Wire Story
Seized Jewish religious library subject of Helsinki Commission hearing
By Logan C. Adams
Scripps Howard Foundation Wire
WASHINGTON – The Helsinki Commission heard of the struggle to reclaim a piece of Jewish heritage Wednesday that has been held for nearly a century by the Russian government.
Members and friends of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, one of the largest Jewish organizations in the United States, testified about the Schneerson collection, a compilation of rare religious books and manuscripts owned by the movement’s former leaders.
“The value of the Schneerson collection of sacred Jewish texts is not financial but immeasurably spiritual,” said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., chairman of the Helsinki Commission. “They are a link between humanity and divinity.”
The collection consists of 12,000 volumes and an additional 25,000 documents assembled during the movement’s 250-year history.
It was seized from them by the Soviet Union in two parts. The first part, a collection of works by the first five leaders of the movement, was taken near the time of the Bolshevik Revolution, and is currently in the Russian State Library, said Ambassador Edward B. O’Donnell Jr., special envoy for Holocaust issues at the State Department.
The second part, an archive of teaching from successive leaders, was seized by Nazis in 1939 during World War II. It was later discovered to have been captured by the Soviet Union and taken to the Russian State Military Archive.
Members of the Schneerson family and others originated the movement in the Russian town of Lubavitch. They faced discrimination and were forced to flee after the Russian Revolution. Some went to Poland, and others came to the United States.
The Russian government was invited to testify before the commission, but opted to issue a statement that said the collection originated in Russia and the Soviet Union and is a part of the nation’s history.
“It is our position that the collection belongs to Russia,” it said. “It is a part of the national cultural heritage of Russians and Jewish Communities around the world.”
Rabbi Boruch Shlomo Cunin, director of Chabad-Lubavitch on the West Coast, disagreed, citing Russia’s treatment of the collection.
“The books are being kept under the worst condition that books and manuscripts can be kept,” he said. “The books in the Russian State Library, they have never been catalogued. ... They are in a horrific state of neglect.”
To show support for the return of the collection, Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., wrote a letter and had it signed by all 100 senators. President Bush delivered it to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin in February.
“I don’t know of another issue where 100 members of the Senate, every one, has signed the letter,” said Brownback to wide applause from an audience of at least 120 that included many members of the Chabad-Lubavitch group and at least 16 Holocaust survivors.
This was not the first time the Russians have been asked to return the collection. The Senate made a similar appeal in 1992 to then-president Boris Yeltsin. Only eight volumes, one as a gift and seven as a loan to the Library of Congress, have been released since then.
Actor Jon Voight, who has been working with Chabad-Lubavitch for several years, told the commission the documents should be returned.
“Everyone asks, ‘What is your connection to him and his cause?’” Voight said of Cunin. “Since I am of Catholic faith, I understand the basic values of life, including the Ten Commandments, and they say, ‘Thou shalt not steal.’”
All the commission members who spoke endorsed giving the collection to the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
“This administration will be pushing the Russian administration to do whatever we can,” said Brownback.
By Logan C. Adams
Scripps Howard Foundation Wire
WASHINGTON – The Helsinki Commission heard of the struggle to reclaim a piece of Jewish heritage Wednesday that has been held for nearly a century by the Russian government.
Members and friends of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, one of the largest Jewish organizations in the United States, testified about the Schneerson collection, a compilation of rare religious books and manuscripts owned by the movement’s former leaders.
“The value of the Schneerson collection of sacred Jewish texts is not financial but immeasurably spiritual,” said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., chairman of the Helsinki Commission. “They are a link between humanity and divinity.”
The collection consists of 12,000 volumes and an additional 25,000 documents assembled during the movement’s 250-year history.
It was seized from them by the Soviet Union in two parts. The first part, a collection of works by the first five leaders of the movement, was taken near the time of the Bolshevik Revolution, and is currently in the Russian State Library, said Ambassador Edward B. O’Donnell Jr., special envoy for Holocaust issues at the State Department.
The second part, an archive of teaching from successive leaders, was seized by Nazis in 1939 during World War II. It was later discovered to have been captured by the Soviet Union and taken to the Russian State Military Archive.
Members of the Schneerson family and others originated the movement in the Russian town of Lubavitch. They faced discrimination and were forced to flee after the Russian Revolution. Some went to Poland, and others came to the United States.
The Russian government was invited to testify before the commission, but opted to issue a statement that said the collection originated in Russia and the Soviet Union and is a part of the nation’s history.
“It is our position that the collection belongs to Russia,” it said. “It is a part of the national cultural heritage of Russians and Jewish Communities around the world.”
Rabbi Boruch Shlomo Cunin, director of Chabad-Lubavitch on the West Coast, disagreed, citing Russia’s treatment of the collection.
“The books are being kept under the worst condition that books and manuscripts can be kept,” he said. “The books in the Russian State Library, they have never been catalogued. ... They are in a horrific state of neglect.”
To show support for the return of the collection, Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., wrote a letter and had it signed by all 100 senators. President Bush delivered it to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin in February.
“I don’t know of another issue where 100 members of the Senate, every one, has signed the letter,” said Brownback to wide applause from an audience of at least 120 that included many members of the Chabad-Lubavitch group and at least 16 Holocaust survivors.
This was not the first time the Russians have been asked to return the collection. The Senate made a similar appeal in 1992 to then-president Boris Yeltsin. Only eight volumes, one as a gift and seven as a loan to the Library of Congress, have been released since then.
Actor Jon Voight, who has been working with Chabad-Lubavitch for several years, told the commission the documents should be returned.
“Everyone asks, ‘What is your connection to him and his cause?’” Voight said of Cunin. “Since I am of Catholic faith, I understand the basic values of life, including the Ten Commandments, and they say, ‘Thou shalt not steal.’”
All the commission members who spoke endorsed giving the collection to the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
“This administration will be pushing the Russian administration to do whatever we can,” said Brownback.
posted by Logan C. Adams at 4/07/2005 10:13:00 AM
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