Difference between revisions of "Vizhnitz (Hasidic dynasty)"

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(Remove Anti-Zionism category: the page describes Vizhnitz as non-Zionist and Agudah-aligned, not anti-Zionist)
(Add material from Biale et al., Hasidism: A New History (2018) on settlement, territorial withdrawal, Arabs/Palestinians, violence and Zionism)
 
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{{short description|'''Hasidic dynasty from Vyzhnytsia, Bukovina; Agudah-aligned courts in [[Bnei Brak]], [[Haifa]], [[Monsey]] / [[Kaser]], [[Beit Shemesh]] and [[London]]'''}}
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{{short description|'''Hasidic dynasty of the Hager family from Vyzhnytsia, Bukovina; main centres in Bnei Brak, Haifa and Kaser (Monsey), with communities in Brooklyn, Montreal and London'''}}
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{{Hasidic sidebar}}
 
{{Infobox religious group
 
{{Infobox religious group
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| name = Vizhnitz
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| name         = Vizhnitz
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| native_name = חסידות ויז׳ניץ
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| type         = [[Hasidic dynasties|Hasidic dynasty]]
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| type = [[Hasidic]] court (Hager family)
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| founder       = [[Menachem Mendel Hager]] (1830–1884)
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| main_classification = [[Hasidism]] (Kosov–Vizhnitz / Ruzhin-related)
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| founded_date = {{Start date|1854}}
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| theology = Mainstream Haredi; [[Agudat Yisrael]] participation; not Satmar-style anti-Zionism
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| founded_place = [[Vyzhnytsia]] (Vizhnitz), Bukovina (now Ukraine)
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| structure = Multiple living rebbes after 1972 and 2012 / 2018 splits
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| headquarters  = [[Bnei Brak]]; [[Kaser]], New York
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| founder = [[Menachem Mendel Hager]] (1830–1884)
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| leader_title  = Rebbe
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| founded_date = 1854–c. 1860s
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| leader_name  = [[Yisroel Hager]] (Bnei Brak, born 1945); [[Yisroel Hager (Monsey)|Yisroel Hager]] (Monsey)
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| founded_place = [[Vyzhnytsia]] (Vizhnitz), Bukovina
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| languages    = Yiddish
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| leader_title = Rebbe (Bnei Brak, Shikun Vizhnitz)
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| notes        = Branch of the Kosov–Vizhnitz dynasty. The ''New York Times'' put the Israeli branch at 5,000 families (2012) and the American branch at roughly 5,000 families, or 30,000 people (2018).<ref name="NYT2012" /><ref name="NYT2018" />
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| leader_name = [[Yisroel Hager]] (son of [[Moshe Yehoshua Hager]])
 
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| leader_title2 = Rebbe (Monsey / Kaser)
 
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| leader_name2 = [[Yisroel Hager (Monsey)|Yisroel Hager]] (son of [[Mordechai Hager]])
 
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| members = On the order of 10,000-plus households across all Hager branches (mid-2010s counts)
 
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| area = [[Israel]]; [[United States]]; [[United Kingdom]]; [[Canada]]; [[Belgium]]
 
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| language = Yiddish; Hebrew
 
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| headquarters = Kiryat Vizhnitz, [[Bnei Brak]]; [[Kaser, New York]]; [[Ramat Vizhnitz]], [[Haifa]]
 
 
}}
 
}}
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'''Vizhnitz''' (also '''Viznitz''' or '''Wiznitz''') is a [[Hasidic dynasties|Hasidic dynasty]] of the Hager family. It is the main branch of the Kosov–Vizhnitz dynasty, and takes its name from the town of Vyzhnytsia in Bukovina, now in Ukraine.<ref name="YIVO" /> After the Holocaust it was rebuilt in two main centres in [[Israel]], [[Bnei Brak]] and [[Haifa]]. A later branch, which grew out of disputes over the succession, is active in New York.<ref name="YIVO" /> The ''New York Times'' reported in 2012 that the dynasty numbered 5,000 families in Israel and perhaps as many in North America.<ref name="NYT2012" />
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'''[[Vizhnitz]]''' (also '''Viznitz''', '''Wiznitz'''; Yiddish: ויז׳ניץ / וויזשניץ) is a [[Hasidic]] dynasty founded by [[Menachem Mendel Hager]] in [[Vyzhnytsia]], Bukovina (now Ukraine). Followers are Vizhnitzer Hasidim. After the Holocaust the main reconstitution was in [[Bnei Brak]] under [[Chaim Meir Hager]] (Imrei Chaim). The court then split geographically: Bnei Brak under [[Moshe Yehoshua Hager]] (Yeshuos Moshe, d. 2012) and Monsey / [[Kaser, New York]] under his brother [[Mordechai Hager]] (Toras Mordechai, d. 2018). A parallel Seret-Vizhnitz court occupies [[Ramat Vizhnitz]] in [[Haifa]].
 
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Unlike [[Satmar]], Vizhnitz sits inside [[Agudat Yisrael]] / [[United Torah Judaism]]: it takes coalition money for housing and schools, fields rebbes on the [[Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah]], and does not treat the State of Israel as heresy. Sons do not serve in the [[IDF]] as a communal norm. After the 7 October 2023 attacks the Bnei Brak rebbe [[Yisroel Hager]] recited a one-off prayer for Jews “who stand in battle,” not the official IDF prayer and not a standing liturgy.<ref name="JPostPrayer">Levi Cooper, [https://www.jpost.com/judaism/article-777143 Israel-Hamas war: A Hassidic rebbe's prayer for soldiers] ''Jerusalem Post'', 8 December 2023.</ref>
 
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[[Marcin Wodziński]]’s mid-2010s telephone-book counts (''Historical Atlas of Hasidism'', 2018) put the Bnei Brak Shikun court at about 5,000 households, Monsey Vizhnitz about 2,800–3,500, Seret-Vizhnitz Haifa about 1,300, and the smaller Bnei Brak “Merkaz” court of [[Menachem Mendel Hager]] (son of Moshe Yehoshua) in the hundreds to about 1,000.
 
  
 
== History ==
 
== History ==
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=== Kosov and Vizhnitz ===
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The Kosov–Vizhnitz dynasty was founded by [[Menachem Mendel of Kosov]] (c. 1768–1825), who served as rabbi of [[Kosiv]] from 1790 and became a rebbe after 1802. His eldest son, [[Chaim Hager of Kosov]] (c. 1795–1854), succeeded him in Kosiv. After Chaim's death most of his Hasidim followed his youngest son, [[Menachem Mendel Hager]] (1830–1884), who set up a court in Vyzhnytsia and served there as both rabbi and rebbe. He married Miryam, a daughter of [[Israel Friedman of Ruzhyn]]. YIVO notes that these family links helped the dynasty strengthen its hold on Transylvania and Subcarpathian Rus'. His teachings were published as ''Tsemach tsadik'' (1885).<ref name="YIVO" />
  
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=== [[Menachem Mendel Hager]] (Tzemach Tzaddik) ===
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His eldest son, [[Boruch Hager]] (c. 1845–1893), was rebbe of Vizhnitz for a short time. Most of Boruch's sons became rebbes in Otynia, Horodenka, Storozhynets, Zalishchyky, Suceava and Borșa. The most prominent branch descended from his eldest son, [[Yisroel Hager]] (1860–1936), who succeeded him in Vizhnitz.<ref name="YIVO" /> In 1903 Yisroel founded the Ahavat Yisrael yeshiva; it closed in 1914 and was reopened in 1922 by his son Eliezer.<ref name="YIVO" />
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Born 17 May 1830 in [[Kosiv]], son of [[Chaim Hager of Kosov]] and son-in-law of [[Israel Friedman of Ruzhyn]]. Appointed rebbe at 24, he moved to nearby Vyzhnytsia. Known for charity, prayer and attachment to Eretz Yisrael. Died 18 October 1884; buried in Vyzhnytsia. Torah collected as ''Tzemach Tzaddik''. Succeeded by his son [[Boruch Hager]]. A son-in-law was a son of [[Yehoshua Rokeach]] of [[Belz]].<ref name="YIVOKosov">Gad Sagiv, [https://encyclopedia.yivo.org/article.aspx/Kosov-Vizhnits_Hasidic_Dynasty Kosov-Vizhnits Hasidic Dynasty] ''YIVO Encyclopedia''.</ref>
 
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=== [[Boruch Hager]] (Imrei Boruch) ===
 
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Born 1845; named after [[Boruch of Medzhybizh]] at the request of his grandfather of Ruzhin. Rebbe from 1885 until his death in 1892. Eight sons became rebbes in Vyzhnytsia, Ottynia, Suceava, Horodenka, Storozhynets, Borsa, Zelishtshik and elsewhere — the origin of the later Satmar-era map of small Hager towns. ''Imrei Boruch'' was published by a son-in-law.
 
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=== [[Yisroel Hager]] (Ahavas Yisrael) ===
 
  
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Born 20 August 1860; married a daughter of [[Meir Horowitz]] of Dzikov. Rebbe in Vyzhnytsia from 1893; built Talmud Torahs and a yeshiva headed by his son Menachem Mendel. In the First World War the court moved to Grosswardein ([[Oradea]]). He died there on 2 June 1936.<ref name="Israelit1936">''Der Israelit'', 4 June 1936, p. 13.</ref> Remains were reburied in Zichron Meir, [[Bnei Brak]], in 1949. Four sons became rebbes: Menachem Mendel of Visheve; [[Chaim Meir Hager]] in Oradea then Bnei Brak; Eliezer (''Damesek Eliezer'') of Vyzhnytsia / Tel Aviv; [[Boruch Hager]] of [[Siret]], founder of Seret-Vizhnitz.
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When the First World War broke out, Yisroel moved the court to [[Oradea]] (Grosswardein) in Transylvania. Between the wars he was the most influential rebbe of the dynasty, and almost all of his sons became rebbes, in Oradea, [[Siret]], Vișeu de Sus (Vishiva) and Vizhnitz.<ref name="YIVO" /> The ''New York Times'' reported that Russian soldiers killed many of Vyzhnytsia's Jews during the war, which forced the dynasty to move to Grosswardein.<ref name="NYT2018" />
  
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=== [[Chaim Meir Hager]] (Imrei Chaim) ===
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YIVO notes that the Vizhnitz rebbes were involved in disputes with other Hasidic leaders, including a long rivalry with the Teitelbaum family. In the 20th century some Vizhnitz leaders were leaders of [[Agudat Yisrael]] and opposed Zionism, while others showed sympathy for settlement in Palestine and even for the [[Mizrachi]] movement.<ref name="YIVO" /> Music and ''nigunim'' (melodies) have had a prominent place in the dynasty since its beginnings.<ref name="YIVO" />
  
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After the Holocaust he settled in Bnei Brak and rebuilt a full institutional net. He became a spiritual mentor of [[Agudat Yisrael]] in the [[Knesset]] period: government aid for Bnei Brak housing and schools in return for coalition votes — the opposite of Satmar’s refusal to sit in Zionist institutions. Died 1972. Sons: [[Moshe Yehoshua Hager]] (Bnei Brak) and [[Mordechai Hager]] (United States). Daughters’ marriages tied the court to [[Yidele Horowitz]], [[Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss]] (later Edah / Minchas Yitzchak) and [[Yisrael Friedman]] of Pashkan.
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=== Israel ===
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Some members of the dynasty, among them the rebbes of Borșa, were killed in the Holocaust. Three sons of Yisroel settled in the Land of Israel:<ref name="YIVO" />
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* [[Chaim Meir Hager]] (1887–1972);
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* Eliezer Hager (1891–1946);
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* [[Boruch Hager (Seret)|Boruch Hager]] (c. 1895–1964), who led the Seret branch.
  
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=== [[Moshe Yehoshua Hager]] (Yeshuos Moshe) ===
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They renewed Vizhnitz in two centres, Bnei Brak and Haifa.<ref name="YIVO" />
  
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Vizhnitzer Rebbe in Bnei Brak; president of the [[Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah]] of Agudat Yisrael. Died 13 March 2012, aged 95.<ref name="NYTMoshe">New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/nyregion/rabbi-moshe-y-hager-hasidic-leader-dies-at-95.html Rabbi Moshe Hager, a Hasidic Leader, Dies at 95], 16 March 2012.</ref> Sons: [[Yisroel Hager]] (inherited Shikun Vizhnitz, the large Bnei Brak court) and [[Menachem Mendel Hager]] (Merkaz / Ezra Street court). Daughters married [[David Twersky]] of [[Skver]] / [[New Square]]; [[Yissachar Dov Rokeach]] of [[Belz]] (Jerusalem); [[Aaron Teitelbaum]] of [[Satmar]] / [[Kiryas Joel]]; and [[Menachem Ernster]], rosh yeshiva in Bnei Brak. Those marriages are the main diplomatic links among the four largest American–Israeli Hasidic blocs.
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Chaim Meir's son [[Moshe Yehoshua Hager]] became head of the Bnei Brak community in 1972.<ref name="NYT2018" /> He died in Bnei Brak on 14 March 2012, aged 95. Tens of thousands of Hasidim attended his funeral. The ''New York Times'' described him as a participant in Israeli politics who "encouraged moderation on issues like the expansion of settlements in the occupied territories".<ref name="NYT2012" /> The [[International Court of Justice]] found in 2024 that Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem "have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law".<ref name="ICJ2024" />
  
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=== [[Mordechai Hager]] (Toras Mordechai) ===
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His son [[Yisroel Hager]] (born 1945) is the Vizhnitzer Rebbe in Bnei Brak.<ref name="JPostPrayer" />
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Born 1922; American Vizhnitz from the 1950s; founded the village of [[Kaser]] in Ramapo / Monsey. Died 16 March 2018 at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York; funeral reported in the tens of thousands; buried in the Vizhnitz cemetery, Monsey.<ref name="NYTMordechai">Joseph Berger, [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/16/obituaries/rabbi-mordechai-hager-dead-led-large-hasidic-sect.html Rabbi Mordechai Hager, Leader of Large Hasidic Sect, Dies at 95] ''The New York Times'', 16 March 2018.</ref> The NYT put American Vizhnitz at roughly 5,000 families. He left instruction that each surviving son take the title of rebbe in a different city.
 
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Sons and grandson now heading courts:
 
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* [[Yisroel Hager]] — Monsey / Kaser (principal American successor)
 
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* [[Menachem Mendel Hager]] — Kiamesha Lake (Gibbers), Catskills
 
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* [[Yitzchok Yochonon Hager]] — Williamsburg
 
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* [[Eliezer Zev Hager]] — Jerusalem / Lakewood / Borough Park circuit
 
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* [[Dovid Hager]] — London ([[Khal Imrei Chaim D'Chasidei Viznitz]])
 
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* [[Aharon Hager]] — Montreal
 
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* [[Boruch Shamshon Hager]] — [[Beit Shemesh]] (and Bnei Brak ties)
 
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* grandson [[Yaakov Yosef Hager]] — Borough Park (after [[Pinchas Shalom Hager]], d. 2015)
 
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=== Seret-Vizhnitz (Haifa) ===
 
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[[Boruch Hager]] of Siret (Mekor Baruch, d. 1964) built [[Ramat Vizhnitz]] (Mishkan Yisrael) in Haifa from the early 1950s as a Hasidic housing estate — “the mezuzah of Haifa.” Succeeded by Eliezer Hager then [[Yaakov Hager]]. About 700 families in the kiryah streets; Wodziński-era count c. 1,300 households for the court as a whole.
 
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== Geography ==
 
  
 
=== United States ===
 
=== United States ===
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[[Mordechai Hager]] was born in Oradea on 20 July 1922, a son of Chaim Meir Hager. During the Second World War the family escaped to Bucharest, where he married Feige Malka Twersky, a daughter of the Skverer Rebbe. After her death a few months later he married her sister, Sima Mirel. Unable to obtain a visa for Palestine, he emigrated to the [[United States]] in 1948 with his father-in-law.<ref name="NYT2018" />
  
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* '''[[Kaser]] / Monsey, Rockland County''' — Mordechai’s village and cemetery; Yisroel of Monsey.
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He settled in [[Williamsburg]], where he headed the Viznitz synagogue at 6 Lee Avenue. In the 1960s he moved his followers to [[Monsey]] in the town of Ramapo, New York. In 1990 his followers set up their own village, [[Kaser]], which the ''New York Times'' described in 2018 as having 5,300 residents in one-tenth of a square mile, the most densely populated municipality in the state.<ref name="NYT2018" /> In 2012 the newspaper called Kaser "an almost exclusively Viznitz village in Rockland County".<ref name="NYT2012" />
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* '''Kiamesha Lake''' — Mendel.
 
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* '''Williamsburg''' — Yitzchok Yochonon; historic Ahavas Yisrael / Toras Chaim hall from the 1950s.
 
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* '''Borough Park''' — Yaakov Yosef; also a son of Bnei Brak Yisroel (Chaim Meir) leads a kehilla there.
 
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* '''Lakewood''' — Eliezer circuit.
 
  
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Monsey Vizhnitz joined other Hasidic rebbes at the September 2026 White House meeting with [[Donald Trump]] (Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Monsey listed with Satmar, Bobov and Skver).
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Hager died of liver failure at [[Mount Sinai Hospital]] in Manhattan on 16 March 2018, aged 95. The ''New York Times'' wrote that, like most Hasidim, he believed Israel should not have been created as a state before the Messiah came. However, he accepted it as a practical reality and honoured the Haredi legislators who took part in the Israeli government. This stance often put him at odds with [[Satmar]].<ref name="NYT2018" /> He opposed the public school district created for disabled pupils in [[Kiryas Joel]]. He was also unhappy that Orthodox Jews who did not send their children to public schools dominated the board of the [[East Ramapo Central School District]], which includes Kaser.<ref name="NYT2018" />
  
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=== United Kingdom ===
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He had eight sons and six daughters. His eldest son, Pinchas Sholom, died in 2015. The seven surviving sons each head a Vizhnitz congregation in [[London]], Montreal, Israel, New York City or [[Kiamesha Lake]], New York:<ref name="NYT2018" />
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* [[Yisroel Hager (Monsey)|Yisroel]]
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* Mendel
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* Yitzchok Yochonon
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* Aron
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* Dovid
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* Eliezer
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* Boruch
  
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London court of [[Dovid Hager]], [[Khal Imrei Chaim D'Chasidei Viznitz]], on the order of a few hundred families in Stamford Hill; also Manchester presence.
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In September 2026 the "Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Monsey" was part of a delegation of Hasidic leaders who met President [[Donald Trump]], Vice President [[JD Vance]] and [[Jared Kushner]] at the White House.<ref name="YWNTrump" />
  
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{| class="wikitable sortable"
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{| class="wikitable"
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|+ UK schools and charities
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|+ Rebbes of Vizhnitz (main line)
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! Name !! Number / URN !! Place !! Notes
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! Rebbe !! Dates !! Seat !! Notes
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|-
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| [[Menachem Mendel Hager]] || 1830–1884 || Vyzhnytsia || Founder of the Vizhnitz court; ''Tsemach tsadik''<ref name="YIVO" />
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|-
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| [[Boruch Hager]] || c. 1845–1893 || Vyzhnytsia || Eldest son<ref name="YIVO" />
 
|-
 
|-
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| [[Wiznitz Cheder School]] || URN 137809; [[Viznitz Limited]] charity 1143314 || 126b Stamford Hill, N16 6QT || Boys 3–11; proprietor Viznitz Limited; Ofsted inadequate in 2021 and 2024 cycles.<ref name="GIASWiz">Get Information About Schools, [https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/137809 Wiznitz Cheder School].</ref>
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| [[Yisroel Hager (1860–1936)|Yisroel Hager]] || 1860–1936 || Vyzhnytsia; Oradea from the First World War || Founded Ahavat Yisrael yeshiva, 1903<ref name="YIVO" />
 
|-
 
|-
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| [[Vishnitz Girls School]] || URN 138516; [[Vishnitz Girls School Ltd]] charity 1135285, co. 06919686 || 49 Amhurst Park and 85 Lordship Road, N16 || Girls 2–16; 474 on roll (2024 inspection); Ofsted requires improvement (July 2024).<ref name="OfstedVish">Ofsted, inspection of Vishnitz Girls School, 9–11 July 2024.</ref>
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| [[Chaim Meir Hager]] || 1887–1972 || Bnei Brak || Rebuilt the dynasty in Israel<ref name="YIVO" />
 
|-
 
|-
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| [[Bnos Margulis Viznitz Girls' School]] || — || London / listed in Haredi school inventories || Vizhnitz girls’ provision.
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| [[Moshe Yehoshua Hager]] || died 2012 || Bnei Brak || Head of the Bnei Brak community from 1972<ref name="NYT2018" /><ref name="NYT2012" />
 
|-
 
|-
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| [[Talmud Torah Chaim Meirim Wiznitz School]] || — || Stamford Hill || Boys’ primary; Vizhnitz-run; inspected alongside other Hackney chadorim.
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| [[Mordechai Hager]] || 1922–2018 || Williamsburg; Monsey and Kaser || Head of the American branch<ref name="NYT2018" />
 
|-
 
|-
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| [[Friends of Wiznitz Limited]] || 255685; co. 00929964 || 94 Stamford Hill, N16 6XS || Grant-maker; stated operating areas include [[Israel]], the United States, Hackney and Haringey; expenditure on the order of £4.5 million in recent accounts; building used as a school.<ref name="FoW">Friends of Wiznitz Limited, Charity Commission 255685; directory summary of objects and geography.</ref>
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| [[Yisroel Hager]] || born 1945 || Bnei Brak || Present Bnei Brak rebbe<ref name="JPostPrayer" />
 
|}
 
|}
  
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UK grants labelled “Israel” are not broken down between Green Line addresses and occupied territory.
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== Israeli politics and the army ==
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== United Kingdom ==
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''Jerusalem Post'' writer Levi Cooper notes that, like other mainstream Hasidim, Vizhnitz Hasidim do not serve in the [[Israel Defense Forces]] and do not actively support soldiers. On the first Shabbat after the attacks of 7 October 2023, Rebbe Yisroel Hager recited a prayer for Jews "who stand in battle against those who hate Israel". The text was not the usual prayer for [[IDF]] soldiers but an older one composed by Rabbi [[Menachem Mendel Reuven Gefner]]. Cooper wrote that there was no historical precedent for the Rebbe's act.<ref name="JPostPrayer" />
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Biale and his co-authors write that between the wars the Vizhnits leadership supported Agudat Yisrael "and did not conduct a campaign against immigration to the Holy Land", unlike the rebbes of [[Munkacs (Hasidic dynasty)|Munkatsh]] and Sighet, including [[Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)|Satmar]].<ref name="BialeBook628">David Biale, David Assaf, Benjamin Brown, Uriel Gellman, Samuel C. Heilman, Moshe Rosman, Gadi Sagiv and Marcin Wodziński, ''Hasidism: A New History'', Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018, p. 628.</ref> After 1967, they write, the heads of Ger, Vizhnits and Belz "on the whole took a more flexible and dovish stance on the question of the territories that Israel came to control" than the Lubavitcher Rebbe.<ref name="BialeBook713">David Biale, David Assaf, Benjamin Brown, Uriel Gellman, Samuel C. Heilman, Moshe Rosman, Gadi Sagiv and Marcin Wodziński, ''Hasidism: A New History'', Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018, p. 713.</ref>
  
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British Vizhnitz is the London court of [[Dovid Hager]] ([[Khal Imrei Chaim D'Chasidei Viznitz]]), a son of [[Mordechai Hager]] of Monsey, with a smaller presence in Manchester / Salford. The court is Agudah-facing, not Satmar-facing. [[Friends of Wiznitz Limited]] (charity 255685, company 00929964, 94 Stamford Hill, N16 6XS) is the main UK grant vehicle; it lists operating areas including [[Israel]], the United States, Hackney and Haringey and has spent on the order of £4.5 million a year. Registers do not split grants between Green Line Israel and occupied territory.<ref name="FoW">Charity Commission, Friends of Wiznitz Limited 255685.</ref>
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In June 2026 [[Meir Porush]], chairman of [[Shlomei Emunim]], said that an arbitration within [[Agudat Yisrael]] about five years earlier had settled "the power balance between [[Belz]] and Vizhnitz".<ref name="JFeedPorush" /> In September 2026 the Ger, Vizhnitz and Sanz factions signed separately with [[Degel HaTorah]] when the [[United Torah Judaism]] slate was submitted.<ref name="YWNSlate" />
  
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Independent schools identified with Vizhnitz on the Powerbase inventory of Jewish schools in the UK:<ref name="PBSchools">[[Jewish Schools in the UK]]</ref>
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== United Kingdom ==
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Vizhnitz institutions in Britain are concentrated in [[Stamford Hill]] and Clapton, in the London Borough of Hackney.<ref name="GIASWiz" /><ref name="CCFoW" />
  
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
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|+ Vizhnitz / Wiznitz / Vishnitz schools
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|+ Vizhnitz schools in London
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! School !! Local authority !! Intake !! Vehicle / trustees !! Notes
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! School !! Address !! Pupils !! Proprietor / head !! Ofsted
 
|-
 
|-
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| [[Vishnitz Girls School]] || Hackney || Girls, strictly Orthodox || [[Vishnitz Girls School Limited]] (charity 1135285). Trustees / directors listed (2011– ): [[Mordechai Steren]], [[Benzion Steiner]], [[Israel Zieg]] || 49 Amhurst Park and 85 Lordship Road, Stamford Hill. Historically associated with [[Agudat Yisrael]].
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| [[Wiznitz Cheder School]] || 126b Stamford Hill, London N16 6QT || Boys, 3–11; 61 pupils; opened 21 December 2011 || Proprietor [[Viznitz Limited]]; headteacher Rabbi [[Pesach Akiva Taub]] || Inadequate (October 2021 and January 2024); March 2026 report card: safeguarding standards met<ref name="GIASWiz" /><ref name="OfstedWiz2024" /><ref name="OfstedWiz2026" />
 
|-
 
|-
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| [[Wiznitz Cheder School]] || Hackney || Boys 3–11, strictly Orthodox || [[Viznitz Limited]] (company 07569016; charity 1143314). Directors / trustees: [[Mordechai Kahan]] (from 13 December 2016), [[Samuel Izak Stein]] (from 17 March 2011); former directors [[Michael Rosenberg]], [[Simon Weis]] || 126b Stamford Hill, N16 6QT; URN 137809; head [[Pesach Akiva Taub]]. Historically associated with Agudat Yisrael.<ref name="PBWizCheder">[[Wiznitz Cheder School]]</ref>
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| [[Vishnitz Girls School]] || 49 Amhurst Park, London N16 5DL || Girls, 2–16; 504 pupils; opened 2 August 2012 || Proprietor [[Vishnitz Girls School Limited]]; headteacher Mrs [[Leah Weiss]] || Inadequate (March 2022); requires improvement (July 2024)<ref name="GIASVish" /><ref name="OfstedVish" /><ref name="OfstedVishList" />
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|-
 
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| [[Talmud Torah Chaim Meirim Wiznitz School]] || Hackney || Boys, strictly Orthodox || Vizhnitz || Named for Chaim Meir (Imrei Chaim). Historically associated with Agudat Yisrael. Donor listed on the schools inventory: [[Gerald and Gail Ronson Family Foundation]].
 
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|-
 
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| [[Bnos Margulis Viznitz Girls' School]] || Salford || Girls, strictly Orthodox || Vizhnitz || Manchester / Salford girls’ school. Historically associated with Agudat Yisrael.
 
 
|}
 
|}
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Stamford Hill is the London centre (chedarim and Vishnitz Girls). Salford holds the Margulis girls’ school. The four names above are the Vizhnitz entries on [[Jewish Schools in the UK]]; other Hackney chadorim are neighbouring courts, not Vizhnitz.
 
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=== Other UK Vizhnitz institutions ===
 
−
 
−
Besides the four schools, Charity Commission and company registers carry a cluster of Vizhnitz / Wiznitz / Viznitz vehicles, almost all in Hackney / Stamford Hill / Clapton. Several name [[Israel]] as an operating area; none publish a Green Line versus occupied-territory split.
 
  
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
−
|+ Congregations, kollels, gemachs and grant vehicles
+
|+ Vizhnitz-named charities in England
−
! Name !! Number !! Address (register) !! Role
+
! Charity !! Number !! Address (register) !! Trustees (register) !! Finances and notes
 
|-
 
|-
−
| [[Khal Imrei Chaim D'Chasidei Viznitz]] || congregation (not itself a separate Commission number in all listings) || Stamford Hill || London court of [[Dovid Hager]]
+
| [[Friends of Wiznitz Limited]] || 255685 || First Floor, 94 Stamford Hill, London N16 6XS || [[Barry Feldman]], [[Ephraim Gottesfeld]], [[Shulom Feldman]] || Registered 22 April 1968; company 00929964. Orthodox Jewish education, religion and poverty relief; operates in Hackney, Haringey, Israel and the United States. Income £4,734,350 and expenditure £4,526,324 in the year to 31 March 2025<ref name="CCFoW" />
 
|-
 
|-
−
| [[Friends of Wiznitz Limited]] || 255685; co. 00929964 || First Floor, 94 Stamford Hill, N16 6XS || Largest UK vehicle (1968). Grants and a school building. Operates Hackney, Haringey, [[Israel]], United States. Income / spend on the order of £4.5–4.7 million (year to March 2025).<ref name="FoW2">Charity Commission, Friends of Wiznitz Limited 255685.</ref>
+
| [[Viznitz Limited]] || 1143314 || 126B Stamford Hill, London N16 6QT || [[Mordechai Kahan]], [[Samuel Stein]] || Registered 12 August 2011; company 07569016. Runs Wiznitz Cheder School. Income £702,164 and expenditure £742,432 in the year to 31 March 2025<ref name="CCViznitzLtd" />
 
|-
 
|-
−
| [[Viznitz Limited]] || charity 1143314; co. 07569016 || 126b Stamford Hill, N16 6QT || Proprietor of [[Wiznitz Cheder School]]. Income c. £0.85 million (year to March 2024).
+
| [[Vishnitz Girls School Limited]] || 1135285 || 196 Lordship Road, London N16 5ES || Rabbi [[Mordechai Steren]], [[Israel Zieg]], [[Benzion Steiner]] || Registered 29 March 2010; company 06919686. Income £2,651,372 and expenditure £3,010,443 in the year to 31 May 2024<ref name="CCVishnitz" />
 
|-
 
|-
−
| [[Vishnitz Girls School Limited]] || charity 1135285; co. 06919686 || 49 Amhurst Park / 115 Craven Park Road || Girls’ school company.
+
| [[Viznitz Institutions Trust]] || 1073284 || 8 Jessam Avenue, London E5 9DU || Rabbi [[Mordechai Steren]], [[Izchak Aizik Menachem Vizel]], [[Ahron Shimshon Zelig Deuitch]] || Registered 13 January 1999. Supports people in hardship and the Talmudical College of Viznitz in London; operates in Hackney and Israel. Income £663,506 and expenditure £697,086 in the year to 5 May 2025<ref name="CCVIT" />
 
|-
 
|-
−
| [[Viznitz Institutions Trust]] || 1073284 || 8 Jessam Avenue (register) || Hardship grants and the “Talmudical College of Viznitz in London.” Operates Hackney and [[Israel]]. Income £663,506 / spend £697,086 (year to 5 May 2025).
+
| [[The Viznitz (Keren Nitzchi) Foundation]] || 326581 || 23 Overlea Road, London E5 9BG || [[Henrich Feldman]] (chair), [[Joseph Feldman]], [[Shulom Feldman]] || Registered 29 May 1984. Operates in Israel and the United States. Income £200,073 and expenditure £185,756 in the year to 31 March 2025<ref name="CCKerenNitzchi" />
 
|-
 
|-
−
| [[The Viznitz (Keren Nitzchi) Foundation]] || 326581 || 23 Overlea Road, E5 9BG || Applies funds in the UK and abroad “in accordance with … the wishes of the Grand Rabbi of Viznitz.” Worldwide objects. Income £200,073 (year to 31 March 2025).
+
| [[Kollel Imrei Chaim Wiznitz Trust]] || 1122005 || Flat 3, The Gardens, Clapton Common, London E5 9AZ || [[Leibish Hager]] (chair), [[Shaina Rochel Hager]], [[Yisroel Meir Cohen]], [[Solomon Gluck]] || Registered 17 December 2007. Income £164,624 and expenditure £230,189 in the year to 31 December 2024<ref name="CCKollelIC" />
 
|-
 
|-
−
| [[Kollel Imrei Chaim Wiznitz Trust]] || 1122005 || Flat 3, The Gardens, Clapton Common, E5 9AZ || Supports the Imrei Chaim kollel. Trustees include [[Leibish Hager]] (chair) and [[Shaina Rochel Hager]]. Hackney.
+
| [[Kollel Viznitz London]] || 1166611 || 67 Watermint Quay, Craven Walk, London N16 6DN || [[Simon Zieg]] (chair), [[Jehoshua Gross]], [[Yoshua Hochhauser]] || Registered 19 April 2016. Expenditure £1,562 in the year to 31 December 2024<ref name="CCKollelVL" />
 
|-
 
|-
−
| [[Kollel Viznitz London]] || 1166611 || 67 Watermint Quay, Craven Walk, N16 6DN || Scholarships for the institute of that name. Hackney and Haringey. Small recent spend.
+
| [[Kupath Gemach Trust]] (formerly [[Kupath Gemach Chaim Bechesed Viznitz Trust]]) || 1110323 || 171 Kyverdale Road, London N16 6PS || [[Israel Kahan]], [[Alexander Pifko]], [[Saul Weiss]] || Registered 5 July 2005. Operates throughout London and in Israel and the United States. Income £997,112 and expenditure £1,026,133 in the year to 31 May 2025<ref name="CCKupath" />
 
|-
 
|-
−
| [[Kupath Gemach Trust]] || 1110323 || 171 Kyverdale Road, N16 6PS || Formerly [[Kupath Gemach Chaim Bechesed Viznitz Trust]]. Gemach / grants; London, [[Israel]], United States. Spend on the order of £1 million.
+
| [[Keren Yedidei Beis Viznitz Ltd]] || 1195033 || 30 Plevna Crescent, London N15 6DN || [[Yosef Shlomo Ganz]] (chair), [[Israel Kahan]], [[Nachman Taub]] || Registered 1 July 2021; company 12835710. Operates throughout England and in Israel. Income £501,847 and expenditure £603,938 in the year to 31 August 2025. Taub is also a trustee of [[British Friends of Chatzer Hakodesh Viznitz]]<ref name="CCKYBV" />
 
|-
 
|-
−
| [[Keren Yedidei Beis Viznitz Ltd]] || 1195033 || 30 Plevna Crescent, N15 6DN || Grants to Orthodox individuals. Trustee [[Nachman Taub]] also listed at [[British Friends of Chatzer Hakodesh Viznitz]].
+
| [[Ezer Viznitz Foundation]] || 1161881 || c/o Raffingers LLP, Unit 19–20 Bourne Court, Woodford Green, Essex IG8 8HD || [[Chanoich Muller]] (chair), [[Rachel Stern]], [[Yakov Babad]] || Registered 28 May 2015. Aid to families in distress; operates in Hackney, Haringey, Salford, [[Belgium]], Israel and the United States. Income £4,665,384 and expenditure £4,935,630 in the year to 31 March 2025. Under Charity Commission inquiry (see below)<ref name="CCEzer" /><ref name="ThirdSectorSept" />
−
|-
 
−
| [[Ezer Viznitz Foundation]] || 1161881 || London || Aid to families in distress; register lists work in the United States, Belgium and [[Israel]]. Large recent income (NGO Explorer: c. £4.7 million year to March 2025).
 
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
The school companies sit inside this same street grid. Friends of Wiznitz, Viznitz Institutions Trust, Kupath Gemach and Ezer Viznitz are the ones that explicitly list Israel on the Commission “where it operates” field.
+
== COVID-19 pandemic ==
−
== Israel and occupied territory ==
+
In February 2021 ''[[Jewish News]]'' reported that Rebbe [[Yisroel Hager]], head of what it called the second-largest Hasidic group in Israel, had written an opinion piece in the Israeli ''[[Hamodia]]'' during the national lockdown. According to the paper, he wrote that the pandemic came from God and had nothing to do with nature, and that the right response was more prayer and greater piety. He called the schools "the bedrock of Charedi society" and wrote that one must endanger one's life to teach children Torah, as his father had done in the Second World War. He argued that the government had closed Haredi schools while allowing many other activities it regarded as essential, so those who regarded their children's education as essential should do whatever they could to keep it going.<ref name="JNHager2021" />
−
 
 
−
'''Inside the Green Line'''
 
−
 
 
−
* '''Kiryat / Shikun Vizhnitz, [[Bnei Brak]]''' — main Israeli court (Yisroel son of Moshe Yehoshua); thousands of families; yeshiva; Agudah housing politics.
 
−
* '''Ezra Street / Merkaz Chasidei Vizhnitz, Bnei Brak''' — Menachem Mendel son of Moshe Yehoshua.
 
−
* '''[[Ramat Vizhnitz]], Haifa''' — Seret-Vizhnitz kiryah (Yaakov Hager); Green Line Israel.
 
−
* '''[[Beit Shemesh]]''' — Great Synagogue of Vizhnitz; Boruch Shamshon (Monsey line); Dzikov-Vizhnitz also listed there.
 
−
* '''Tel Aviv''' — historic Damesek Eliezer yeshiva (1940s), later absorbed into Bnei Brak.
 
−
 
 
−
'''Over the Green Line / East Jerusalem'''
 
−
 
 
−
Vizhnitz does not brand a settlement city the way [[Belz]] brands Kiryat Sanz or Satmar brands Shikun Satmar. Haredi families from Agudah courts, including Vizhnitz, live in the large settlement towns because that is where cheap Haredi housing was built:
 
−
 
 
−
* '''[[Beitar Illit]]''' and '''[[Modiin Illit]]''' ([[Kiryat Sefer]]) — West Bank Haredi cities, illegal under international law; mixed Litvish / Hasidic / Shas population; UTJ vote banks. Vizhnitz is an Agudah court, so its voters and some households are in that market. It is not a Vizhnitz municipal project.
 
−
* '''[[Ramot]] / Visheve-Vizhnitz''' — the Visheve (Vişeu) branch was reconstituted in Ramot, Jerusalem. Large parts of Ramot were built after 1967 over the Green Line on land taken from surrounding Palestinian villages. A Visheve centre there is therefore an East Jerusalem / occupied-side footprint even when advertised as “Jerusalem.”
 
−
* '''Municipal East Jerusalem''' — individual families and visits; no Vizhnitz Old City yeshiva comparable to [[Shuvu Banim]].
 
−
 
 
−
[[Friends of Wiznitz Limited]] and parallel US “friends of” vehicles send money to Israeli institutions. Public registers say Israel; they do not itemise Beitar, Modiin Illit or Ramot versus Bnei Brak and Haifa.
 
−
=== [[Meir Porush]] and Agudah housing politics ===
 
−
 
 
−
[[Meir Porush]] (b. 1955, Jerusalem) is not a Hager (meaning not a family member) and is not the Vizhnitz rebbe’s man in the Knesset. He is the heir of the Old Yishuv [[Porush]] (Perush) family — son of long-serving Agudah MK [[Menachem Porush]] — and chairman of [[Shlomei Emunim]], the Agudat Yisrael sub-faction of the smaller Hasidic courts. Inside Agudah the historic three-way split is Gur (Merkazit), Vizhnitz (Meuhedet) and Shlomei Emunim. Porush sits next to Vizhnitz on that list, not inside the Bnei Brak court. Internal Agudah arbitration has treated “the power balance between Belz and Vizhnitz” as a separate file from Porush’s own slot.<ref name="JFeedPorush">JFeed, [https://www.jfeed.com/news-israel/porush-attacks-gur-control-agudat-yisrael Porush attacks Gur’s control of Agudat Yisrael], 17 June 2026.</ref> He has served in the Knesset for [[Agudat Yisrael]] / [[United Torah Judaism]] since 1996, as deputy housing minister, deputy education minister, and as [[Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Jewish Tradition]] from 2023 until UTJ left the coalition in July 2025.
 
−
 
 
−
The portfolio is where Vizhnitz’s Agudah bargain becomes municipal. Porush used it to treat “all of Jerusalem” as one planning unit — west city, annexed East Jerusalem and the Haredi satellite towns that feed the capital’s housing market. On taking the ministry he said Haredim were more than 40 per cent of Jerusalem voters and that the city must “build in all of Jerusalem without fear — all of Jerusalem is ours.”<ref name="YWNLavi">The Yeshiva World, [https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2154578/porush-in-jerusalem-ministry-were-40-of-the-residents-we-deserve-accordingly.html Porush in Jerusalem ministry: we’re 40% of the residents].</ref> That line collapses the Green Line. In practice it means budgets, school places and infrastructure for Haredi neighbourhoods in municipal East Jerusalem and for the West Bank Haredi cities — [[Beitar Illit]], and to a lesser extent [[Modiin Illit]] — that function as overflow from Jerusalem and Bnei Brak. Vizhnitz families live in that market as Agudah Hasidim; Porush is the politician who talks about it as a single “Jerusalem” apparatus.
 
−
 
 
−
Concrete acts in occupied East Jerusalem include his July 2025 instruction to complete the post-1967 expropriation map on Hashalshelet Street in the Old City Jewish Quarter, transferring remaining Palestinian-held properties to the Jewish Quarter Rehabilitation and Development Company under Government Decision 60. He called the street “strategic and historical” and said implementing ownership would “assert our sovereignty.”<ref name="INNHashalshelet">Israel National News, [https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/411780 Minister Meir Porush orders expropriation of properties in Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter], 16 July 2025.</ref> That is settlement policy inside the Old City, not a Vizhnitz yeshiva project.
 
−
 
 
−
He has also treated the large Haredi settlements as Agudah home turf. He addressed Shlomei Emunim local-government representatives in [[Beitar Illit]] (June 2026) and has long run municipal slates there; a candidate he backed won the Beitar mayoralty in 2007 against Degel. His son [[Yisrael Porush]] was mayor of [[Elad]] (Green Line Haredi town) and was placed on later UTJ lists. The pattern is the same as Chaim Meir Hager’s original Bnei Brak deal: coalition votes in return for housing, schools and municipal control — now extended to annexed East Jerusalem and to the Haredi settlement bloc.
 
  
−
Porush therefore belongs on a Vizhnitz page as the Agudah machine that Vizhnitz uses, not as a court official. Vizhnitz supplies Hasidic votes and Moetzes cover; Shlomei Emunim supplies the Jerusalem / housing minister who says the city and its settlement hinterland are one budget.
+
''Jewish News'' also reported that in November 2020 Hager had denounced Jews who reported breaches of coronavirus restrictions. He urged his followers to protest strongly against Jews who "snitch and inform" on other Jews who opened schools or held celebrations. He said the closure of Haredi schools had caused "unbearable spiritual and material damage", and vowed that they would not close again.<ref name="JNHager2021" />
  
−
=== Zionism, the army and Agudah ===
+
== Controversies ==
−
 
+
=== Allegations and investigations ===
−
Vizhnitz is '''non-Zionist in theology and Zionist-adjacent in machinery'''. The court does not recite the Prayer for the State, does not treat 1948 as redemption, and does not send sons to the [[IDF]] as a communal norm. It does sit in [[Agudat Yisrael]] / [[United Torah Judaism]], take coalition housing and school money, and treat the Israeli state as a fact to be bargained with. [[Satmar]] called that bargain serving the golden calf. Vizhnitz kept it.
+
* '''Charity Commission inquiry, 2025.''' In May 2025 the [[Charity Commission for England and Wales|Charity Commission]] opened a class inquiry after HMRC found that 105 charities had cashed cheques worth £22 million with a company in Hackney.<ref name="CCInquiry" /> In September 2025 it added ten more charities to the inquiry, including the Ezer Viznitz Foundation.<ref name="ThirdSectorSept" /> An inquiry is not a finding of wrongdoing.
−
 
 
−
==== Doctrine versus the Agudah deal ====
 
−
 
 
−
[[Chaim Meir Hager]] (Imrei Chaim) rebuilt the court in [[Bnei Brak]] after the Holocaust and became a spiritual mentor of Agudas Yisrael in the Knesset years. The exchange was explicit: Agudah votes in coalition governments; the Treasury and Housing Ministry paid for Kiryat Vizhnitz, yeshivas and Haredi flats. [[Moshe Yehoshua Hager]] (Yeshuos Moshe) later sat as president of the [[Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah]] of Agudat Yisrael — the rabbinic veto over the same party. That is the Hungarian–Galician Haredi pattern (Gur, Belz, Vizhnitz): use the state, do not sanctify it.
 
−
 
 
−
The American / Monsey line under [[Mordechai Hager]] did not need that bargain. Kaser and Monsey are funded through New York welfare, Section 8 and private charity. The London line under [[Dovid Hager]] uses UK school and grant vehicles ([[Friends of Wiznitz Limited]] and the rest). The Israeli line still needs Agudah.
 
−
 
 
−
==== The army ====
 
−
 
 
−
Vizhnitz sons are yeshiva-exempt, not Religious-Zionist soldiers. The court has not joined [[Neturei Karta]] street protests against the state as such; it has joined the UTJ fight against conscription of ''lomdei Torah''. After 7 October 2023 the Bnei Brak rebbe [[Yisroel Hager]] added, one Shabbat only, a blessing for Jews “who stand in battle against those who hate Israel.” The text was the older Gefner formula, not the official IDF prayer; it named neither the army nor the state; it was gone the next week.<ref name="JPostPrayer">Levi Cooper, [https://www.jpost.com/judaism/article-777143 Israel-Hamas war: A Hassidic rebbe's prayer for soldiers] ''Jerusalem Post'', 8 December 2023.</ref> That is closer to Bobov’s “non-confrontational, non-Zionist” Israeli stance than to Satmar’s ''Vayoel Moshe'' or to the Religious-Zionist prayer for the IDF.
 
−
 
 
−
==== Settlements without a settler theology ====
 
−
 
 
−
Because Agudah built the Haredi housing market, Vizhnitz households appear in [[Beitar Illit]] and [[Modiin Illit]] and in East Jerusalem neighbourhoods without the court preaching Gush Emunim. The theology says the land is holy and the state is not the beginning of redemption. The housing ministry and UTJ lists treat those towns as ordinary Haredi overflow from Bnei Brak and Jerusalem. [[Meir Porush]]’s Jerusalem portfolio (“all of Jerusalem is ours”) is the political expression of that split: Vizhnitz votes for the machine; it does not write the annexation pamphlets.
 
−
 
 
−
==== Compared with other courts ====
 
−
 
 
−
* '''[[Satmar]]''' — forbids Agudah participation and prayer at the captured Wall; funds those who refuse state budgets. Vizhnitz does the opposite on both counts.
 
−
* '''[[Belz]] / [[Gur]]''' — same Agudah table as Vizhnitz; competition for list places, not a quarrel over Zionism.
 
−
* '''[[Chabad]]''' — messianic language about the land and public IDF chaplaincy; not Vizhnitz practice.
 
−
* '''Religious Zionism''' — state prayer, settlement as mitzvah, combat service. Vizhnitz shares none of that programme.
 
−
* '''[[Neturei Karta]] / hard Edah''' — Vizhnitz family history includes a marriage to [[Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss]], later of the Edah; the Bnei Brak court itself is Agudah, not Edah.
 
−
 
 
−
== Relations with other groups ==
 
−
 
 
−
* '''[[Agudat Yisrael]] / [[United Torah Judaism]] / [[Degel HaTorah]]''' — home camp. Moetzes seat; coalition housing; shared draft-exemption politics with Lithuanian yeshivas.
 
−
* '''[[Satmar]]''' — marriage tie ([[Aaron Teitelbaum]] married a daughter of Moshe Yehoshua) and Williamsburg street proximity; opposite Zionism doctrine. Vizhnitz sits in the UJO Williamsburg endorsement lists as a partner court, not as a Satmar clone.
 
−
* '''[[Belz]]''' — marriage tie ([[Yissachar Dov Rokeach]]); both Agudah Hasidic courts in Jerusalem / Bnei Brak housing politics.
 
−
* '''[[Skver]]''' — marriage tie ([[David Twersky]]); Monsey / New Square upstate neighbours; joint US electoral brokerage.
 
−
* '''[[Chabad-Lubavitch]]''' — not a peer; different outreach model; Ramat Vizhnitz Haifa is a closed kiryah, not a shlichus town.
 
−
* '''Religious Zionism / [[IDF]] rabbinate''' — not allies; the 2023 prayer was read as news precisely because Vizhnitz does not say the state prayer.
 
−
* '''[[Neturei Karta]] / Edah hard line''' — not Vizhnitz policy. A daughter of Chaim Meir married [[Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss]], later of the Edah, which is a family fact, not Edah membership of the Bnei Brak court.
 
−
* '''Seret-Vizhnitz, Visheve, Kosov, Dzikov-Vizhnitz''' — same Hager trunk; separate rebbes.
 
−
 
 
−
== Institutions ==
 
−
 
 
−
Yeshivas and girls’ schools under local rebbes in Bnei Brak, Haifa, Beit Shemesh, Monsey, Williamsburg, Borough Park, London and Montreal. See [[Vishnitz/Wiznitz non profits in the US]] and [[Friends of Wiznitz Limited]] (UK).
 
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
−
 
+
* [[Vishnitz/Wiznitz non profits in the US]]
−
* [[Vyzhnytsia]]
+
* [[Friends of Wiznitz Limited]]
−
* [[Hasidic dynasties]]
 
−
* [[Agudat Yisrael]]
 
 
* [[Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)]]
 
* [[Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)]]
 
* [[Belz (Hasidic dynasty)]]
 
* [[Belz (Hasidic dynasty)]]
 
* [[Skver (Hasidic dynasty)]]
 
* [[Skver (Hasidic dynasty)]]
−
* [[Beitar Illit]]
+
* [[Hasidic dynasties]]
−
* [[Kaser, New York]]
 
−
 
 
−
== External links ==
 
−
 
 
−
* [https://www.jpost.com/judaism/article-777143 Jerusalem Post on the 2023 prayer]
 
−
* [https://encyclopedia.yivo.org/article.aspx/Kosov-Vizhnits_Hasidic_Dynasty YIVO: Kosov–Vizhnitz]
 
−
 
 
−
== Resources ==
 
−
 
 
−
* [https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/grand-rabbi-in-israel-pandemic-is-from-god-and-has-nothing-to-do-with-nature/ Jewish News: Vizhnitz rebbe on the pandemic]
 
−
* Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust, p. 1405
 
  
 
== Notes ==
 
== Notes ==
 +
<references>
 +
<ref name="JNHager2021">Jewish News Reporter, [https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/grand-rabbi-in-israel-pandemic-is-from-god-and-has-nothing-to-do-with-nature/ Grand Rabbi in Israel: Pandemic is from God and has nothing to do with nature] ''Jewish News'', 3 February 2021 (full text supplied by David), accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="YIVO">Gad Sagiv, [https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Kosov-Vizhnits_Hasidic_Dynasty Kosov-Vizhnits Hasidic Dynasty] ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="NYT2012">Joseph Berger, [https://web.archive.org/web/20240623082322/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/nyregion/rabbi-moshe-y-hager-hasidic-leader-dies-at-95.html Rabbi Moshe Hager, a Hasidic Leader, Dies at 95] ''The New York Times'', 15 March 2012 (archived 23 June 2024), accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="NYT2018">Joseph Berger, [https://web.archive.org/web/20251003004127/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/16/obituaries/rabbi-mordechai-hager-dead-led-large-hasidic-sect.html Rabbi Mordechai Hager, Leader of Large Hasidic Sect, Dies at 95] ''The New York Times'', 16 March 2018 (archived 3 October 2025), accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="ICJ2024">International Court of Justice, [https://www.icj-cij.org/node/204176 Summary of the Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024] ''icj-cij.org'', 19 July 2024, accessed 26 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="JPostPrayer">Levi Cooper, [https://www.jpost.com/judaism/article-777143 Israel-Hamas war: A Hassidic rebbe's prayer for soldiers] ''Jerusalem Post'', 8 December 2023, accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="YWNTrump">''The Yeshiva World'', [https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2594035/historic-white-house-visit-inside-rebbes-extraordinary-meetings-with-trump-and-vance.html Historic White House Visit: Inside Rebbes' Extraordinary Meetings With Trump And Vance] ''The Yeshiva World'', 4 September 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="JFeedPorush">Chaya Mushka Rubenstein, [https://www.jfeed.com/news-israel/porush-attacks-gur-control-agudat-yisrael Porush Attacks Gur's Control of Agudat Yisrael Party] ''JFeed'', 17 June 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="YWNSlate">''The Yeshiva World'', [https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2595974/after-split-and-hours-of-turmoil-utj-submits-party-slate.html After Split And Hours Of Turmoil, UTJ Submits Party Slate] ''The Yeshiva World'', 9 September 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="GIASWiz">Department for Education, [https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/137809 Wiznitz Cheder School, URN 137809] ''Get Information about Schools'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="OfstedWiz2024">Ofsted, [https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50247137 Inspection of Wiznitz Cheder School] ''Ofsted'', 30 January – 1 February 2024, accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="OfstedWiz2026">Ofsted, [https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50303727 Wiznitz Cheder School: inspection report] ''Ofsted'', 24 March 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="GIASVish">Department for Education, [https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/138516 Vishnitz Girls School, URN 138516] ''Get Information about Schools'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="OfstedVish">Ofsted, [https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50257431 Inspection of Vishnitz Girls School] ''Ofsted'', 9–11 July 2024, accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="OfstedVishList">Ofsted, [https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/27/138516 Vishnitz Girls School] ''Ofsted'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="CCFoW">Charity Commission, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/255685/full-print Friends of Wiznitz Limited, charity 255685] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="CCViznitzLtd">Charity Commission, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5017740/full-print Viznitz Limited, charity 1143314] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="CCVishnitz">Charity Commission, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4048388/full-print Vishnitz Girls School Limited, charity 1135285] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="CCVIT">Charity Commission, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/3954106/full-print Viznitz Institutions Trust, charity 1073284] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="CCKerenNitzchi">Charity Commission, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/326581/full-print The Viznitz (Keren Nitzchi) Foundation, charity 326581] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="CCKollelIC">Charity Commission, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4036488/full-print Kollel Imrei Chaim Wiznitz Trust, charity 1122005] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="CCKollelVL">Charity Commission, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5074334/full-print Kollel Viznitz London, charity 1166611] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="CCKupath">Charity Commission, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4016575/full-print Kupath Gemach Trust, charity 1110323] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="CCKYBV">Charity Commission, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5167582/full-print Keren Yedidei Beis Viznitz Ltd, charity 1195033] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="CCEzer">Charity Commission, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5061819/full-print Ezer Viznitz Foundation, charity 1161881] ''Register of Charities'', accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="CCInquiry">Charity Commission, [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/serious-concerns-over-use-of-22-million-triggers-investigation-by-charity-regulator Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator] ''GOV.UK'', 14 May 2025, accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
 +
<ref name="ThirdSectorSept">Charlie Moloney, [https://web.archive.org/web/20250911233259/https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/commission-investigates-10-further-charities-22m-cashed-cheques-probe/governance/article/1930635 Commission investigates 10 further charities in £22m cashed cheques probe] ''Third Sector'', 1 September 2025 (archived 11 September 2025), accessed 27 October 2026.</ref>
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</references>
  
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[[Category:Hasidic dynasties]]
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[[Category:Hasidism]]
 
[[Category:Israel]]
 
[[Category:Israel]]
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[[Category:United States]]
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[[Category:Stamford Hill]]
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[[Category:Hasidic Judaism in the United Kingdom]]
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[[Category:Jewish charities in the United Kingdom]]
 
[[Category:Zionist movement]]
 
[[Category:Zionist movement]]
 
[[Category:Zionist movement UK]]
 
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[[Category:Yeshivas in the West Bank]]
 

Latest revision as of 14:51, 29 October 2026

Hasidic dynasty of the Hager family from Vyzhnytsia, Bukovina; main centres in Bnei Brak, Haifa and Kaser (Monsey), with communities in Brooklyn, Montreal and London

Hasidic dynasties
Overview

Hasidic dynasties | Haredi and Hasidic groups in the US | Chabad-Lubavitch movement

Dynasties

Belz | Biala | Bobov | Boyan | Breslov | Chabad-Lubavitch | Chernobyl | Dushinsky | Ger | Karlin-Stolin | Lelov | Munkacs | Nadvorna | Pupa | Rachmastrivka | Sadigura | Sanz-Klausenburg | Sassov | Satmar | Shomer Emunim | Skulen | Skver | Slonim | Spinka | Toldos Aharon | Toldos Avraham Yitzchak | Tosh | Vizhnitz

Founders and early masters

Baal Shem Tov | Dov Ber of Mezeritch | Elimelech of Lizhensk | Shneur Zalman of Liadi | Nachman of Breslov | Moshe Leib of Sassov

Present-day rebbes

Aaron Teitelbaum | Zalman Teitelbaum | Yissachar Dov Rokeach | Yaakov Aryeh Alter | Yisroel Hager | Ben Zion Aryeh Leibish Halberstam | David Twersky | Boruch Meir Yaakov Shochet

20th-century rebbes

Joel Teitelbaum | Aharon Rokeach | Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Politics and communal bodies

Agudat Yisrael | United Torah Judaism | Degel HaTorah | Edah HaChareidis | Neturei Karta | Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations

Places

Uman | Stamford Hill | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | Kiryas Joel, New York | Bnei Brak | Beitar Illit | Modi'in Illit

United Kingdom

Satmar institutions in the UK | Belz Communities | Satmar Kolel

-
Vizhnitz
Founded 1854 Vyzhnytsia (Vizhnitz), Bukovina (now Ukraine)
Founder Menachem Mendel Hager (1830–1884)
Leader Rebbe Yisroel Hager (Bnei Brak, born 1945); Yisroel Hager (Monsey)
Headquarters Bnei Brak; Kaser, New York
Type Hasidic dynasty
Languages Notes

Vizhnitz (also Viznitz or Wiznitz) is a Hasidic dynasty of the Hager family. It is the main branch of the Kosov–Vizhnitz dynasty, and takes its name from the town of Vyzhnytsia in Bukovina, now in Ukraine.[3] After the Holocaust it was rebuilt in two main centres in Israel, Bnei Brak and Haifa. A later branch, which grew out of disputes over the succession, is active in New York.[3] The New York Times reported in 2012 that the dynasty numbered 5,000 families in Israel and perhaps as many in North America.[1]

History

Kosov and Vizhnitz

The Kosov–Vizhnitz dynasty was founded by Menachem Mendel of Kosov (c. 1768–1825), who served as rabbi of Kosiv from 1790 and became a rebbe after 1802. His eldest son, Chaim Hager of Kosov (c. 1795–1854), succeeded him in Kosiv. After Chaim's death most of his Hasidim followed his youngest son, Menachem Mendel Hager (1830–1884), who set up a court in Vyzhnytsia and served there as both rabbi and rebbe. He married Miryam, a daughter of Israel Friedman of Ruzhyn. YIVO notes that these family links helped the dynasty strengthen its hold on Transylvania and Subcarpathian Rus'. His teachings were published as Tsemach tsadik (1885).[3]

His eldest son, Boruch Hager (c. 1845–1893), was rebbe of Vizhnitz for a short time. Most of Boruch's sons became rebbes in Otynia, Horodenka, Storozhynets, Zalishchyky, Suceava and Borșa. The most prominent branch descended from his eldest son, Yisroel Hager (1860–1936), who succeeded him in Vizhnitz.[3] In 1903 Yisroel founded the Ahavat Yisrael yeshiva; it closed in 1914 and was reopened in 1922 by his son Eliezer.[3]

When the First World War broke out, Yisroel moved the court to Oradea (Grosswardein) in Transylvania. Between the wars he was the most influential rebbe of the dynasty, and almost all of his sons became rebbes, in Oradea, Siret, Vișeu de Sus (Vishiva) and Vizhnitz.[3] The New York Times reported that Russian soldiers killed many of Vyzhnytsia's Jews during the war, which forced the dynasty to move to Grosswardein.[2]

YIVO notes that the Vizhnitz rebbes were involved in disputes with other Hasidic leaders, including a long rivalry with the Teitelbaum family. In the 20th century some Vizhnitz leaders were leaders of Agudat Yisrael and opposed Zionism, while others showed sympathy for settlement in Palestine and even for the Mizrachi movement.[3] Music and nigunim (melodies) have had a prominent place in the dynasty since its beginnings.[3]

Israel

Some members of the dynasty, among them the rebbes of Borșa, were killed in the Holocaust. Three sons of Yisroel settled in the Land of Israel:[3]

They renewed Vizhnitz in two centres, Bnei Brak and Haifa.[3]

Chaim Meir's son Moshe Yehoshua Hager became head of the Bnei Brak community in 1972.[2] He died in Bnei Brak on 14 March 2012, aged 95. Tens of thousands of Hasidim attended his funeral. The New York Times described him as a participant in Israeli politics who "encouraged moderation on issues like the expansion of settlements in the occupied territories".[1] The International Court of Justice found in 2024 that Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem "have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law".[4]

His son Yisroel Hager (born 1945) is the Vizhnitzer Rebbe in Bnei Brak.[5]

United States

Mordechai Hager was born in Oradea on 20 July 1922, a son of Chaim Meir Hager. During the Second World War the family escaped to Bucharest, where he married Feige Malka Twersky, a daughter of the Skverer Rebbe. After her death a few months later he married her sister, Sima Mirel. Unable to obtain a visa for Palestine, he emigrated to the United States in 1948 with his father-in-law.[2]

He settled in Williamsburg, where he headed the Viznitz synagogue at 6 Lee Avenue. In the 1960s he moved his followers to Monsey in the town of Ramapo, New York. In 1990 his followers set up their own village, Kaser, which the New York Times described in 2018 as having 5,300 residents in one-tenth of a square mile, the most densely populated municipality in the state.[2] In 2012 the newspaper called Kaser "an almost exclusively Viznitz village in Rockland County".[1]

Hager died of liver failure at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan on 16 March 2018, aged 95. The New York Times wrote that, like most Hasidim, he believed Israel should not have been created as a state before the Messiah came. However, he accepted it as a practical reality and honoured the Haredi legislators who took part in the Israeli government. This stance often put him at odds with Satmar.[2] He opposed the public school district created for disabled pupils in Kiryas Joel. He was also unhappy that Orthodox Jews who did not send their children to public schools dominated the board of the East Ramapo Central School District, which includes Kaser.[2]

He had eight sons and six daughters. His eldest son, Pinchas Sholom, died in 2015. The seven surviving sons each head a Vizhnitz congregation in London, Montreal, Israel, New York City or Kiamesha Lake, New York:[2]

  • Yisroel
  • Mendel
  • Yitzchok Yochonon
  • Aron
  • Dovid
  • Eliezer
  • Boruch

In September 2026 the "Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Monsey" was part of a delegation of Hasidic leaders who met President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Jared Kushner at the White House.[6]

Rebbes of Vizhnitz (main line)
Rebbe Dates Seat Notes
Menachem Mendel Hager 1830–1884 Vyzhnytsia Founder of the Vizhnitz court; Tsemach tsadik[3]
Boruch Hager c. 1845–1893 Vyzhnytsia Eldest son[3]
Yisroel Hager 1860–1936 Vyzhnytsia; Oradea from the First World War Founded Ahavat Yisrael yeshiva, 1903[3]
Chaim Meir Hager 1887–1972 Bnei Brak Rebuilt the dynasty in Israel[3]
Moshe Yehoshua Hager died 2012 Bnei Brak Head of the Bnei Brak community from 1972[2][1]
Mordechai Hager 1922–2018 Williamsburg; Monsey and Kaser Head of the American branch[2]
Yisroel Hager born 1945 Bnei Brak Present Bnei Brak rebbe[5]

Israeli politics and the army

Jerusalem Post writer Levi Cooper notes that, like other mainstream Hasidim, Vizhnitz Hasidim do not serve in the Israel Defense Forces and do not actively support soldiers. On the first Shabbat after the attacks of 7 October 2023, Rebbe Yisroel Hager recited a prayer for Jews "who stand in battle against those who hate Israel". The text was not the usual prayer for IDF soldiers but an older one composed by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Reuven Gefner. Cooper wrote that there was no historical precedent for the Rebbe's act.[5]

Biale and his co-authors write that between the wars the Vizhnits leadership supported Agudat Yisrael "and did not conduct a campaign against immigration to the Holy Land", unlike the rebbes of Munkatsh and Sighet, including Satmar.[7] After 1967, they write, the heads of Ger, Vizhnits and Belz "on the whole took a more flexible and dovish stance on the question of the territories that Israel came to control" than the Lubavitcher Rebbe.[8]

In June 2026 Meir Porush, chairman of Shlomei Emunim, said that an arbitration within Agudat Yisrael about five years earlier had settled "the power balance between Belz and Vizhnitz".[9] In September 2026 the Ger, Vizhnitz and Sanz factions signed separately with Degel HaTorah when the United Torah Judaism slate was submitted.[10]

United Kingdom

Vizhnitz institutions in Britain are concentrated in Stamford Hill and Clapton, in the London Borough of Hackney.[11][12]

Vizhnitz schools in London
School Address Pupils Proprietor / head Ofsted
Wiznitz Cheder School 126b Stamford Hill, London N16 6QT Boys, 3–11; 61 pupils; opened 21 December 2011 Proprietor Viznitz Limited; headteacher Rabbi Pesach Akiva Taub Inadequate (October 2021 and January 2024); March 2026 report card: safeguarding standards met[11][13][14]
Vishnitz Girls School 49 Amhurst Park, London N16 5DL Girls, 2–16; 504 pupils; opened 2 August 2012 Proprietor Vishnitz Girls School Limited; headteacher Mrs Leah Weiss Inadequate (March 2022); requires improvement (July 2024)[15][16][17]
Vizhnitz-named charities in England
Charity Number Address (register) Trustees (register) Finances and notes
Friends of Wiznitz Limited 255685 First Floor, 94 Stamford Hill, London N16 6XS Barry Feldman, Ephraim Gottesfeld, Shulom Feldman Registered 22 April 1968; company 00929964. Orthodox Jewish education, religion and poverty relief; operates in Hackney, Haringey, Israel and the United States. Income £4,734,350 and expenditure £4,526,324 in the year to 31 March 2025[12]
Viznitz Limited 1143314 126B Stamford Hill, London N16 6QT Mordechai Kahan, Samuel Stein Registered 12 August 2011; company 07569016. Runs Wiznitz Cheder School. Income £702,164 and expenditure £742,432 in the year to 31 March 2025[18]
Vishnitz Girls School Limited 1135285 196 Lordship Road, London N16 5ES Rabbi Mordechai Steren, Israel Zieg, Benzion Steiner Registered 29 March 2010; company 06919686. Income £2,651,372 and expenditure £3,010,443 in the year to 31 May 2024[19]
Viznitz Institutions Trust 1073284 8 Jessam Avenue, London E5 9DU Rabbi Mordechai Steren, Izchak Aizik Menachem Vizel, Ahron Shimshon Zelig Deuitch Registered 13 January 1999. Supports people in hardship and the Talmudical College of Viznitz in London; operates in Hackney and Israel. Income £663,506 and expenditure £697,086 in the year to 5 May 2025[20]
The Viznitz (Keren Nitzchi) Foundation 326581 23 Overlea Road, London E5 9BG Henrich Feldman (chair), Joseph Feldman, Shulom Feldman Registered 29 May 1984. Operates in Israel and the United States. Income £200,073 and expenditure £185,756 in the year to 31 March 2025[21]
Kollel Imrei Chaim Wiznitz Trust 1122005 Flat 3, The Gardens, Clapton Common, London E5 9AZ Leibish Hager (chair), Shaina Rochel Hager, Yisroel Meir Cohen, Solomon Gluck Registered 17 December 2007. Income £164,624 and expenditure £230,189 in the year to 31 December 2024[22]
Kollel Viznitz London 1166611 67 Watermint Quay, Craven Walk, London N16 6DN Simon Zieg (chair), Jehoshua Gross, Yoshua Hochhauser Registered 19 April 2016. Expenditure £1,562 in the year to 31 December 2024[23]
Kupath Gemach Trust (formerly Kupath Gemach Chaim Bechesed Viznitz Trust) 1110323 171 Kyverdale Road, London N16 6PS Israel Kahan, Alexander Pifko, Saul Weiss Registered 5 July 2005. Operates throughout London and in Israel and the United States. Income £997,112 and expenditure £1,026,133 in the year to 31 May 2025[24]
Keren Yedidei Beis Viznitz Ltd 1195033 30 Plevna Crescent, London N15 6DN Yosef Shlomo Ganz (chair), Israel Kahan, Nachman Taub Registered 1 July 2021; company 12835710. Operates throughout England and in Israel. Income £501,847 and expenditure £603,938 in the year to 31 August 2025. Taub is also a trustee of British Friends of Chatzer Hakodesh Viznitz[25]
Ezer Viznitz Foundation 1161881 c/o Raffingers LLP, Unit 19–20 Bourne Court, Woodford Green, Essex IG8 8HD Chanoich Muller (chair), Rachel Stern, Yakov Babad Registered 28 May 2015. Aid to families in distress; operates in Hackney, Haringey, Salford, Belgium, Israel and the United States. Income £4,665,384 and expenditure £4,935,630 in the year to 31 March 2025. Under Charity Commission inquiry (see below)[26][27]

COVID-19 pandemic

In February 2021 Jewish News reported that Rebbe Yisroel Hager, head of what it called the second-largest Hasidic group in Israel, had written an opinion piece in the Israeli Hamodia during the national lockdown. According to the paper, he wrote that the pandemic came from God and had nothing to do with nature, and that the right response was more prayer and greater piety. He called the schools "the bedrock of Charedi society" and wrote that one must endanger one's life to teach children Torah, as his father had done in the Second World War. He argued that the government had closed Haredi schools while allowing many other activities it regarded as essential, so those who regarded their children's education as essential should do whatever they could to keep it going.[28]

Jewish News also reported that in November 2020 Hager had denounced Jews who reported breaches of coronavirus restrictions. He urged his followers to protest strongly against Jews who "snitch and inform" on other Jews who opened schools or held celebrations. He said the closure of Haredi schools had caused "unbearable spiritual and material damage", and vowed that they would not close again.[28]

Controversies

Allegations and investigations

  • Charity Commission inquiry, 2025. In May 2025 the Charity Commission opened a class inquiry after HMRC found that 105 charities had cashed cheques worth £22 million with a company in Hackney.[29] In September 2025 it added ten more charities to the inquiry, including the Ezer Viznitz Foundation.[27] An inquiry is not a finding of wrongdoing.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Joseph Berger, Rabbi Moshe Hager, a Hasidic Leader, Dies at 95 The New York Times, 15 March 2012 (archived 23 June 2024), accessed 27 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Joseph Berger, Rabbi Mordechai Hager, Leader of Large Hasidic Sect, Dies at 95 The New York Times, 16 March 2018 (archived 3 October 2025), accessed 27 October 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 Gad Sagiv, Kosov-Vizhnits Hasidic Dynasty YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, accessed 27 October 2026.
  4. ↑ International Court of Justice, Summary of the Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024 icj-cij.org, 19 July 2024, accessed 26 October 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Levi Cooper, Israel-Hamas war: A Hassidic rebbe's prayer for soldiers Jerusalem Post, 8 December 2023, accessed 27 October 2026.
  6. ↑ The Yeshiva World, Historic White House Visit: Inside Rebbes' Extraordinary Meetings With Trump And Vance The Yeshiva World, 4 September 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.
  7. ↑ David Biale, David Assaf, Benjamin Brown, Uriel Gellman, Samuel C. Heilman, Moshe Rosman, Gadi Sagiv and Marcin Wodziński, Hasidism: A New History, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018, p. 628.
  8. ↑ David Biale, David Assaf, Benjamin Brown, Uriel Gellman, Samuel C. Heilman, Moshe Rosman, Gadi Sagiv and Marcin Wodziński, Hasidism: A New History, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018, p. 713.
  9. ↑ Chaya Mushka Rubenstein, Porush Attacks Gur's Control of Agudat Yisrael Party JFeed, 17 June 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.
  10. ↑ The Yeshiva World, After Split And Hours Of Turmoil, UTJ Submits Party Slate The Yeshiva World, 9 September 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Department for Education, Wiznitz Cheder School, URN 137809 Get Information about Schools, accessed 27 October 2026.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Charity Commission, Friends of Wiznitz Limited, charity 255685 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
  13. ↑ Ofsted, Inspection of Wiznitz Cheder School Ofsted, 30 January – 1 February 2024, accessed 27 October 2026.
  14. ↑ Ofsted, Wiznitz Cheder School: inspection report Ofsted, 24 March 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.
  15. ↑ Department for Education, Vishnitz Girls School, URN 138516 Get Information about Schools, accessed 27 October 2026.
  16. ↑ Ofsted, Inspection of Vishnitz Girls School Ofsted, 9–11 July 2024, accessed 27 October 2026.
  17. ↑ Ofsted, Vishnitz Girls School Ofsted, accessed 27 October 2026.
  18. ↑ Charity Commission, Viznitz Limited, charity 1143314 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
  19. ↑ Charity Commission, Vishnitz Girls School Limited, charity 1135285 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
  20. ↑ Charity Commission, Viznitz Institutions Trust, charity 1073284 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
  21. ↑ Charity Commission, The Viznitz (Keren Nitzchi) Foundation, charity 326581 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
  22. ↑ Charity Commission, Kollel Imrei Chaim Wiznitz Trust, charity 1122005 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
  23. ↑ Charity Commission, Kollel Viznitz London, charity 1166611 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
  24. ↑ Charity Commission, Kupath Gemach Trust, charity 1110323 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
  25. ↑ Charity Commission, Keren Yedidei Beis Viznitz Ltd, charity 1195033 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
  26. ↑ Charity Commission, Ezer Viznitz Foundation, charity 1161881 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Charlie Moloney, Commission investigates 10 further charities in £22m cashed cheques probe Third Sector, 1 September 2025 (archived 11 September 2025), accessed 27 October 2026.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Jewish News Reporter, Grand Rabbi in Israel: Pandemic is from God and has nothing to do with nature Jewish News, 3 February 2021 (full text supplied by David), accessed 27 October 2026.
  29. ↑ Charity Commission, Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator GOV.UK, 14 May 2025, accessed 27 October 2026.
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