Lawyer for Holocaust survivors criticized for fee

The lawyer who represented Holocaust survivors in a lawsuit against Swiss banks is facing criticism from some of the victims, who say they are angry he’s charging millions for work they believed was being done for free.

The dispute has now landed in court. An American group of Holocaust survivors has filed an objection to lawyer Burt Neuborne’s almost $4.1 million (€3.4 million) bill for work he did after the 1998 settlement in the case, The New York Times reported Saturday. On Friday Neuborne filed papers seeking to refute those objections, and asked a judge to hold a hearing on his fee.

“No. 1 – that he was telling us all along that he will not get paid,” said David Mermelstein, 77, who was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where his family was killed. “And No. 2, to take away this money from the needy survivors is a crime.”

Serious Accident On The New York State Thruway

Plattsburgh, New York – CrownHeights.info Has learned that at approximately 1:15am Motzoai Shabbos (Sunday morning) a Lubavitcher resident of Montreal was driving alone on the I-87 [New York State Thruway] South towards New York City when the driver suddenly lost control of his car due to heavy ice conditions on the highway and spun right off the pavement and in to the trees! This happened at approximately 30 miles south of the Canadian border. Boruch Hashem the driver was wearing his seatbelt and miraculously was not injured. The car was completely totaled and ripped apart by the impact. The driver had someone come pick him up and was safely taken back home.

This is another opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of wearing seatbelts and driving with extreme caution in such dangerous conditions. Be smart and Buckle Up, It Saves Lives.

Chabad members return from Israel

Six Chabad Lubavitch members who recently went on a spiritual trip to Israel were welcomed home Friday at a dinner in their honor. The members of the executive mission shared stories about bringing toys and thousands of dollars to victims of terrorism.

“Everything we’ve studied and learned about came to life,” Chabad Member Nathan Zimmerman said.

Friends and members of the Chabad Lubavitch, a branch of Jewish Hasidism that began more than 250 years ago in Lubavitch, Russia, came to hear the stories and songs and enjoy Israeli food at the Liorah Greenberg Jewish Center, 77 Village Green Drive.

Thursday’s Meeting Regarding The Tickets

After the meeting was postponed then relocated, members of the community sat down with the Commanding Officer of the 71st Precinct Ins. Frank Vega, Cap. Daniel Sosnowik and Lt. John Cantwell who heard out the communities complaints.

Attendance wasn’t that great, partly due to the schedule changing on everyone at the last minute, around 20 people who were each individually affected by Officers Kennedy and Mintz showed up to voice their complaints. During the meeting Mr. Goldstein of the Community Board 9 came in and told of observations he had of Officers using selective enforcement in Crown Heights and how it’s illegal, and applied it to the allegations that these 2 officers were also selectively enforcing the laws on only Jews, and mentioned that the Department has disciplinary ‘mechanisms’ for officers abusing their authority in such a manner.

The Man Who Could Have Been a Gaon and Became a Chassidic Doctor

Dr. Avrohom Aba Seligson, the Rebbe’s doctor, a’h, whose yortseit falls on the 25th of Shvat, was born in Krakow in 5667, to his father, Rabbi Michoel Aharon, a descendant of the Alter Rebbe, who had the merit to host the Rebbe Rayatz in his home just about the time, Reb Avrohom Aba was born. A few years later he opened a Chassidus class in his house at the expressed wish of the Rebbe Rayatz, and being that there were no Chabadniks in the area, the attendees were Gerer and Belzer Chassidim, who arrived to study ‘Torah Or’ and ‘Likutei Torah’.

Reb Avrohom Aba studied medicine in Vilna and completed his studies successfully to a degree that he was considered an expert doctor prior to World War 2 and he had the merit of having Yechidus with the Rebbe Rayatz in 5696.

During the war he resided in Shanghai, China together with the Tmimim who fled there from the battlefront. With great dedication, he saved many Jews from diseases. After the war, when he received a doctor’s certificate in the U.S. he notified the Rebbe Rayatz about this and the Rebbe, in turn, sent him a letter of blessings in his profession.

Chabad myths

The Lubavitcher (Chabad) Rebbe was undeniably a great man. Many of his followers have done outstanding work around the globe. But sadly as with every large organisation they have their crooks, their swindlers and their charlatans.

Amongst their failings is an exaggerated tendency to maximise miracles the Rebbe performed (while ignoring his limitations) and inventing myths.

For many years there has been a story circulating that my father who died in March 1962 was promised he would be cured by the Rebbe provided he did not tell anyone, but he did and that’s why he died. These stories caused my late mother a great deal of distress. Her very different record of the events was actually published in a Lubavitch book called ‘Challenge: An Encounter with Lubavitch Chabad’ and at one stage she even toyed with legal action.

New Album by Mordechai Ben David – Efshar Letaken

For the first time in three years MBD is releasing a new album, which is going to contain 13 songs. The album was produced by his son Yeedle Werdyger and contains many songs composed by MBD himself along with a song written by Lipa Schmeltzer which also features a performance by The Yeshiva Boys Choir.

The expected release date is February 27th and will be available at major Judica stores.

Click Here to listen to a Demo of the new album!

Finding God Under the Stars

The San Bernardino Mountains play home to West Coast Chabad-Lubavitch’s new Camp Gan Israel Running Springs.

The fog/smog lies heavy over the San Bernardino mountain range, but with a little imagination, it’s still possible to make out Los Angeles — and Catalina — in the distance. Likewise, at an elevation of more than 6,000 feet in Running Springs, it’s possible to envision the great promise of Camp Gan Israel, Chabad’s new sleep-away camp and retreat center, even though the site is still undergoing heavy remodeling.

The synagogue, a former classroom, has been gutted, stained and stripped; nails line the floors ready to fasten down carpeting; a basic square wooden stage faces east toward Jerusalem, ready to hold an arc, its Torah scrolls and serve as the bimah for services three times a day. The gargantuan soccer field lies barren in the wind, bereft of green in the middle of this mild mountain winter. A pool sits covered, laden with puddles.

But come summer — and even to some extent the upcoming weekend — the site will be ready for visitors.

Chabad Of Alpharetta To Expand Camp Facilities Thanks To A Quarter Million Dollar Grant

Chabad of Alpharetta, GA, is adding yet another mainstay to its existing suite of facilities: An aquatic and sports center.

The multifaceted center will be constructed at Chabad’s campus on Jones Bridge Road in Alpharetta. The facilities will include an outdoor swimming pool, a spray pad, and a combo sports field accommodating baseball, football, soccer and other ball sports. The $500,000 project is geared for primary usage by Chabad’s well-attended summer day camp, which attracted 198 campers k”ah in its 7th season last July.

The half-million initiative has received an anonymous $250,000 matching-funds grant, endowed by three anonymous friends of Chabad. The gift was named “The Gimmel Gift” after the Hebrew letter Gimmel which equals three.