware that there were already tensions that led up to this crisis, and that something would have burst sooner or later, but that is irrelevant. The fact remains that the split was over the Rebbe’s sichos, so the Rebbe owed a debt of gratitude to the Agudah for standing up for him. He paid that debt by throwing his full weight behind them for that election. Lubavitch paid a price for this breach of nonpartisanship — it was excluded from army bases — but the Rebbe decided it was worth it.
K
if א דבר מאוס is actually a good thing, as you claimed elsewhere about “mashke”, then in your lexicon, the title “menuval” must be a revered compliment (I guess it replaces the conventional respectful title of מרן). A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
Milhouse
More lies. I never wrote that “א דבר מאוס is actually a good thing”. I merely pointed out that the Rebbe did say that mashke is a דבר מאוס. How to understand that is another question, but it can’t be denied that he said it.
K
Milhouse – on August 31, 2014 12:49 pm YOU posted: “What’s wrong with discount beer and alcohol? Alcohol is a good thing. It is Hashem’s gift to us, and (as Ben Franklin said) is a sign that Hashem loves us.”
Yet you brazenly call me a liar when I wrote that you said mashke (which is א דבר מאוס) is actually “a good thing”.
This is CLASSIC Milhouse. You shout at others that they are liars while you deny your own words.
And how should one understand an EXPRESSION which is out-of-context even when said by Chazal? Similar to צמצום הפשוט…
The greatest of liars shouts that everyone ELSE is lying.
Agudah-Degel break up was over money issues and priorities of certain agendas, as EVERYONE knows and was publicized.
TZACH of Israel endorsed Bibi and created the PR slogen Bibi is good for the Jews. They are the OFFICIAL reps of Chabad in Israel!
And they Chabad of Israel continues to bow to Bib,i including having him write a letter in Sefer Torah while he is married to a …
I hope it wasn’t in the possuk of ולא תתחתן בם בתך לא תתן לבנו ובתו לא תקח לבנך – making a mockery of the Torah!!
Milhouse
No matter how many times you lie, K, it doesn’t become the truth. I wrote that alcohol is a good thing — and it clearly is. Someone denied that the Rebbe had said משקה איז א דבר מאוס, and I confirmed that he had indeed said it. Both things are undeniably true. But you lied when you put the two together and claimed that I wrote that “א דבר מאוס is actually a good thing”. I never did.
The “Bibi” campaign was Yossel Gutnick’s project. Of course most Lubavitchers participated, but as individuals, not in the name of Chabad.
Degel did not walk out of the Agudah over money, or agendas, or any of the other issues they had. Yes, there were tensions over these things, but they were not the issue that Degel walked out on. The split happened over one issue and one issue only: someone was paying to run the Rebbe’s sichos in Hamodia, and the man you call “מרן” and “godol hador” couldn’t stand it, and demanded that Hamodia reject these ads. The Lev Simcha stood up for the Rebbe’s kovod, and that is when he walked out of the Agudah, and started his own newspaper, party, hechsher, etc.
Lastly, how dare you insinuate that Sarah Netanyahu is not Jewish? That is beyond disgusting, even for you.
K
Who is talking about Sarah Netanyahu?
In 1981, Bibi Netanyahu married a British woman named Fleur Cates, and she so-called “converted” to Judaism.
Shall we discuss “mi hu yehudi” and giyur k’halacha?!
To claim that Agudah-Degel breakup was over a paid ad in Hamodea of a dvar Torah is like saying that the straw is what actually broke the camel’s back. It was merely a straw – nothing more than dust added to the massive weight carried to the decision to break up! That is the reality.
Yossel Gutnick’s project was FULLY adopted by the Chabad leaders AND CHabad Rabbonim of Israel. They weren’t “mushrooms” but the OFFICIAL Chabad leadership in Israel. That is the reality.
Yossel Gutnick’s influence has long diminished but this project CONTINUES with Chabad fully supporting Bibi even TODAY (even after Cheron and all the other treasonous acts against Lomdei Torah and Am Yisroel).
Finally, you agreed that משקה איז א דבר מאוס (accepting it as a “halachic” edict from the Lubavitcher Rebbe Z”L), yet you claimed that “Alcohol is a good thing”. Is it then a lie for me to say that Milhouse claims that “א דבר מאוס is actually a good thing”???
I am mocheh that you were motzeh shem rah on me saying “K hates Lubavitch”. I do not hate ANY yid – I just like some yidden more than others.
Milhouse
Who is talking about Sarah Netanyahu?
You are. You wrote “And they Chabad of Israel continues to bow to Bib,i including having him write a letter in Sefer Torah while he is married to a …”. For the entire length of his political career he has been married to one woman — Sarah. So that’s the only woman you could possibly have meant. And you insinuated that she is not Jewish. That was beyond disgusting. For that alone you should be banned from this site, and certainly nobody should ever pay attention to anything you have to say.
To claim that Agudah-Degel breakup was over a paid ad in Hamodea of a dvar Torah is like saying that the straw is what actually broke the camel’s back.
It was. That’s what the phrase “the straw that broke the camel’s back” means. It doesn’t matter what tensions existed before; they didn’t break the Agudah, but this did.
Yossel Gutnick’s project was FULLY adopted by the Chabad leaders AND CHabad Rabbonim of Israel. They weren’t “mushrooms” but the OFFICIAL Chabad leadership in Israel. That is the reality.
They acted as individuals, not in the name of Chabad. But you know what? This point isn’t even worth arguing about. You’re wrong, but let’s say you’re right. So what? If it were true, all it would mean is that the Rabbonim made another one-time exception to the rule. Just as the Rebbe made an exception, perhaps they thought they could do so too. Let’s suppose that. It still remains the case that Lubavitch has an official policy of nonpartisanship, even if over the course of more than a century it’s been broken twice.
this project CONTINUES with Chabad fully supporting Bibi even TODAY
This is a definite lie.
Is it then a lie for me to say that Milhouse claims that “א דבר מאוס is actually a good thing”???
Yes, it is a lie. I never wrote it, and you have no right to claim I did.
stay away from Jesse Hamilton - radical left wing occupy wall street
Jesse Hamilton is VERY bad
look him up
he is the most radical politician
he is aligned with occupy wall street, anti Israel and the ultra ultra radical left wing crown heights tenant association
Milhouse
I don’t believe you. A search for “jesse hamilton” and “occupy wall street” turns up nothing relevant. Nor does one for “jesse hamilton” and “palestine”, “zionism”, or “bds”. If he were involved with OWS, or with any anti-Israel cause, these searches would have found something. That they don’t, means that there isn’t anything to find.
Jay Sorid, Esq.
Are you kidding me?
Rubain Dorancy is propped up by the powerful Clarke political family.
Try googling the US House of Representative Yvette Clarke and learn how she was one of only 34 members the House of US Representatives to sign a letter against a resolution that the Gladstone report was unfair to Israel. After promising to consult with Jewish leaders on Israel, she then, signs two letters criticizing Israel’s actions in Gaza, days after she appeared with Orthodox Jewish leaders announcing increased aid for the Haitian earthquake.
Dorancy Voter
the ad simply used a photo as an illustration and has not said anywhere that chabad as entity is supporting anyone.
Milhouse
An illustration of what?
And whatever message it was intended to convey, the mere fact that his campaign felt free to blatantly violate someone’s copyright speaks volumes about his honesty.
K
Lies!
Lubavitch of Israel officially endorse candidates at nearly ever election, starting with the “Bibi is good for the Jews” champaign and continuing on.
The irony is that EVEN when these candidates have proven to go AGAINST the directives of the Lubavitch Rebbe Z”L, they STILL continue to endorse them!
I am melamed zchus that in Israel, endorsing certain candidates will result in a financial gain, so they are meshuchad (bribed and blinded) by the money. However, such motivation can apply in the USA too…
Milhouse
Liar. Lubavitch in Israel has never officially endorsed anyone, except in 1988.
Milhouse
“Bibi tov layhudim” was a private campaign by an individual, and was not endorsed by the Lubavitch movement.
K
Further, those in the know – know, that the Agudah-Degel split had hardly anything to do with Chabad.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but the Frum word does not revolve around Chabad.
Milhouse
What a liar you are. Everyone who was following the news at the time knows that the issue that triggered the split was the publication of the Rebbe’s sichos — as paid ads! — in Hamodia. The menuval whom you call “godol hador” demanded that Hamodia stop accepting these ads, and the Lev Simcha z”l refused to insult the Rebbe. The Rebbe felt that he owed a debt of gratitude to the Lev Simcha for taking such a stand on his behalf, and that is the only reason he broke Chabad’s long-standing policy of nonpartisanship.
K
Besides, if א דבר מאוס is actually a good thing, then in your lexicon, the title “menuval” must be a revered compliment (I guess it replaces the conventional title of מרן).
Jay Sorid, Esq.
As of 3:19 am on 09/09/2014, the Chabad-Lubavitch fake endorsement poster photo still exists.
Where ? In 770. ( 2nd fl, by Kingston, window facing Eastern Pkwy)
From Kingston, go up the steps (second floor), look in the window and there it is. Now that’s chutzpah.
Not only do you falsely misrepresent an endorsement, but you put it up in their house!
I will my ask my neighbor who prays there to remove it, so those reading this post should realize the poster should be removed shortly after this post goes up…And yes, I have proof of this.
VAVAVOOM!
Milhouse you da man. Nothing like slamming the haters and showing them for the liars they are. Well done!
Yenta
I’ve been reading the postings of this “K”. I remember when he was “KKK” which is a name of a hate organization. He constantly attacks Milhouse and seems to have a vendetta or personal history with him but seems semi-respectful to the rest of us. I would say K probably has some reason to hate Milhouse but I would not call him a hater of Lubavitch. As far as truth telling, I think both K and Milhouse equally twist the truth to suit their agendas but their debates make for good reading.
Milhouse
Yes, K hates Lubavitch. K has openly written that he believes the GRA’s infamous cherem was valid, and is still in effect.
If you claim I twist the truth, I challenge you to cite a few examples. I write only the exact truth.
K
K does not hate ANY Yidden. In fact, K loves ALL Yidden – only some more than others.
Milhouse
K now claims not to hate Lubavitch. And yet he openly wrote that he believes the GRA’s infamous cherem was valid, which already makes him an enemy of Lubavitch and all who still follow the way of the holy Baal Shem Tov.. And he also wrote that he believes it’s still in effect against Lubavitch. That again makes him an enemy of Lubavitch. You can’t have it both ways.
Yenta
Does K consider Lubavitch as “part of Klal Yisroel” (to quote Malkiel Kotler)?