Hiddush heads the opposition against recognizing Chabad's emissary work as Israeli national service

In response to MK Elazar Stern's proposal to include Chabad emissaries in Israel's national service program, Rabbi Regev says: An anti-Zionist movement cannot represent the State of Israel.

13/01/2014 16:17

Tags: Chabad · Elazar Stern · Zionism · Equality in Sharing the Burden

Chassidic dancing at Chabad car in Jerusalem. 08/03/2010. Photo: Avir Sultan Flash90

Hiddush- Freedom of Religion for Israel spoke out strongly against MK Elazar Stern's proposal to include Chabad emissaries as part of Israel's national service program. The proposal was introduced during the deliberations for preparing the Equality in Sharing the Burden Law, headed by MK Ayelet Shaked.

MK Stern's motivations for the addition to the law proposal come from his desire to recognize the work of Chabad and their support of Jews traveling and living around the world. Many have questioned whether that recognition should be given in the context of national service.

Hiddush CEO Rabbi Uri Regev called on MKs Stern and Shaked to remove the suggested provision from the proposal. Regev reasoned that while MK Stern has good intentions in his proposal, it is not appropriate for Chabad to be given the task of representing the State of Israel when the movement has a long history of anti-Zionist positions and mainly function around the world with the mission to "return" Jews to Orthodox religious observance.

Hiddush has acted in the past in order to raise awareness about the well-hidden fact that Chabad is an anti-Zionist movement.

We're talking about an organization that erased Israeli Independence Day from their calendar, so it's difficult understand why the Knesset decided this is an appropriate project to receive state support.

Click here for information on Chabad's positions regarding the State of Israel and Zionism.

Although the proposal was ultimately approved by the Shaked Committee, the debate over MK Stern's proposal did not go unnoticed. Rabbi Uri Regev went head-to-head with MK Stern on the popular Israeli talk show, London and Kirschenbaum, and explained the problematic aspects of the Chabad movement. Their aversion to recognizing the State of Israel, complemented by anti-Zionist statements made by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, and the fact that they ignore Israeli national holidays, deem them unfitting to represent the State of Israel abroad.

There was also opposition expressed from Chabad followers. Gilad Kleiner, a Chabad hasid from Kiryat Malachi, Israel, similarly stating his reservations against MK Stern's proposals. "For all of the thousands of emissaries, there is only one name and reason that these individuals will work for- The [Lubavitcher] Rebbe," he wrote.

Rabbi Regev emphasized that, "Chabad makes no attempt to hide that they are trying to make secular Jews more religious (according to their strict interpretation). We're talking about an organization that erased Israeli Independence Day from their calendar, so it's difficult understand why the Knesset decided this is an appropriate project to receive state support."