Washington – A Jewish organization asked a federal judge for a default judgment against Russia today, following the country’s exit from a long-running lawsuit over a priceless religious library.
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Lawyers for Chabad-Lubavitch, one of the world’s largest sects of ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jews, filed a motion today at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia accusing Russia of flaunting U.S. law by ducking out of the suit.
On June 26, Russia filed a notice informing the court that it would no longer participate in the litigation, which it called “incompatible with its rights as a sovereign nation.”
Russia, represented by a team from Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, had already litigated the case through a motion to dismiss and an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which ruled that all of Chabad’s claims could go forward.
“[Russia’s] refusal to accept the decision of the Court of Appeals and their disobedience of this Court’s orders and contempt for this Court’s processes warrant the entry of a default,” Chabad’s filing states.
Chabad’s lawyers — Nathan Lewin and Alyza Lewin of Lewin & Lewin, Marshall Grossman and Seth Gerber of Bingham McCutchen, and William Bradford Reynolds of Howrey — said they would seek a default shortly after Russia abandoned the suit.
Even, if they convince Judge Royce Lamberth to rule in their favor, collecting on the judgment could be difficult. It unclear they will be able to seek Russian assets in the U.S., or if they will have to seek compensation in a Russian court.
Rabbi YY Schneerson did flee their country. He was clearly in violation of the laws of the Union when he set up secret synagogues, underground day schools and mikvaot. If he really wanted to hold onto the library, he should have followed the rules like everyone else and behaved like a proper citizen.
are you blind to the work that he did for our fellow jews and the foundations he layed by leaving russia and coming to america? the rules that you are claiming he broke were set up by those who’s only goal was to destroy the jewish people, is your dislike for the lubavitch chabad movement that deep that you write such nonsense?
I seriously can’t believe that someone would actually rationalize the Russian’s actions by condoning what they did and basing it on the fact that the Rebbe Ztzl fled torture and persecution for the illegality of teaching Torah. He should have followed the rules and abrogated the Torah? This guy is real? No matter, Chabad will win as Chabad won the last time they tried to reclaim the Rebbe’s library. Didon notzach then and didon will be menatzeiach now.
I’d like them to get the books back, but I am puzzled how and why this is in U.S. court. If I am a Russian citizen who used to live in the U.S. and claim that the Library of Congress has property that belongs to me and that they took it while I was in the U.S. , could I sue the U.S. in a russian court to get the books back? Would the U.S. agree to have ownership of the books decided by a Russian court and obey the order of a Russian court?
If the library was confiscated by the Germans and the Russians defeated the Germans, why do they owe anything to Chabad?
It would be like G-d forbid America being conquored by the Afghans, and the original Indian trilbes suing Afgahanistan for land that America took from them.
This case is a waste of time because russia will never give it back and maybe there will get a small judgement.
What the case did do is piss off Putin and comp who have given to chabad hundreds of buildings for yeshivas and schools and have given them much more than the value of these Sefarim which most have no real value and the handwritten notes chabad already has copies of most of them
What do the goyim know from sefoirim? They tried this schtick in Alleppo as well. I tell you what though, if this works, I want to file suit against the Vatican to recover our keilim as well.
Does this constitute Hisgarus Be’Imos? Just asking.
I’m not 100 percent sure but maybe someone can clarify this. The schnierson family was considered a honory loyal citizens since the bal hotonya. At the time of napolion, as rabbi yy shnierzon was claiming when he was arrested. It was then that they tried to deny his honory and take away the title with the library
This law suit is uncovering the treachery of the Soviet Regime. If the current government goes along with it, it means that they have not rejected their tyrannical past.
I wonder politically if this is the best way to go about it. Would the U.S. let a foreign court decide whether it lawfully owns something? As a matter of pride, the Russian government is not going to let a u.s. court tell it what to do. Aren’t there any other political/diplomatic routes to take. Couldn’t Chabad let the Russian government save face by, for example, paying a small honorarium for having taken care of the books all these years in exchange for their safe return? I just don’t see how a ruling by a u.s. court is going to get the books back.
but the Rebbe himself wanted the seforim back and sent rb. cunin on many missions to russia as well and things were looking up for a while. dedan natzach.
I’m sure that one day soon this priceless collection of Sherlock Holmes books will make its way to the rightful owners, the yorshim of Berke Gurary.
I think it is silly that people talk such garbage about Lazar.
When you are at the mercy of those Russians we will see if you act any differently.
This is has nothing to do with Chabad. This is an issue of yiddishkeit. May we be zoche to see all of the heilige seforim in yiddishe hands so they can be preserved and utilized for limud HaTorah!