A mentally unstable Jewish woman abducted her four children in Italy and brought them to Russia where they were sheltered by Chabad – despite ample evidence the woman is unstable and a danger to her children. Why did Chabad do it?
Natasha Kuilak Mellersh reports in the Huffington Post UK:
The recent case of the Grin/McIlwrath children highlights the numerous failings of the Russian authorities to work together with their Italian counterparts to protect the children involved. Grin, a Russian-born US citizen who was living in Italy, abducted her four children from their American custodial father in Florence. She travelled to Russia with the children despite Italian court rulings which removed her custody rights and indicated that the children were at risk if they remained with her. Her children have since been placed in Chabad-Lubavitch institutes/orphanages in St Petersburg at her request "for their own safety".
The plight of the children, who are fluent in both English and Italian, has not even been acknowledged by the Russian authorities. It appears that the obligation of the state to ensure their safety and well being, and contact with their family and friends in Italy in the US, has been completely overlooked since they have been moved into a new jurisdiction, despite the fact that Italy, the US and Russia are all signatories to the Hague Convention.
Russian authorities have similarly done nothing to end the children's isolation from family and friends, nor ensured they are safe from the risks identified in the Italian court proceedings.
Chabad apparently helped facilitate these kidnappings, but eventually discovered that Grin is mentally unstable and may very well be a danger to her children.
But Chabad still kept the kids away from their father. Why? The children's father isn't Jewish.
Chabad also seems to have used its political clout in Russia to keep the Russian government from enforcing the law and returning the children to their father in Italy.
And the father?
He was and is completely fine with the kids keeping kosher, keeping Shabbos and having a Jewish education. In fact, he's more supportive of that according to what I've been told than Grin is.