Chabad chassidim have emerged victorious in their battle to change the name of Max Nordau Street in Netanya to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson Street, after the late Lubavitcher Rebbe zt”l.
The city’s Chabad House was located on Max Nordau Street and it will now be located on “The Lubavitcher Rebbe Street” after the city decided to accept the request of the shlichim in the city.
Rav Menachem Wolpe and his staff are celebrating 35 years in the city’s Chabad House, prompting their request for the street renaming.
Despite objections from some of the street’s residence, explaining they are not shomrei mitzvos and as such, do not wish to live on a street with such a name, Rav Wolpe took his case to City Hall in the form of an official request.
City Councilman Adir Binyaminei (Green Party) sent a letter to Mayor Miriam Fireberg threatening a violent opposition to such a move. “It will be like an Intifada” he warned, adding “I will throw the first stone”.
Nevertheless, despite the threats, the town Naming Committee on Monday approved the request and in an attempt to appease opponents, an alleyway will be named after Nordau.
Some of the non-frum neighbors after hearing of the decision vow to continue their battle.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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19 Responses
Who ever heard of max nordeau? At least now everyone knows who the street was named after. Zionism is dead in Israel anyhow. At least the Rebbe fought that the Israeli government shouldn’t liquidate the land of Israel. But if it will truly cause WWIII, then certainly keep the old name.
what a sad state of affairs!!!
That’s strange, I was under the impression that they only named streets after dead people.
I wouldn’t have headlined it quite this way… more like “City Approves Chabad’s Street-naming Request, Neighbors Dissent”
“Street Battle” is, I think, a bit overblown here.
For the uninformed, Max Nordau was involved with Herzl as a result of his reaction to the Dreyfus affair. He proposed taking half a million Jews out of Europe to Israel in 1920 – of course no one listened.Now his name has been erased. Great PR great hakarat hatov
I love the way chabad hatters come out of the woodworks…
1) Why do people on the outside know what is best for kiruv, shouldn’t we leave it up to the pro’s to figure that out? Chabad has made a name for itself in bringing tens of thousands of Yidden back to Yiddishkayt, yet you are worried about them be mirachek people? The bottom line is that they went through the correct channels of city hall, it is the neighbors that are threatening to do something wrong.
7) Oh please, you have me crying for his memory. You care nothing for Nordau, its just your anti chabad sentiment.
-not a chabadnik, but my partner is one-
It seems to, indeed, be a pyrrhic victory.
How does one purport to do kiruv while alienating the very people one could reach?
All for a street sign? Is that really a kavod to their late leader to name a street after him, or is it just a silly PR attempt gone bad?
charvona [7],
sounds like you have great Hakoras Hatov to Herzel (Shr”y) too. Is that so?
The law in Israel is one musr be dead to have a street named after him. Do you think they’ll write z”l on the sign?
HaKatan: it seems that Isreal is more fond of the LR more so than the US tristate frum community
WHO CARES? Why should a name of a street be changed especially if previous neighbors were satisfied with the name, how about adding a second name sort of like adding a middle name? Stupid nonsense and another reason to cause arguments.
sammygol-The title “nasi Hador” was not recently invented. The Chofetz Chayim gave the title to Reb Chaim Ozer.
Sammygol,
One thing that has been going on for hundreds of years, is naming Streets after Tzaddikim, so why make a fuss now. Or is it because that its chabad that bothers you?
For all those that think the local chabad rabbi, rabbi Volpe is doing a bad job with his kiruv, this is what I just got off a chabad website.
Directed by Rabbi Menachem Volpo since 1973, it operates a synagogue in the coastal Israeli city, as well as a mikvah, adult, youth and women’s study groups, and a hospital visitation program. More than 5,000 children attended its Lag B’Omer rally last week.
5,000 kids, umm I think he aint doing that bad after all, with his kiruv.
How many bletter gemora will be learned because of this street name change?
SAMMYGOL AT 4:49 AM
Bletter Gemara? IM SURE YOU GOT UP THIS EARLY TO LEARN DAF YOMI OH BUT HOW CAN YOU TAKE CARE OF PERSONAL THINGS LIKE WRITING YOUR FEELINGS ON THE YESHIVA WORLD BEFORE DAVENING OR MAYBE YOU JUST SPEND THE WHOLE DAY COMMENTING ON YESHIVA WORLD FROM ALL YOUR COMMENTS ON EVERY ARTICLE THE LATTER SEEMS TO BE TRUE. SO WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW A BLATT GEMORAH?MAYBE YESHIVA WORLD SHOULD PRINT SOME GEMORAH ON THEIR SITE SO YOU CAN GET A LITTLE LEARNING IN ALSO DURING YOUR BUSY DAY.CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE VAST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN Rav Chaim Ozer and “the shver”,AS YOU STATE . YOU SEEM TO KNOW EVERYONE SO WELL ,BUT IF SO HOW COME YOU WHERE NOT AWARE OF THE Chofetz Chayim gIvING the title to Reb Chaim Ozer. AS FOR COMMENT #1 MAYBE WE SHOULD NOT BUILD ANY SHULS OR YESHIVAS FOR Now, is THAT worth allienating thousands of local irreligious Jews . MAYBE JUST GET A LIFE AND ALL THESE THINGS WONT BOTHER YOU ANY MORE
sammy,
You have some chutzpa to call the Rebbe zt’l the mamash. I have a strong temptation to call your “gedolim” and particularly your (certainly not my)”godol hador” by some pretty uncomplimentary names.
But then there’s such a thing as ahavos yisroel and dan lkaf zchus or perhaps the kovod you owe to every single nasi, tzadik and talmid chochom, regardless of whether you disagree with them.
is it the shlita ztl thing
is it the moshiach thing
is it all the gedolim thing
is it the college thing
is it the chitas thing
is it the picture thing
is it the nasi thing
or does your hate date all the way baack to a machlokes-surrounded “shver”
is it the means justifing the end
or the end justifing the means
sammygol with your hate towards the rebbe even now you also make it sound that he still lives
v’hu yigalaynu