Foreign Ministry officials announce that they are unable to provide security for Chabad Houses around the world because they are not government facilities. The ministry however is willing to provide a service for a fee, to assist Chabad officials in coordinating security.
Requests were made to the government to step forward and undertake providing security for the global Chabad network, coming from the Chief Rabbinate and UTJ MK Yaakov Litzman.
Ministry officials explain they cannot make an exception for Chabad, which is the same as other organizations operating around the world.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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3 Responses
While it is nice that Chabadniks, like other frum Jews in weird places, provide hospitality to visiting frum Jews who find themselves in weird places, the “raison d’etre” for the Chabad houses is kiruv among non-frum Jews, and meaningful security would be counter-productive. One can’t reach out from a bunker.
For a FEE??? Does a Chabad House charge its drop-ins a FEE?? The tourists, businessmen, casual visitors, delayed passengers from Israel & other countries….do they pay a FEE for a Shabbos meal, a place to stay, a place to learn, an ear to listen, a heart to counsel, an intervention with the host country’s authorities?
Shame, shame on the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
In all fairness, how can the government do something like this? They would then have to do the same for all Yiddeshe mosdos. It is overwhelming. Of course the better thing would be if they could actually do this for all mosdos, and while at it, for all Yidden. Unfortnately this would be a great idea, but cannot be implemented that easily. And someone has to pay for it in the end. The whole situation is overwhelming.