Bobov 48 won a decade-long beit and secular court battle for control of the Bobov hasidic movement over its rival, Bobov 45. Both groups are based in Borough Park, Brooklyn. But now the losing faction has turned to an Israeli beit din to get a ruling voiding the New York beit din's ruling, and that beit din is now threatening one of the New York rabbinic judges with excommunication unless he appears before them and capitualtes to the Israeli rabbis' will – even though halakha does not give the Israeli rabbis jurisdiction over the case.
Updated at 10:57 pm CST
This is the letter Rabbi Yechiel Babad responded to here.
Loosely, the letter says the following:
Rabbi Yechiel Babad is not allowed to call the rabbinic judges of the Israeli beit din (religious court) and has to direct any communication to the beit din's secretary.
If he has any claims against their ruling he can come to the beit din in Israel in person and present his case.
Babad has two weeks to appear at that Israeli beit din or a zavlah [a form of beit din where the two opposing parties each choose a rabbinic judge and those two rabbinic judges choose the third rabbinic judge].
If Babad does not answer the Israeli beit din’s summons, it will publish a siruv [a type of excommunication order] against him – which would automatically make all the food he provides kosher supervision to non-kosher.
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