Hoodlums broke into the home of Rosh Yeshivas Chafetz Chaim in Argentina HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Aryeh Levin Shlita and threatened his life. The break-in occurred on Shabbos morning before sunrise. The rebitzen was lightly injured.

Some sources are reporting the thugs may chas v’sholom have been sent by the Reform and Conservative communities as part of the pressure against the chareidim to accept them in the kehilla and to include the Reform in the community’s governing organization, AMIA. Police investigators arrived on the scene to interview people and crime scene technicians gathered evidence from the scene including fingerprints.

It is explained that attempt to intimidate the rav was connected to elections that were scheduled to be held in the Jewish kehilla but were canceled suddenly close to Shabbos following government intervention with the court’s stamp of approval. Jewish residents were expecting to elect the Jewish leadership for the coming three years but after a stormy session in a Buenos Aires court hours before shabbos, elections were halted. The Reform and Conservative communities turned to the court claiming the Jewish kehilla’s AMIA government body was not run properly. A veteran resident explains this marked the first time the 122-year history of the AMIA umbrella organization representing the Jews of Argentina that Jews were against one another in an outside body, in this case the court. Rabbi Levin is quoted explaining the Reform and Conservative Jews cannot accept the fact the chareidi community is flourishing.

The chareidim explain they have been running AMIA for the past eight years, adding with significant success.

Rabbi Eliyahu Amar, a member of the tzibur in Argentina told Kol Chai Radio on Sunday morning 9 Nissan election were to take place today. He confirms the elections were canceled by court order due to the intervention of the Reform and Conservative.

The elections are to determine who will head AMIA in the next years. He adds there are parties that make up AMIA, similar to the government of Israel and there is a strong chareidi party, ABUD (מפלגה מאוחדת דתית) that can build a coalition alone.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)