Chabad's Fight For Vilna Almost Over

The JTA has a piece about the fight between Chabad and the Lithuanian Jewish community. It seems the Chabad rabbi, Sholom Ber Krinsky (the nephew of the head of Chabad, Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky) is near eviction and has little support from Chabad's leaders. Rabbi Krinsky has tried to circumvent the country's restoration process, accused the Joint Distribution Committee of scheming against him, had thugs beat up the Lithuanian chief rabbi, and has done other troublesome things:

…The plan is that once a restitution law is passed, neither the properties nor the cash will be apportioned. Jewish religious, cultural, educational and welfare organizations will have to apply to a foundation, proposing projects and making their case for support.

Krinsky will have to compete with the others.

"I've said repeatedly that I think Chabad would merit support, just as other institutions would," said Rabbi Andrew Baker of the American Jewish Committee, who leads the international team negotiating restitution with the Lithuanian government. "However, I don't think that's what Rabbi Krinsky is speaking of. He believes he's the only bona fide religious Jewish organization in Lithuania."

Krinsky has tried to circumvent the process. Several months ago he approached the Lithuanian Ministry of Health requesting the return of a former communal property. But he was rebuffed.

As a U.S. citizen, he approached the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius for help in obtaining a state-owned music academy in the desirable Old Town. According to the U.S. official familiar with the situation, the embassy sent a letter to the government supporting Krinsky, but also asked Krinsky and local leaders to bury the hatchet.

"We've seen a lot of quotes in the press where some people from the government or on its periphery have said the Jewish community can't even agree on restitution, so how can we make an agreement," the official said. "We've told them we don't want that as an excuse to not go forward."

In April, Krinsky met with local Jewish leaders. Afterward they sent him a letter outlining conditions for breaking the stalemate. Among them: Krinsky must publicly acknowledge the community's ownership of the synagogue and its choice of chief rabbi; cease referring to himself as "chief rabbi"; and submit to "a sound, open and transparent financial management."

Krinsky told JTA that he plans to respond to the letter soon…

In November of 2004, Yated Ne'eman had a piece on this controversy representing the side of the Lithuanian community:

In 1994, Lubavitch expressed interest in sending a rabbi to Vilna, and Mr. Alperowitz agreed. Rabbi Sholom Ber Krinsky moved to Vilna, and established his own Chabad House. He prayed in the community's Taharat Hakodesh shul on Shabbos, and could not put together a minyan during the week. The community did not offer him a rabbinical contract.…

After ten years of activity, his school had only 30 children (7 of which were his own), and not one family had committed themselves to shemiras hamitzvos. A social worker involved for years with the community informed us that Rabbi Krinsky had sent two girls to a Lubavitch school in London, and mentioned that at most Rabbi Krinsky may have influenced one or two more Vilna Jews to become slightly observant.

Rabbi Krinsky's social services were paltry in comparison to that of the community: he sent 20 children to a Lubavitch camp in Estonia, while the secular community sent 450 children to their own camp. Rabbi Krinsky claimed to help 150 people with his soup kitchen, while the general community was helping 1,500 — including the same 150 helped by Rabbi Krinsky.

Even more problematic were the scandals that hovered over his enterprises. Rabbi Krinsky's soup kitchen was closed down because it served contaminated food. A scandal erupted when charges were made that he had stolen money from donors. Creditors took over the first floor of his Chabad Center to cover unpaid debts. (He is still embroiled in court cases over debts.) He collected money around the world to maintain the Jewish cemetery but never paid the $25,000 to the community which was his share in the maintenance.

Krinsky has less than 30 die-hard followers within the community, who are mostly beneficiaries of his food kitchen or other activities. Of these followers, none have accepted a Lubavitch way of life on themselves or can even be called religious.…

For its part, the Baltic Times had a story in September 2004 about the  fighting between Chabad and the Lithuanian community. Its report seems to confirm much of what the community said.

I wrote then:

Chabad has been in Vilna for ten years. During those ten years it has held public events and adult education classes. Check and see how many of these events commemorated the life or yartzeits of the Vilna Gaon, R. Chaim Volozhoner, R. Chaim Ozer, and other non-Hasidic leaders of Vilna's past. Then check and see how many of these events commemorated the life or yartzeits of Chabad rebbes. If the two are not equal, if the commemoration of Chabad-related figures and events far outnumbers the others -- and this clearly appears to be the case -- then you can understand what the Vilna Community is worried about.

Chabad has a sordid history of this type of bad behavior, but it also has done much good. The Vilna Jewish Community did not seek to evict Chabad from the city or to curtail Chabad's educational efforts.

But the Community is trying to stop Chabad from running roughshod over the long-established traditions of Vilna and from taking over community property and institutions that do not now and never did belong to Chabad. In this effort, the Jewish Community of Vilna deserves our support.

Rabbi Sholom Ber Krinsky does not seem to be the type of person Vilna needs. It seems Chabad has finally recognized this.

Will Rabbi Krinsky be withdrawn from shlichut? I doubt it. But I'm sure there are communities in Asia or in America with no established Jewish community but a need for a mikva, a shul, classes and outreach. Perhaps one day Rabbi Krinsky will use his talents in one of these.

Vilnius Shul Duel Heats Up Over Restitution
Michael J. Jordan
VILNIUS, Lithuania (JTA) -- Here in the former home of the Vilna Gaon, the historic center of the anti-Chasidic Litvak movement, two rabbis have been battling for three years for control of the city's lone synagogue.
Now one of them -- Rabbi Sholom Ber Krinsky, a Chabad-Lubavitcher who arrived in 1994 to serve as the community's rabbi -- not only has lost control of the synagogue but is literally scrambling to keep a roof over his and his family's head.
Krinsky may soon become the only Chabad emissary among the more than 200 in the former Soviet Union to be evicted from his Chabad House premises for non-payment of rent. Krinsky once owned the property but was forced to sell to satisfy his debts.
"The owner was fairly patient," said a U.S. official familiar with the situation. "Even if Rabbi Krinsky comes up with the necessary funding, I don't think the owner is interested. It's too late."
This is the latest twist in the power struggle between those in the Vilnius Jewish community who support Krinsky and backers of Rabbi Chaim Burshtein, a Litvak rabbi who came to the community in 2004 and shares its traditions and customs.
At stake in the power struggle is which side will benefit from the long-awaited restitution of Jewish communal property, which in Lithuania eventually will include at least 200 buildings and an estimated $60 million in compensation for property that cannot be returned.
The proceeds could become the lifeblood for local Jewish institutions that now only dream of weaning themselves from their dependence on foreign donors.
Krinsky's eviction is expected in June -- the same month the Lithuanian government is expected to introduce to parliament a revised restitution law. The new law will broaden the definition of "religious" communal property to more appropriately cover what had been owned by Jewish communities.
The pending eviction and restitution issues are not unrelated.
Krinsky, while acknowledging that he "has made mistakes along the way," insists that "no one had a problem with us until restitution came along. Give us what we objectively deserve: fair representation in the restitution equation and a fair share of whatever monies are given out."
Krinsky blames his troubles on the anti-Chabad bias of local and international Jewish groups that he says are trying to shut him out of the restitution process. In particular he faults the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which operates social and welfare services in virtually all the same areas of the former Soviet Union as Chabad.
Andres Spokoiny, the JDC's Paris-based country director for Lithuania, dismissed Krinsky's allegation "as nonsense," noting his agency's "excellent cooperation with Chabad all over the world."
Krinsky's critics, in turn, accuse him of trying to dominate the restitution process as well as Lithuanian religious life.
"What Rabbi Krinsky wants is to be at the front of restitution instead of being a part of it," said Simonas Alperavicius, chairman of the Jewish Community of Lithuania. "But he cannot be more equal than others."
Vilnius, or Vilna, as it was known to world Jewry before World War II, boasted 100 synagogues plus related institutions, virtually all of them controlled by the Litvak community. The Chasidic presence was minor by comparison.
Lithuania's quarter-million Jews were nearly wiped out in the Holocaust. They were further crippled by Soviet repression, including state seizure and nationalization of their religious and communal institutions. Only the Taharot Ha-Kodesh Synagogue in Vilnius remained open.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. government made the return of Jewish property a precondition for admission to NATO and other Western institutions. Lithuania joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union in 2004.
Soon after Lithuanian independence, the re-emerging Jewish community in Vilnius began looking for a rabbi.
Sholom Ber Krinsky answered the call, arriving in 1994. He is a nephew of Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, a key leader of Chabad-Lubavitch's international operations who was secretary to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, for 40 years.
Some speculate that Chabad headquarters did not send Krinsky as an official emissary, but Chabad spokesman Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin said that is untrue.
Krinsky said he was invited by the local community, which Alperavicius and others confirm. But they also suggest that invitations can be rescinded.
By all accounts, Krinsky has worked exhaustively to rebuild Jewish life. He opened a day school, runs a soup kitchen, teaches classes and organizes activities throughout the countryside.
Jewish activists acknowledge his efforts, but challenge almost every success Krinsky claims, from how many people show up at his events to the quality of his soup kitchen and day school.
Meanwhile, local leaders continued to look for a rabbi, a Litvak like them. They found Burshtein, a St. Petersburg native and former refusenik who estimates that he was detained by the KGB some 40 times before immigrating to Israel.
Burshtein was elected chief rabbi by leaders of the country's religious Jewish communities. His installation at the synagogue sparked an eruption, beginning with fisticuffs in the shul between pro-Krinsky and pro-Burshtein factions during Shavuot services in 2004. The fracas was covered extensively by the local and foreign media.
Burshtein later reportedly was roughed up by Krinsky supporters. Krinsky and his followers were barred from the synagogue; they countered by holding vigils in the courtyard for months.

The community took Krinsky to court, the rabbi retreated to his Chabad center and the synagogue was closed for more than a year.
It reopened in August 2005, and morning and evening services are now held daily -- without Krinsky, who presides over his own services in a first-floor room at the Chabad center that after two years he still describes as "temporary."

Krinsky has hinted that the fight isn't over.
"Our community here is every Jew," he told JTA, "and this community absolutely doesn't need two synagogues."
Krinsky, who is described by foes as "very charming, very sophisticated" as well as "very extreme, very unstable," seems to be operating with little support from Chabad.
While Shmotkin says there is no talk at Chabad headquarters of replacing him, the Moscow-based Federation of Jewish Communities, an umbrella for Chabad-affiliated efforts across the former Soviet Union, isn't going to bat for him publicly.
The federation's Web site lists Krinsky and his activities as its recognized community in Lithuania. But asked whether he supported Krinsky, Rabbi Avraham Berkowitz, the federation's executive director, responded, "We only partner with him in supporting his day school."
Californa-based Chabad Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie was more forthcoming, saying Krinsky "has had some financial challenges and made some poor decisions along the way, but if you look at him in his totality, it's astonishing how much one man has been able to accomplish."
Eliezrie added that if everyone involved "came together at a table, we probably could resolve this problem."
Krinsky says he is pinning his hopes on restitution. The Vilnius Jewish community offered him a seat at the negotiating table, but he insisted on three. He is now outside the process.
The plan is that once a restitution law is passed, neither the properties nor the cash will be apportioned. Jewish religious, cultural, educational and welfare organizations will have to apply to a foundation, proposing projects and making their case for support.
Krinsky will have to compete with the others.
"I've said repeatedly that I think Chabad would merit support, just as other institutions would," said Rabbi Andrew Baker of the American Jewish Committee, who leads the international team negotiating restitution with the Lithuanian government. "However, I don't think that's what Rabbi Krinsky is speaking of. He believes he's the only bona fide religious Jewish organization in Lithuania."
Krinsky has tried to circumvent the process. Several months ago he approached the Lithuanian Ministry of Health requesting the return of a former communal property. But he was rebuffed.
As a U.S. citizen, he approached the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius for help in obtaining a state-owned music academy in the desirable Old Town. According to the U.S. official familiar with the situation, the embassy sent a letter to the government supporting Krinsky, but also asked Krinsky and local leaders to bury the hatchet.
"We've seen a lot of quotes in the press where some people from the government or on its periphery have said the Jewish community can't even agree on restitution, so how can we make an agreement," the official said. "We've told them we don't want that as an excuse to not go forward."
In April, Krinsky met with local Jewish leaders. Afterward they sent him a letter outlining conditions for breaking the stalemate. Among them: Krinsky must publicly acknowledge the community's ownership of the synagogue and its choice of chief rabbi; cease referring to himself as "chief rabbi"; and submit to "a sound, open and transparent financial management."
Krinsky told JTA that he plans to respond to the letter soon.
Meanwhile, the threatened eviction nears for Krinsky, his wife and the seven of his eight children, aged 1 to 10, who live with him. And community leaders worry that more trouble lies ahead.
"If he accepts the conditions in our letter, then for sure peace is possible," said Simonas Gurevicius, executive director of the Jewish Community of Lithuania. "But if someone doesn't want peace with you, how can you find it?"

Comments

[a jew that was there]

krinsky established the first mikva in years,wen i was in vilna in summer 2000 there were 150 kids in the chabad school,120 kids in camp, that is a fact, so alot of what is written in the yated article are simple false .i agree that shb.krinsky made some financial mistakes but that does'nt undermine the grate job he did for more then 10 years.
sorry for my english i'm not american

[a jew that was there]

in the soup kitchen of krinsky, everyday 100 people ate there , the comunity never opened a soup kitchen another proof that the article you mention is 99% false

[a jew that was also there]

You just don't get it, do you.

THE COMMUNITY DON'T WANT HIM AND THAT IS THEIR CHOICE.

Lithuania had to endure many years under Soviet domination and it is an independent state now and the community don't want their affairs run by some other bunch of Chabad usurpers in Moscow.

Chabad think they can foist themselves on any community and behave as if they own the place to the total exclusivity of anyone else.
But bullyboy tactics don't work anymore and the truth of the matter is that Krinsky could stay in his Beit Chabad and in Vilna if he would just accept that Rav of a Kehilla means that the kehilla appoints the rav, the rav doesn't appoint the kehilla. And the kehilla doesn't want him. They may not want to daven nusach ari, but that's their choice, isn't it?

[Moishe]

Good riddance to Krinsky.

Look at the way the guy talks.

What a troll.

[Alex]

Let the orthodox drown in their own arrogance.

[Max]

I was in Vilna when Krinsky was not allowed in on Shabbos. There were more local Jews ouside the shul davening in an alley with Krinsky than inside, by the way.

A factoid about the sort of people who are fighting Krinsky: The "head" of the community, Alperovich (apparently a former MVD guy, something like the KGB) would come to Krinsky's soup kitchen even a month before they had a final tiff. After that his wife would come and would get a double portion to take home. Told to me by a Russian cook in Krinsky's kitchen. The cook yelled this to Alperovich when she was not also not allowed to get in on that Shabbos. A;perovich just smiled grimly.

Burstein is a complete nut. I saw him in Vilna and I saw him in Latvia. The guy is on a personal jihad against anything that is not "Lithuanian". This is acknowleged in non-Chasidic circles as well.

Anyone who has worked in the region knows that all this bickering has nothing to do with community elections, local heritage etc., but rather it's about money and power. It's really about the real estate and the ambitions of non-Chabad and Chabad groups in the region.

It's pathetic how Alperovich et al are using the the Lithaniain heritage as a springboard to attack Chabad. The guy does not know, nor appears to care, how to open a siddur and so is the rest of his kehilla.

For example, the gabbai, after being pissed off that Krinsky gave a Dvar Torah, after kabbalos Shabbos left the shul (on Shabbos of course) and called Alperovich on his cell to the laughter and geers of most of the community. The next morning Alperovich was doing face control with Lithuanian guards with a video camera as enforcers. Most of the people were left outside.

I don't care much for either side but anyone who makes this picture into the good v. evil is sadly mistaken.

Shmarya - Burstein is exactly the Rav Elyiashiv worshipping nut (in Riga he called him something like the Tzaddik of the generation) that you usually rage against. He is just a pawn in the haredi game against chabad in Europe. Is he just like a meshihist. Is Lithuania better with him there? Absolutly not.

This is one of those stories where there are no good guys, just loosers all around.

Final note: there was a Lithuanian journalist who was covering the shul events and he said: "wow, I thought only Lithuanians were ready to kill each other like this, but I guess not..." He was a bit shocked by it all..

[Itzjak Haffner]

bsd

Jelously,lust and glory removes a man from the world Pirkei Abot 4,28

It is shameful to read what was going on in Vilne.
The Lithuanian n Germans killed our people and the surviving Jews are fighting each other.As a result, the murderers laugh at our expenses.
It is also shameful that Jewish people turned to the goische authority to solve innerjewish problems.
When I told my chevrusa about it,he was not surprised 'from the time of Korach onwards the situation did not change'
Shalom al Israel from Israel