Uncategorized
Thousands of Chabad rabbis convene in New York amid a banner year for their movement
(JTA) — It was unseasonably cold on Sunday morning when thousands of rabbis crowded on risers in front of Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters in Brooklyn to snap a photograph.
The group photo is a signature moment during any gathering of the Orthodox movement, allowing the movement to create a visual record of its growth: Unique among Hasidic movements, Chabad is known for sending rabbis and their wives to far-flung locations around the globe to minister to local Jews, regardless of denomination or beliefs. (A picture taken at a smaller gathering of Chabad rabbis in Kazakhstan last year netted the group a $200 fine for violating a ban on large gatherings.)
And the picture taken early Sunday was the largest yet, as some 6,500 rabbis from all over the world descended on Crown Heights, Brooklyn, for the first full-size conference since 2019. Known within the movement as the kinus hashluchim (conference of emissaries), the gathering is a can’t-miss event featuring workshops, prayer, socializing and a gala at which the achievements of the previous year are recounted with great fanfare.
This year, those achievements stretched to a long list as Chabad is in the middle of a push to create 1,200 new institutions — synagogues, schools, camps, ritual baths and more — during the year marking the 120th birthday of the movement’s last leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who died in 1994.
The international Chabad community has pulled out extra stops for Schneerson’s birthday because of the special significance of 120 in Jewish tradition. Moses was 120 when the Bible records his death, and that age is considered the ideal duration of a good life. “To 120 years” is a traditional accompaniment of birthday greetings for many Jews, especially in Orthodox communities, and Schneerson was a notable proponent of robust birthday celebrations.
Chabad says it is launching centers in more than 120 new locations over the course of year, and announced a new one during a gala Sunday night: in Zambia, which will be the 110th country to house a Chabad emissary. The gala also saw the dedication of 36 Torahs that rabbis will carry home to Kampala, Uganda; Ibiza, Spain; Alameda, California, and other locations where the local Chabad previously did not have one. The group also announced a new $2.5 million overnight camping initiative.
Rabbis from all over the world descended on Crown Heights, Brooklyn, to have their photo taken at the largest gathering of Chabad “emissaries” since the start of of the pandemic, Nov. 20, 2022. (Shmulie Grossbaum/Chabad.org)
At the gala, which was attended mostly by rabbis but also about 1,000 guests, often major local supporters, special attention was paid to the movement’s 177 emissaries in Ukraine, who have been scrambling to reboot their operations to meet wartime needs since Russian troops invaded Feb. 24. Videos showcased the relief efforts that the rabbis have spearheaded; Rabbi Yechiel Levitansky of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine spoke about how “40 brave Jews” celebrated Sukkot together despite bombings and curfews. Rabbi Nochum Tamarin, who serves small communities, got a standing ovation following a video about his work during the war.
A traditional roll call of the emissaries by location paused for special shoutouts to the two countries that appear headed for a long winter of war. “Let us welcome the shluchim to the country where it all began, the shluchim to Russia,” the emcee said as music and clapping broke out. The movement was based in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in what was then the Russian Empire.
After the single emissary in Uganda was recognized, the next emissary got a similar ovation: “Please join me in welcoming the shluchim from the birthplace of our dear rebbe, the country of Ukraine!”
The emphasis on Ukraine’s sovereignty was notable for a religious movement that has been in a delicate position since Russia invaded Ukraine Feb. 24. Chabad has historic roots in both countries and they are home to the largest number of emissaries outside of the United States and Israel, with 202 in Russia joining the 177 in Ukraine. In keeping with Chabad’s ethos that rabbis remain in the community where they are sent, through thick and thin, the Russian rabbis have continued their operations amid pressure from the government to back the war.
—
The post Thousands of Chabad rabbis convene in New York amid a banner year for their movement appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Uncategorized
Iran to Boycott World Cup Draw Over Visa Restrictions
Soccer Football – World Cup Playoff Tournament and European Playoff draws – FIFA Headquarters, Zurich, Switzerland- November 20, 2025 The original FIFA World Cup trophy is kept on display during the draws. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Iran intends to boycott next week’s World Cup draw due to the limited number of visas allocated to the country’s football federation.
According to the Tehran Times, the United States issued visas to only four members of Iran‘s delegation, with requests for three additional visas denied, including one for Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) President Mehdi Taj.
“We have informed FIFA that the decisions taken are unrelated to sport and that the members of the Iranian delegation will not participate in the World Cup draw,” FFIRI spokesman Mehdi Alavi said on Friday, per the report.
Alavi said the federation has been in contact with FIFA in an effort to resolve the situation.
The World Cup draw will take place on Dec. 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
The expanded 48-team World Cup is being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Matches will be played at 16 venues, including three in Mexico and two in Canada.
The draw will sort the teams into 12 groups of four. The top two teams from each group and the eight best third-place teams will advance to the knockout stage.
Iran has secured a spot in its fourth consecutive World Cup and seventh appearance overall.
Uncategorized
Dublin to Rename Chaim Herzog Park in a Move Slammed as Attempt to Erase Jewish History
Anti-Israel demonstrators stand outside the Israeli embassy after Ireland has announced it will recognize a Palestinian state, in Dublin, Ireland, May 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Molly Darlington
i24 News – Citing the Gaza war, Dublin city council voted to rename a park honoring Israel’s sixth president, the Irish-born Chaim Herzog, in further manifestation of anti-Israel sentiment in the country.
While a new name is yet to be chosen, reports cite efforts by pro-Palestinian activists to change it to the “Free Palestine Park.”
Former Irish justice minister Alan Shatter harshly criticized the vote, charging that “Dublin City Council has now gone full on Nazi & a committee of the Council has determined it should erase Jewish/Irish history. Herzog Park in Rathgar is named after Chaim Herzog, Israel’s 6th President, brought up in Dublin by his father, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, a friend of Eamon De Valera, who was Chief Rabbi of Ireland & Israel’s first Chief Rabbi… Some councillors want the Park renamed ‘Free Palestine Park.”
The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland issued a statement regarding the renaming of Herzog Park.
“It sends a hurtful and isolating message to a small minority community that has contributed to Ireland for centuries. We call on Dublin City Councillors to reject this motion. The removal of the Herzog name from this park would be widely understood as an attempt to erase our Irish Jewish history.”
A virtuoso diplomat and an intellectual giant, Herzog had served in a variety of roles throughout his storied career, including a memorable stint as the ambassador to the United Nations, where in 1975 he delivered a speech condemning the Soviet-engineered resolution to brand Zionism as a form of racism. The address is now regarded as a classic, along with the oration from the same session by the US Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar slammed the decision, saying that Ireland’s “antisemitic and anti-Israel obsession is sickening.”
Uncategorized
Qatar’s Al Thani to Visit Beirut Wednesday to Meet with Lebanon’s Leaders
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani makes statements to the media with then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 13, 2023. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani will visit Beirut on Wednesday to meet with Lebanon’s leaders, Al-Jadeed reported Saturday.
The visit comes “as part of an effort inseparable from the efforts by Egypt in coordination with Arab countries, foremost among them Saudi Arabia.”
The trip coincides with a sensitive period for the country, ravaged by war and deep economic crisis.
Lebanon is under growing pressure from both Israel and the United States to more swiftly disarm Hezbollah and other Islamist groups across the country, with Israel increasingly inclined to stop the Shiite militia from rearming and rebuilding its infrastructure.
Hezbollah was left devastated in the aftermath of a nine-day war last year, that saw Israel take out its command structure and lay waste to a significant proportion of its missile arsenal.