A letter was sent by the head of elections in the S’dot Dan Regional Council to residents of Kfar Chabad, stating that on Election Day, they too will vote, to elect the leadership of their municipality in addition to the existing vaad.

This is a new municipal committee that will be directly subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior and will deal mainly with all the current affairs of the village – institutions, electricity, water, transportation, roads and day-to-day management. But the Kfar Chabad committee is going to war against the new move.

“Since the establishment of Kfar Chabad about 70 years ago, we have been receiving constant guidance from the Rebbe at every turn,” the committee says. “The Rebbe totally rejected the establishment of another committee, and it is inconceivable to establish such a committee now, in complete contradiction to the Rebbe’s opinion.”

“The Rebbe saw in the spirit of his sanctity many years ago that the establishment of another committee could lead to separation of hearts chas v’sholom, as we see in practice in other communities in Israel, where there are two committees, that the Association Committee and the Municipal Committee fight each other’s powers. This may chas v’sholom cause permanent disputes and paralyze the ability of the committees to act.”

The local vaad vehemently opposes the initiative to establish a municipal committee to run the above-mentioned affairs of the Kfar.

It is explained that in 2007, the law was enacted, that if most of the members with voting rights are not members of the association – elections must be held for a municipal committee. Since then, two elections have been held for the regional council, and yet no elections have been held for the municipal council. The reason for this is because they knew the Rebbe’s teaching, and therefore they did not talk about it – and the law states that if no resident submits a candidacy to the Municipal Committee, the members of the Association Committee automatically receive the powers of the Municipal Committee.

Members of the Kfar Vaad (Association Committee) explain, “Unfortunately, in these elections, someone made a point of bringing this up, and as a result, the order came to hold elections for the new committee.”

The Kfar Chabad Committee is well-aware of the complications involving the existing legal situation, and solutions are being sought. Vaad officials conclude that they remain certain the residents of the community “will adhere to the instructions of the Rebbe, and this will permit the local council run the affairs of Kfar Chabad.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)