Tzeirei Agudat Chabad - Revision history

Chabad Bot: 2015 sentencing judgment of former chairman: summary

2026-10-28T10:24:57Z

2015 sentencing judgment of former chairman: summary

Chabad Bot: Cite Times of Israel, 29 Nov 2015 (text supplied by David) on Aharonov's 2015 conviction; fine difference attributed in text

2026-10-27T21:47:41Z

Cite Times of Israel, 29 Nov 2015 (text supplied by David) on Aharonov's 2015 conviction; fine difference attributed in text

Chabad Bot: New page: sourced article (Chabad in occupied Palestine series)

2026-10-26T00:25:15Z

New page: sourced article (Chabad in occupied Palestine series)

New page

{{Template:Chabad sidebar}}
{{short description|'''Chabad youth and outreach organisation in the Zionist state'''}}
'''Tzeirei Agudat Chabad''' (Hebrew: צעירי אגודת חב"ד, "Youth of the Chabad Association"; also Tzach or the Chabad Youth Organization) is the main outreach organisation of the [[Chabad-Lubavitch movement]] in the Zionist state. Its headquarters are at Beit Shazar, Kfar Chabad 60840; the Lubavitch.com directory lists Rabbi Joseph Aharonov and Rabbi Menachem Taichman, with six departments and 38 emissaries.<ref name="Lub-kfar-chabad">Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters, [https://www.lubavitch.com/centers/middle-east/israel/kfar-chabad/ Chabad centers: Kfar Chabad] ''Lubavitch.com'', accessed 23 October 2026.</ref>

==History and size==
Tzeirei Agudat Chabad says it was founded in 1952 and has been "funded by grants and donations from within Israel and from the Jewish community in the Diaspora". Its English website says that under its chairman, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Aronov, it grew from 55 Chabad Houses in 1983 to 220 in 1997; the same page also says it has 306 Chabad Houses.<ref name="Tzach">Tzeirei Agudat Chabad, [http://www.chabad.org.il/articleseng/articles.asp?categoryid=162 Israel in Crisis: Chabad in Action] ''chabad.org.il'', accessed 25 October 2026.</ref> In 2021 ''Arutz Sheva'' said the "Chabad Youth Movement" had about 1,000 emissaries and their families and 120 schools, and that Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak Aharonov headed the movement in the country.<ref name="INN1956">Ben Shaul, [https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/304312 Chabad marks 65 years to brutal massacre] ''Arutz Sheva'', 13 April 2021, accessed 25 October 2026.</ref>

==Activities==
The organisation describes itself as a social-service, educational and religious agency. It says it runs day-care centres, nursery schools, kindergartens and day schools, after-school programmes and the largest summer camp programme in the country, works with Russian immigrants, and serves soldiers, prisoners and the sick.<ref name="Tzach" /> The [[Chabad Terror Victims Project]] operates "under the auspices and umbrella" of Tzeirei Chabad.<ref name="Tzach" />

During the war in Gaza, in January 2024, Tzeirei Chabad organised the printing of a copy of the ''Tanya'' with Israeli soldiers on the outskirts of Khan Yunis. ''Arutz Sheva'' quoted "Tze'irei Chabad chair Rabbi Joseph Aharonov" as saying that "the Rebbe gave special attention to soldiers who sacrifice their lives to protect Israel".<ref name="INNTanya">Israel National News, [https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/384210 Deep in Gaza: Tanya printed on outskirts of Khan Yunis] ''Arutz Sheva'', 26 January 2024, accessed 25 October 2026.</ref>

==2015 conviction of its chairman==
In November 2015 the Tel Aviv District Court sentenced Rabbi [[Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov]], whom ''Arutz Sheva'' called the former chairman of Agudat Tzeirei Chabad, to two years in prison and a fine of 1.5 million shekels, after he was convicted under a plea bargain of fraud offences and tax evasion. According to the indictment, the organisation was funded by donations from Israel and abroad and by support from the state budget.<ref name="INNAharonov">Shlomo Piotrkovsky, [https://www.inn.co.il/news/310912 שנתיים מאסר לעסקן בכיר בחב"ד] ''Arutz Sheva'', 29 November 2015, accessed 25 October 2026.</ref><ref name="Kikar2015">Haim Avni, [https://www.kikar.co.il/law-and-order/186752 שנתיים מאסר ומיליון וחצי שקל קנס נגזרו על יוסף יצחק אהרונוב] ''Kikar HaShabbat'', 29 November 2015, accessed 25 October 2026.</ref> See [[Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov]] for details.

==See also==
* [[Chabad in occupied Palestine]]
* [[Kfar Chabad]]
* [[Agudat Chasidei Chabad in the Holy Land]]

==External links==
* [http://www.chabad.org.il/ chabad.org.il]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Chabad-Lubavitch]]

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 ==2015 conviction of its chairman==
-In November 2015 the Tel Aviv District Court sentenced Rabbi [[Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov]], whom ''Arutz Sheva'' called the former chairman of Agudat Tzeirei Chabad, to two years in prison and a fine of 1.5 million shekels, after he was convicted under a plea bargain of fraud offences and tax evasion. According to the indictment, the organisation was funded by donations from Israel and abroad and by support from the state budget.<ref name="INNAharonov">Shlomo Piotrkovsky, [https://www.inn.co.il/news/310912 שנתיים מאסר לעסקן בכיר בחב"ד] ''Arutz Sheva'', 29 November 2015, accessed 25 October 2026.</ref><ref name="Kikar2015">Haim Avni, [https://www.kikar.co.il/law-and-order/186752 שנתיים מאסר ומיליון וחצי שקל קנס נגזרו על יוסף יצחק אהרונוב] ''Kikar HaShabbat'', 29 November 2015, accessed 25 October 2026.</ref> ''[[The Times of Israel]]'' reported that [[Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov|Aharonov]], whom it described as head of Agudat Tze'irei Chabad (the Chabad Youth Society), had admitted receiving donations meant for the Chabad movement for nine years without reporting them, and that the society's employees had not reported sources of income and had received Education Ministry aid illegally. It described the case as a major tax fraud involving millions of shekels and gave the fine as 500,000 shekels, whereas ''Kikar HaShabbat'' gave 1.5 million.<ref name="ToI2015">[https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/chabad-rabbi-sentenced-in-major-tax-fraud/ Chabad rabbi sentenced in major tax fraud] ''The Times of Israel'' (live blog), 29 November 2015 (text supplied by David), accessed 27 October 2026.</ref> See [[Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov]] for details.
+In November 2015 the Tel Aviv District Court sentenced Rabbi [[Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov]], whom ''Arutz Sheva'' called the former chairman of Agudat Tzeirei Chabad, to two years in prison and a fine of 1.5 million shekels, after he was convicted under a plea bargain of fraud offences and tax evasion. According to the indictment, the organisation was funded by donations from Israel and abroad and by support from the state budget.<ref name="INNAharonov">Shlomo Piotrkovsky, [https://www.inn.co.il/news/310912 שנתיים מאסר לעסקן בכיר בחב"ד] ''Arutz Sheva'', 29 November 2015, accessed 25 October 2026.</ref><ref name="Kikar2015">Haim Avni, [https://www.kikar.co.il/law-and-order/186752 שנתיים מאסר ומיליון וחצי שקל קנס נגזרו על יוסף יצחק אהרונוב] ''Kikar HaShabbat'', 29 November 2015, accessed 25 October 2026.</ref> ''[[The Times of Israel]]'' reported that [[Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov|Aharonov]], whom it described as head of Agudat Tze'irei Chabad (the Chabad Youth Society), had admitted receiving donations meant for the Chabad movement for nine years without reporting them, and that the society's employees had not reported sources of income and had received Education Ministry aid illegally. It described the case as a major tax fraud involving millions of shekels and gave the fine as 500,000 shekels, whereas ''Kikar HaShabbat'' gave 1.5 million.<ref name="ToI2015">[https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/chabad-rabbi-sentenced-in-major-tax-fraud/ Chabad rabbi sentenced in major tax fraud] ''The Times of Israel'' (live blog), 29 November 2015 (text supplied by David), accessed 27 October 2026.</ref> The sentencing judgment records that he was convicted on his own admission of two counts of obtaining something by fraud in aggravating circumstances, two of fraud and breach of trust in a corporation, one of false entry in corporate documents and 18 of tax evasion, and that the court imposed 24 months' imprisonment, less 16 days in custody, 12 months suspended for three years, and a fine of NIS 1,500,000 in ten instalments; ''The Times of Israel'' gave the fine as NIS 500,000. The court found that between 2002 and 2006 NIS 3,547,879 raised by the US charity [[Chabad Children of Chernobyl]] was transferred to Aharonov's private account, and that the organisation fraudulently received more than NIS 17 million in Education Ministry support in 1999–2001 on the strength of "proper management" certificates obtained with false statements; it also found that the organisation's foreign donations for 2004 and 2005 had been under-reported. The judgment notes that liquidation proceedings concerning the organisation were under way at the Central-Lod District Court (case 7418-10-15) to replace its officers, including the chairman, and that his conviction barred him by law from the board of any association. His defence said he had taken no money for himself.<ref name="Judgment2015">Tel Aviv-Jaffa District Court, [https://judgments.org.il/judgments/%D7%AA%D7%A4-%D7%AA%D7%9C-%D7%90%D7%91%D7%99%D7%91-47426-10-15-%D7%9E%D7%93%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%AA-%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%A0-%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A1%D7%A3-%D7%90%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%91/ ''State of Israel v. Yosef Aharonov''], criminal case 47426-10-15, sentencing judgment of Judge Yaron Levi, 29 November 2015, ''judgments.org.il'' (in Hebrew), text supplied by David Miller, accessed 28 October 2026.</ref> See [[Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov]] for details.
 ==See also==