BREAKING! Chabad Raises Tax Deductible Dollars For Rubashkin's Defense – Agriprocessors' VP Defended With Money Raised Directly By Chabad

There is no more denying it. Chabad is officially raising money for Sholom M. Rubashkin's legal costs.

Earlier today, I received an email from a reader who told me Chabad was raising money through an official Chabad organization for Sholom M. Rubashkin's defense.

The reader claimed Chabad was camouflaging its role. He said people asking to help (or encouraged to help) Sholom M. Rubashkin are told to send an email to protestforkosher@aol.com. In response, the reader told me, you are sent a link to the Aleph Institute's "Legal Defense Fund."

And then I heard this again.

The Aleph Institute is Chabad's national prisoner outreach organization. It is headed by Rabbi Sholem DovBer Lipskar, who is, I believe, a cousin of Sholom M. Rubashkin. One of Aleph's board members is the brother of Colel Chabad head (and Lipskar and Rubashkin cousin, I believe) Rabbi Sholom Duchman.

Here, Chabad.org lists the Aleph Institute as one of Chabad's official centers:

Could it be that Chabad was funneling money to the Aleph Institute to be used for the defense of Sholom M. Rubashkin?

Yes. It not only could be true, it is true. And I'll now I'll show you why.

All screenshots posted below can be clicked to enlarge.

Chabad of Greater Monsey has blog it has run for several years. On that blog is a post, posted Wednesday, November 19, 2008 entitled Pidyon Shvuyim [ransoming captives]:

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2008
Pidyon Shevuim
The Rubashkin family is asking one and all - especially children - to please say Tehillim today, Wednesday, at 3:00 PM EST, for Sholom Mordechai HaLevi ben Rivka. This is the time of his hearing. The hearing will decide if he can get out tomorrow or if ch’v he has to stay until the trial which could be months.

Click here to contribute to the special fund.

For more inforomation or if you can help in any way please email protestforkosher@aol.com.

The email address posted matches the email address I was sent by that reader. The link? It leads to the Aleph Institute's Legal Defense Fund.

In case Chabad of Greater Monsey removes the link, here is a screenshot of the source code for that post with the link marked in red:

Here is the entire source code in pdf:

Monsey Chabad Source Code.pdf

Here is a screenshot of the Aleph Institute's Legal Defense Fund page. Please click to enlarge:

So we know Chabad is funneling donations to the Aleph Institute for Sholom M. Rubashkin's legal defense.

But there is no provision on this Aleph Institute Legal Defense Fund donate page for specifying where the money should go, or whose defense should be funded.

Even stranger, there is no mention I can find on the Aleph Institute website of a legal defense fund.

Here's why. It seems the Aleph Institute's legal defense fund was started to aide Sholom M. Rubashkin specifically. Indeed, there is no Google cache of this donation page.

But there is a Google cache of the Aleph Institute's home page, taken Friday morning, November 14, 2008 at 5:08 am GMT, 12:08 am in Surfside, Florida where Aleph is located.

That Google cache tells the story:

Now, here is a screenshot of the same Aleph Institute home page taken about 11:55 pm CST, Wednesday evening, November 19, 2008:

The Google cache version of Aleph Institute's home page, taken just hours before Sholom M. Rubashkin's second arrest, makes no mention of a legal defense fund.

The current version of the Aleph Institute's home page carries a banner headline: "Click Here to Donate To The Aleph Legal Defense Fund."

The fund was clearly set up to raise money for Sholom M. Rubashkin's defense.

Here are both versions as PDF files:

Google Cache - The Aleph Institute.pdf

The Aleph Institute.pdf

Here is a screenshot of the Aleph Institute's regular donation page, so you can see that both this page and the legal defense fund page exist:

The Aleph Institute is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit. Here is It's most recent IRS filing currently available online, from 2006:

Aleph 990 2006.pdf

Rabbi Sholom DovBer Lipskar is Aleph's founder and head. What other roles does Lipskar play in Chabad?

He is also the founder and head of the Shul of Bal Harbour. Aleph has it's offices in the synagogue building, on the border between Surfside and Bal Harbour, Florida.

Lipskar is a senior rabbi in the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. Aleph is Chabad's prisons outreach arm.

Is Chabad officially raising money for Sholom M. Rubashkin's legal defense?

You bet it is.

Comments

[Jerome Soller]

Shmarya,
I have no idea about the legal ramifications of a non-profit raising money for an otherwise wealthy person's legal defense. Is there a precedent for a charity collecting money for the defense of a person accused of fraud in the Enron case? In tough times, I feel charity could be spent in better ways - helping the Jews and non-Jews in Postville eat (regardless of one's views on the situation). Is it a way around tax laws for gift taxes between individuals? Overall, I believe it is disgraceful, but I would think legally OK. I would think that the majority of the contributors are aware of where the money is intended. It would be more honorable if Chabad made it very clear on their site!? As a non-profit, could this organization be forced to open up their books for this fund? What do I know!?

Relevant links from Chabad on public web sites that discuss the site as a mechanism for helping the Rubashkin legal defense:
http://www.shturem.org/index.php?section=news&id=31285

Jerome

[Jerome Soller]

The following is taken from that Shturem web site. It makes it very clear from Chabad's standpoint about the role of the Aleph Institute legal fund and does not require the sender to designate "Sholom". All contributions go to Sholom's defense. At least they said it outright there, but it would be more transparent if they put it on the Aleph contributions page itself. Giving Chabad the benefit of the doubt, you could send them an email requesting that they change their page for the legal fund, Shmarya, if you feel strongly about this. Just as your web site for Postville contributions a few days ago did not have the correct and clear name for the beneficiaries until you subsequently changed it, it may not be an issue of intentional deception.

Quoted:
4. Aleph
Is Alepf directly involved in Sholom Mordechais case at this time? If the the answer is yes, I would like to contribute to them.

If someone involved can confirm, please post here.
20 Cheshvan 5769
5. alef- to #4
You can make a tax-deductible contribution to the Aleph Legal Defense Fund, which exists to help people facing difficult legal expenses, online at

YOU MUST TAKE OUT THE LAST Dot
here is the right url

http://www.aleph-institute.org/legaldf.html
20 Cheshvan 5769

[Shmarya]

Jerome –

Chabad has been telling the press it is not closely linked to the Rubashkins.

What is happening here is an attempt to mask the donations connection to Rubashkin.

That is why Shturem doesn't mention anything about the Aleph fund in its post.

[Jerome Soller]

Shmarya,
Did you read my second post?

Jerome

[Shmarya]

I did now. Thanks!

[Tanya]

They're a bunch of thieves. Some Lubavich may be good, but most of them are, to me, only one person't opinion, the Jewish mafia. That's how I see it. And cult-like, to boot. I don't have good words to say abut Lubavich after my own personal experiences with them over a five year period of time. This hiding their true intention, which is helping this chutzpadick Rubashkin, does not at all surprise me. It fits right in with their modus aperendi, which is charming and lying and manipulating, in order to "get". They wil take anything they can, from you, from me, and its so sad to see the human condition fall from higher possibilities. They, Lubavich, are a bunch of liars. Don't trust them, except if there exist exceptions to this rule.
Thank you, Shmarya, for going where others fear to tread.

[Tanya]

You are a courageous fronteirsman. I give you so much credit. I will make a donation, NOW. I have only admiration for you. Are you married??

[concern jew 2]

this is very troubling. Aleph , why not be up front about the nature of the fund?? Are the contributions for legal defense in a criminal case really tax deductible. People think they may be helping all the folks accused or incarcerated-this is not honest representation. A fine organization is corrupting itself!!

where was the fund to help all the displaced and arrested workers that provided all the Chabadniks their meat?

[mordechai b.]

What the hell is your problem if Lubavitchers are collecting money to pay for his lawyers bills. If you were in trouble, and someone offered to help pay your lawyer fees, what would you say than?
YOu are a self hating Jew.

[moshe der g]

What love people have
Remember piyod shevuyom
Is even if you know the person is guilty
And here in america it is ( at least should be) innocent until proven guilty

In recent months, the. Aleph
Institute's website announced the start of a."JCLU" to raise funds to litigate on behalf of Jewish inmates in cases of alleged denial of 1st ammendment protected religious practice.by federal or state prisons. That mission is entirely different from that of a legal defense fund for one specific Jew indicted but not currently serving time in prison for a criminal conviction.

[concern jew 2]

mordechai b,
always easy to label anyone that criticizes chabad as self hating. when did chabad swallow blind observance cool aid. I work with aleph and I feel it should be transparent and up front on a defense fund. I gave to support smr. a non profit is obligated to say what funds are used for. legal defense may be questionable. so mordy b
I might be davening next to you in 770, and hope chabad can survive people like you. I am all in favor of raising funds but call it what it is in accordance with the nonprofit rules.

roper

[Aryeh]

Shmarya,

You're a Jew. And, by virtue of that alone, I love you. In the spirit of Ahavas Yisroel, I plead you to take all of your efforts in this blog and refocus them toward revealing the good in other Jews rather than highlighting the negative that you perceive in others. Have you ever turned on a tiny nightlight in a dark room? It only takes a tiny bit of light to dispel great darkness. You can be that light.

[Anderson]

Aryeh:

It seems to me that Shmarya's project is precisely to be that light. One wouldn't commit to a critical project this relentlessly without valuing something in the object of critique.

An analogy: Your father is a human being, with good qualities and bad habits. You beat on his chest, you plead with him, to give up the drinking or the smoking or the cheating or whatever it is he does. When you do this, are you trying to help him live and thrive, or do you want him to suffer and die?

Is Shmarya trying to "cut away spiritual materialism," so to speak? If so, he is a very good friend indeed to the Jewish community, precisely the light you prescribe. And that is my own interpretation of what's going on here.

[Yochanan Lavie]

Remember piyod shevuyom
Is even if you know the person is guilty

So in another words, being Jewish is never having to say you're sorry.

In other words, like seperatist Muslims in Europe who want sharia, Jews can only be judged by a Bet Din.

America is not Russia. Jews get fair trials here, religious freedom, and a franchise. We should obey the civil law, or face the consequences.

[May you die]

Not to punish you, but to save Rubashkin from further suffering.