Unique Photos of Former New York Mayor Visit to The Rebbe

CrownHeights.info and the Avner Institute is pleased to present a series of pictures from a historical Yechidus that took place in the winter of 1963, with the Mayor of New York, Robert F. Wagner. We have included a transcript of the opening and closing moments of the meeting. Special thanks to The Rebbe Archive and to Rabbis Shmuel and Pinny Lew.

“The Rebbe Has Based Himself in Our State”

The Mayor began the Yechidus by praising the Rebbe:

“You are the leader of the Lubavitch movement that is spread worldwide, with centers all the way from Melbourne, Australia, to Nigeria. And you have established the center of the movement right here in New York – it is a real honor; we are very fortunate that the Rebbe has based himself in our state.”

“We Want to Help the Chabad Community”

As the Yechidus drew to a close, the Mayor declared:

“I want to show you that we want to help the community and educational system in any way we can.”

The Rebbe replied:

“May G-d Almighty bless you, so that all of the things that you are working on should go in a good direction.”

Topics Discussed During the Yechidus

Amongst the topics discussed in the Yechidus, was New York’s housing problem; the Mayor emphasized that he was working very hard on making housing more affordable. They also discussed the distribution of vouchers for Jewish children who could not afford to pay full tuition. The Mayor sought the Rebbe’s advice on how to best go about addressing the problem in the most practical way.