Difference between revisions of "Agudas Chasidei Chabad"

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| founder = [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
 
| founder = [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
 
| headquarters = Brooklyn, New York
 
| headquarters = Brooklyn, New York
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| key_people = Rabbi Avraham Shemtov (chairman, as reported in 2013)
+
| key_people = Rabbi [[Avraham Shemtov]] (chairman, as reported in 2013)
 
| services = Umbrella body of Chabad-Lubavitch; holds the Chabad library in trust
 
| services = Umbrella body of Chabad-Lubavitch; holds the Chabad library in trust
 
| remarks = Plaintiff in ''Agudas Chasidei Chabad v. Gourary'' (1985–1987) and ''Agudas Chasidei Chabad v. Russian Federation'' (2004–2026)
 
| remarks = Plaintiff in ''Agudas Chasidei Chabad v. Gourary'' (1985–1987) and ''Agudas Chasidei Chabad v. Russian Federation'' (2004–2026)
 
}}
 
}}
  
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'''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States''' (Hebrew for "Union of Chabad Hasidim"; often shortened to '''Agudas Chabad''') is a non-profit religious corporation registered in New York. It was incorporated on 25 July 1940, a few months after the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]], arrived in the United States.<ref name="Chabad2006">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation'', [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_05-cv-01548/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_05-cv-01548-1.pdf Memorandum Opinion], No. 05-01548 (RCL), D.D.C., filed 4 December 2006; reported at 466 F. Supp. 2d 6. Court record.</ref> US courts and legal commentators describe it as the umbrella organisation of the [[Chabad-Lubavitch movement]].<ref name="HLR">"Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation, 528 F.3d 934 (D.C. Cir. 2008)", recent case note, ''Harvard Law Review'' 122 (2009), pp. 1985–1992, at p. 1985. Scholarly (legal) source.</ref> It is best known as the legal owner of the movement's central library at 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, and as the party that brought two major lawsuits. The first, against the Rebbe's grandson Barry Gourary in 1985–87, established that the library was held in trust for the Chabad community. The second was the long US case against the Russian Federation over the [[Schneerson library case|Schneerson Collection]] in Moscow.
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'''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States''' (Hebrew for "Union of Chabad Hasidim"; often shortened to '''Agudas Chabad''') is a non-profit religious corporation registered in New York. It was incorporated on 25 July 1940, a few months after the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]], arrived in the United States.<ref name="Chabad2006">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation'', [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_05-cv-01548/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_05-cv-01548-1.pdf Memorandum Opinion], No. 05-01548 (RCL), D.D.C., filed 4 December 2006; reported at 466 F. Supp. 2d 6. Court record.</ref> US courts and legal commentators describe it as the umbrella organisation of the [[Chabad-Lubavitch movement]].<ref name="HLR">"Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation, 528 F.3d 934 (D.C. Cir. 2008)", recent case note, ''Harvard Law Review'' 122 (2009), pp. 1985–1992, at p. 1985. Scholarly (legal) source.</ref> It is best known as the legal owner of the movement's central library at 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, and as the party that brought two major lawsuits. The first, against the Rebbe's grandson [[Barry Gourary]] in 1985–87, established that the library was held in trust for the Chabad community. The second was the long US case against the Russian Federation over the [[Schneerson library case|Schneerson Collection]] in Moscow.
  
 
== Founding and status ==
 
== Founding and status ==
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According to the US District Court for the District of Columbia, the sixth Rebbe arrived in the United States on 19 March 1940, and "On July 25, 1940, Agudas Chasidei Chabad was incorporated in New York".<ref name="Chabad2006" /> Bazyler and Gerber write that after arriving in New York, "the sixth rebbe established Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States as a New York religious corporation, with headquarters in Brooklyn". They describe it as "the world-wide umbrella entity for the orthodox Jewish movement called Chabad-Lubavitch".<ref name="BG363">Michael J. Bazyler and Seth M. Gerber, "Chabad's Lawsuit Against Russia: Using the Law to Recover Jewish Cultural Property", ''International Journal of Cultural Property'' 17 (2010), pp. 361–386, at pp. 363–364. Sympathetic legal-academic source (see editor's note).</ref> The same court noted that "Long before Chabad was incorporated as a non-profit corporation under the laws of the State of New York, it was an organization of Jewish religious communities located worldwide, with origins in the Russian Empire".<ref name="Chabad2006" /> In the Russian case the defendants argued that, because the corporation dated only from 1940, it could not have owned the Archive taken in Poland in 1939.<ref name="Chabad2006" />
+
According to the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia|US District Court for the District of Columbia]], the sixth Rebbe arrived in the United States on 19 March 1940, and "On July 25, 1940, Agudas Chasidei Chabad was incorporated in New York".<ref name="Chabad2006" /> Bazyler and Gerber write that after arriving in New York, "the sixth rebbe established Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States as a New York religious corporation, with headquarters in Brooklyn". They describe it as "the world-wide umbrella entity for the orthodox Jewish movement called Chabad-Lubavitch".<ref name="BG363">Michael J. Bazyler and Seth M. Gerber, "Chabad's Lawsuit Against Russia: Using the Law to Recover Jewish Cultural Property", ''International Journal of Cultural Property'' 17 (2010), pp. 361–386, at pp. 363–364. Sympathetic legal-academic source (see editor's note).</ref> The same court noted that "Long before Chabad was incorporated as a non-profit corporation under the laws of the State of New York, it was an organization of Jewish religious communities located worldwide, with origins in the Russian Empire".<ref name="Chabad2006" /> In the Russian case the defendants argued that, because the corporation dated only from 1940, it could not have owned the Archive taken in Poland in 1939.<ref name="Chabad2006" />
  
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In 2013 the Russian chief rabbi [[Berel Lazar]] referred to Rabbi Avraham Shemtov as chairman of Agudas Chasidei Chabad.<ref name="Forward2013">[https://forward.com/news/183459/russian-chief-rabbi-tells-jews-to-back-off-on-crit/ "Russian Chief Rabbi Tells Jews To Back Off on Criticizing Vladimir Putin"], ''The Forward'', 2013. Press.</ref> Its relationship to the movement's other central bodies, such as [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]], is not covered here.
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In 2013 the Russian chief rabbi [[Berel Lazar]] referred to Rabbi [[Avraham Shemtov]] as chairman of Agudas Chasidei Chabad.<ref name="Forward2013">[https://forward.com/news/183459/russian-chief-rabbi-tells-jews-to-back-off-on-crit/ "Russian Chief Rabbi Tells Jews To Back Off on Criticizing Vladimir Putin"], ''The Forward'', 2013. Press.</ref> Its relationship to the movement's other central bodies, such as [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]], is not covered here.
  
 
== The Gourary case (1985–1987) ==
 
== The Gourary case (1985–1987) ==
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On 5 August 1985 Agudas Chasidei Chabad sued Barry S. Gourary, a grandson of the sixth Rebbe, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. It was a "diversity action for replevin, also alleging conversion and trespass", brought "to recover some 400 books or the proceeds of their sale". Gourary, joined by his mother Hanna Gourary (the sixth Rebbe's daughter), counterclaimed that those books and the rest of the library "housed at a building at 770 Eastern Parkway, in Brooklyn, New York, owned by the plaintiff" belonged to them by inheritance.<ref name="Gourary1987">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Gourary'', [https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/650/1463/1663054/ 650 F. Supp. 1463] (E.D.N.Y. 6 January 1987) (Sifton, J.). Court record.</ref>
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On 5 August 1985 Agudas Chasidei Chabad sued [[Barry Gourary|Barry S. Gourary]], a grandson of the sixth Rebbe, in the [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York|US District Court for the Eastern District of New York]]. It was a "diversity action for replevin, also alleging conversion and trespass", brought "to recover some 400 books or the proceeds of their sale". Gourary, joined by his mother [[Chana Gourary|Hanna Gourary]] (the sixth Rebbe's daughter), counterclaimed that those books and the rest of the library "housed at a building at 770 Eastern Parkway, in Brooklyn, New York, owned by the plaintiff" belonged to them by inheritance.<ref name="Gourary1987">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Gourary'', [https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/650/1463/1663054/ 650 F. Supp. 1463] (E.D.N.Y. 6 January 1987) (Sifton, J.). Court record.</ref>
  
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After a bench trial in December 1985, Judge Charles Sifton ruled on 6 January 1987. He found that "the library was never held by the Rebbe as personal property for his personal benefit and his private, as opposed to religious, purposes. It was held as personal property for the community's benefit and for charitable uses." He held that, on its arrival in the United States, the library "was delivered into the custody of Agudas Chabad with an express declaration that it was to be held by that corporation in trust for the benefit of the Chabad Chasidic community".<ref name="Gourary1987" /> The court dismissed the inheritance counterclaim and granted replevin. It ordered Barry Gourary to return the books, but stayed execution pending appeal.<ref name="Gourary2dCir">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Gourary'', [https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/833/833.F2d.431.87-7224.1302.html 833 F.2d 431] (2d Cir. 17 November 1987). Court record.</ref>
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After a bench trial in December 1985, Judge [[Charles Sifton]] ruled on 6 January 1987. He found that "the library was never held by the Rebbe as personal property for his personal benefit and his private, as opposed to religious, purposes. It was held as personal property for the community's benefit and for charitable uses." He held that, on its arrival in the United States, the library "was delivered into the custody of Agudas Chabad with an express declaration that it was to be held by that corporation in trust for the benefit of the Chabad Chasidic community".<ref name="Gourary1987" /> The court dismissed the inheritance counterclaim and granted replevin. It ordered Barry Gourary to return the books, but stayed execution pending appeal.<ref name="Gourary2dCir">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Gourary'', [https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/833/833.F2d.431.87-7224.1302.html 833 F.2d 431] (2d Cir. 17 November 1987). Court record.</ref>
  
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The Second Circuit affirmed on 17 November 1987. It held that "the district court's finding of an unequivocal intent to create a charitable trust--far from being clearly erroneous--is in our view rightly decided".<ref name="Gourary2dCir" /> This was a civil ruling on property and trust law. No criminal finding was made against Gourary. Chabad marks the date of the decision, 5 Tevet 5747, as the festival of ''Didan Natzach'' ("our side is victorious").<ref name="HayomYom">[https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/6025/jewish/Hayom-Yom-Tevet-5.htm "Hayom Yom: Tevet 5"], Chabad.org. Chabad-side.</ref> The finding that the library belonged to the community rather than the Rebbe's family was later relied on in the Russian litigation.<ref name="Chabad2006" />
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The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit|Second Circuit]] affirmed on 17 November 1987. It held that "the district court's finding of an unequivocal intent to create a charitable trust--far from being clearly erroneous--is in our view rightly decided".<ref name="Gourary2dCir" /> This was a civil ruling on property and trust law. No criminal finding was made against Gourary. [[Chabad-Lubavitch movement|Chabad]] marks the date of the decision, 5 Tevet 5747, as the festival of ''Didan Natzach'' ("our side is victorious").<ref name="HayomYom">[https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/6025/jewish/Hayom-Yom-Tevet-5.htm "Hayom Yom: Tevet 5"], Chabad.org. Chabad-side.</ref> The finding that the library belonged to the community rather than the Rebbe's family was later relied on in the Russian litigation.<ref name="Chabad2006" />
  
 
== The Schneerson library litigation (2004–2026) ==
 
== The Schneerson library litigation (2004–2026) ==
 
:''Main article: [[Schneerson library case]]''
 
:''Main article: [[Schneerson library case]]''
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On 9 November 2004 Agudas Chasidei Chabad sued the Russian Federation, its Ministry of Culture, the Russian State Library and the Russian State Military Archive. It sought the return of the "Library" (books seized after 1917) and the "Archive" (papers seized by the Nazis in Poland and taken by Soviet forces in 1945).<ref name="Chabad2006" /> The main rulings were as follows.
+
On 9 November 2004 Agudas Chasidei Chabad sued the Russian Federation, its Ministry of Culture, the [[Russian State Library]] and the [[Russian State Military Archive]]. It sought the return of the "Library" (books seized after 1917) and the "Archive" (papers seized by the Nazis in Poland and taken by Soviet forces in 1945).<ref name="Chabad2006" /> The main rulings were as follows.
 
* '''2006:''' the D.D.C. upheld jurisdiction over the Archive claims but not the Library claims.<ref name="Chabad2006" />
 
* '''2006:''' the D.D.C. upheld jurisdiction over the Archive claims but not the Library claims.<ref name="Chabad2006" />
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* '''2008:''' the D.C. Circuit held that both claims could proceed under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act's expropriation exception.<ref name="DCCir2008">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation'', 528 F.3d 934 (D.C. Cir. 2008). Court record.</ref> The ''Harvard Law Review'' note criticised this ruling for limiting the act of state doctrine "in a way that is inconsistent with the doctrine's constitutional underpinnings".<ref name="HLR" />
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* '''2008:''' the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit|D.C. Circuit]] held that both claims could proceed under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act's expropriation exception.<ref name="DCCir2008">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation'', 528 F.3d 934 (D.C. Cir. 2008). Court record.</ref> The ''Harvard Law Review'' note criticised this ruling for limiting the act of state doctrine "in a way that is inconsistent with the doctrine's constitutional underpinnings".<ref name="HLR" />
 
* '''2009–2010:''' Russia withdrew from the case. On 30 July 2010 the court entered a default judgment ordering the defendants to surrender the collection.<ref name="Chabad2010">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation'', [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_05-cv-01548/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_05-cv-01548-2.pdf Memorandum Opinion], D.D.C., 30 July 2010; reported at 729 F. Supp. 2d 141. Court record.</ref>
 
* '''2009–2010:''' Russia withdrew from the case. On 30 July 2010 the court entered a default judgment ordering the defendants to surrender the collection.<ref name="Chabad2010">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation'', [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_05-cv-01548/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_05-cv-01548-2.pdf Memorandum Opinion], D.D.C., 30 July 2010; reported at 729 F. Supp. 2d 141. Court record.</ref>
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* '''2013:''' the court held the defendants in civil contempt and imposed sanctions of "$50,000 per day". It did so over the objections of the US government.<ref name="Chabad2013">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation'', [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_05-cv-01548/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_05-cv-01548-4.pdf Memorandum Opinion], D.D.C., 16 January 2013; reported at 915 F. Supp. 2d 148. Court record.</ref> Agudas Chasidei Chabad rejected Putin's transfer of part of the Library to Moscow's Jewish Museum. It said the move "does not satisfy Chabad's religious requirements or remedy Russia's unilateral seizure, retention, and claimed ownership of these sacred books".<ref name="PRN2013">[https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/russias-transfer-of-books-from-the-schneerson-collection-does-not-resolve-its-dispute-with-chabad-211622401.html "Russia's Transfer Of Books From The Schneerson Collection Does Not Resolve Its Dispute With Chabad"], Agudas Chasidei Chabad press release via PR Newswire, 14 June 2013. Chabad-side primary source.</ref>
+
* '''2013:''' the court held the defendants in civil contempt and imposed sanctions of "$50,000 per day". It did so over the objections of the US government.<ref name="Chabad2013">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation'', [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_05-cv-01548/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_05-cv-01548-4.pdf Memorandum Opinion], D.D.C., 16 January 2013; reported at 915 F. Supp. 2d 148. Court record.</ref> Agudas Chasidei Chabad rejected [[Vladimir Putin|Putin]]'s transfer of part of the Library to Moscow's Jewish Museum. It said the move "does not satisfy Chabad's religious requirements or remedy Russia's unilateral seizure, retention, and claimed ownership of these sacred books".<ref name="PRN2013">[https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/russias-transfer-of-books-from-the-schneerson-collection-does-not-resolve-its-dispute-with-chabad-211622401.html "Russia's Transfer Of Books From The Schneerson Collection Does Not Resolve Its Dispute With Chabad"], Agudas Chasidei Chabad press release via PR Newswire, 14 June 2013. Chabad-side primary source.</ref>
 
* '''2024:''' the D.C. Circuit held that the district court "does not have—and has never had—jurisdiction over Chabad's claims against the Russian Federation". The default and sanctions judgments were therefore void as against the Federation itself.<ref name="DCCir2024">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation'', [https://cases.justia.com/federal/appellate-courts/cadc/23-7036/23-7036-2024-08-06.pdf No. 23-7036] (D.C. Cir. 6 August 2024), reported at 110 F.4th 242. Court record.</ref>
 
* '''2024:''' the D.C. Circuit held that the district court "does not have—and has never had—jurisdiction over Chabad's claims against the Russian Federation". The default and sanctions judgments were therefore void as against the Federation itself.<ref name="DCCir2024">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation'', [https://cases.justia.com/federal/appellate-courts/cadc/23-7036/23-7036-2024-08-06.pdf No. 23-7036] (D.C. Cir. 6 August 2024), reported at 110 F.4th 242. Court record.</ref>
 
* '''2026:''' the Supreme Court denied certiorari on 20 January 2026.<ref name="Reuters2026">[https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-supreme-court-declines-hear-jewish-groups-bid-sue-russia-over-seized-2026-01-20/ "US Supreme Court declines to hear Jewish group's bid to sue Russia over seized religious texts"], Reuters, 20 January 2026. Press.</ref>
 
* '''2026:''' the Supreme Court denied certiorari on 20 January 2026.<ref name="Reuters2026">[https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-supreme-court-declines-hear-jewish-groups-bid-sue-russia-over-seized-2026-01-20/ "US Supreme Court declines to hear Jewish group's bid to sue Russia over seized religious texts"], Reuters, 20 January 2026. Press.</ref>

Revision as of 10:24, 18 October 2026

Chabad
Overview

Chabad-Lubavitch movement | Chabad-Lubavitch timeline | Hasidism | Lubavitch

Rebbes

Shneur Zalman of Liadi | Dovber Schneuri | Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (Tzemach Tzedek) | Shmuel Schneersohn | Shalom Dovber Schneersohn | Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn | Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Ideology and texts

Tanya | Torah Or | Likutei Torah | Imrei Binah | Basi LeGani | Hayom Yom | Igrot Kodesh | Likkutei Sichos | Chabad messianism

History

Crown Heights riot | Schneerson library case | Ohel (Chabad)

Leading figures

Yehuda Krinsky | Berel Lazar | Moshe Reuven Azman | Yitzchak Ginsburgh | Shmuel Butman | Shmuley Boteach (former)

Institutions

770 Eastern Parkway | Agudas Chasidei Chabad | Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch | Machne Israel | Kehot Publication Society | Chabad.org | Tzeirei Agudat Chabad | Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia | Jewish Children's Museum | Tzivos Hashem

Outreach

Chabad House | Chabad on Campus | Chabad emissaries | Mitzvah campaigns

Controversies

Crown Heights riot | Chabad messianism | Yitzchak Ginsburgh | Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva | Torat Hamelekh (The King's Torah) | Hilltop Youth | Chabad and Israeli politics | Chabad and Kahanism | Berel Lazar and the Kremlin | Schneerson library case | Chabad abuse cases | Kapparot / Eruv / public menorahs | Chabad and Trump | Chabad and fraud | Chabad and Ukraine

Russia and Ukraine

Chabad Lubavitch of Russia | Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia | Berel Lazar | Berel Lazar and the Kremlin | Russian oligarchs and Chabad | Adolf Shayevich | Schneerson library case | Chabad Lubavitch of Ukraine | Chabad and Ukraine | Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine | United Jewish Community of Ukraine | Shmuel Kaminezki | Menorah Centre (Dnipro) | Odesa Chabad | Moshe Reuven Azman | Uman

The Americas

Chabad-Lubavitch | Chabad/Lubavitch non profits in the US | Chabad Lubavitch of USA | Chabad Lubavitch of Canada | Chabad Lubavitch of Argentina | Chabad Lubavitch of Brazil | Chabad Lubavitch of Caribbean | Chabad Lubavitch of Mexico | Chabad Lubavitch of Panama | Chabad Lubavitch of Costa Rica | Chabad Lubavitch of Ecuador | Chabad Lubavitch of Guatemala | Chabad Lubavitch of Paraguay | Chabad Lubavitch of Uruguay | Chabad Lubavitch of Chile | Chabad Lubavitch of Peru | Chabad Lubavitch of Venezuela | Chabad Lubavitch of Colombia

In occupied Palestine

Chabad in occupied Palestine | Kfar Chabad | Colel Chabad | Or Simcha Yeshiva | Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira | Yosef Elitzur | Rabbi Mordechai Shmuel Ashkenazi | Yitzchak Ginsburgh | Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva

In the UK

Chabad Lubavitch in the UK - Chabad-Lubavitch UK | Chabad Lubavitch of Scotland | Chabad-Lubavitch centres in London | Lubavitch in the Midlands | Lubavitch House | Tzivos Hashem UK | Oxford University L'Chaim Society | HabAid | Chabad Lubavitch (Leeds) Limited | Chabad Lubavitch Bricket Wood & Districts | Chabad Lubavitch Brighton | Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex Limited | Chabad Lubavitch (Bowdon, charity 1128933) | Chabad Lubavitch in Greater Manchester

In Scotland

The Shul in The Park/Shul in the Park (Scotland) | Chabad of Edinburgh/Chabad Lubavitch of Edinburgh Limited | Lubavitch of Scotland/Friends Of Lubavitch Scotland | L'Chaim's (Giffnock) Ltd/L'Chaim's Kosher Catering Limited/L'Chaim's Restaurant Ltd

In West Asia and North Africa

Chabad-Lubavitch in West Asia (overview) | Chabad in occupied Palestine | Chabad Lubavitch of Morocco | Chabad Lubavitch of Tunisia | Chabad of the United Arab Emirates | Chabad Lubavitch of Bahrain | Chabad Lubavitch of Turkey | Chabad Lubavitch of Iran | Chabad Lubavitch of Saudi Arabia | Chabad Lubavitch of Kuwait | Chabad Lubavitch of Jordan | Chabad Lubavitch of Armenia | Chabad Lubavitch of Cyprus | Chabad Lubavitch of North Cyprus | Chabad Lubavitch of Azerbaijan | Chabad Lubavitch of Georgia
Visits only: Egypt | Iraq | Lebanon | Libya | Oman | Qatar | Syria

Europe

Chabad Lubavitch of Russia | Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia | Chabad Lubavitch of France | Chabad Lubavitch in the UK | Chabad Lubavitch of Ukraine | Chabad Lubavitch of Germany | Chabad Lubavitch of Italy | Chabad Lubavitch of Netherlands | Chabad Lubavitch of Austria | Chabad Lubavitch of Switzerland | Chabad Lubavitch of Belarus | Chabad Lubavitch of Hungary | Chabad Lubavitch of Spain | Chabad Albania | Chabad Lubavitch of Cyprus | Chabad Lubavitch of North Cyprus | Chabad Lubavitch of Turkey | Chabad Lubavitch of Belgium | Chabad Lubavitch of Greece | Chabad Lubavitch of Croatia | Chabad Lubavitch of Bulgaria | Chabad Lubavitch of Finland | Chabad Lubavitch of Iceland | Chabad Lubavitch of Ireland | Chabad Lubavitch of Latvia | Chabad Lubavitch of Luxembourg | Chabad Lubavitch of Malta | Chabad Lubavitch of Moldova | Chabad Lubavitch of Monaco | Chabad Lubavitch of Andorra | Chabad Lubavitch of Montenegro | Chabad Lubavitch of Norway | Chabad Lubavitch of Portugal | Chabad Lubavitch of Serbia | Chabad Lubavitch of Lithuania | Chabad Lubavitch of Poland | Chabad Lubavitch of Romania | Chabad Lubavitch of Slovakia | Chabad Lubavitch of Czech Republic | Chabad Lubavitch of Denmark | Chabad Lubavitch of Estonia | Crimea | Chabad Lubavitch of Sweden
Visits only: Bosnia and Herzegovina | Kosovo | Slovenia

Asia and Australia

Chabad Lubavitch of Australia | Chabad Lubavitch of China | Rabbi Meir Ashkenazi | Chabad Lubavitch of Thailand | Chabad Lubavitch of India | Chabad Lubavitch of Nepal | Chabad Lubavitch of New Zealand | Chabad Lubavitch of Cambodia | Chabad Lubavitch of Korea | Chabad Lubavitch of Kyrgyzstan | Chabad Lubavitch of Laos | Chabad Lubavitch of Singapore | Chabad Lubavitch of Taiwan | Chabad Lubavitch of New Caledonia | Chabad Lubavitch of Vietnam | Chabad Lubavitch of Japan | Chabad Lubavitch of Hong Kong | Chabad Lubavitch of Kazakhstan | Chabad Lubavitch of Uzbekistan | Chabad Lubavitch of the Philippines | Chabad Lubavitch of Sri Lanka | Chabad Lubavitch of Myanmar

In Sub-Saharan Africa

Chabad Lubavitch of Angola | Congo (DRC) | Congo (Republic) | Chabad Lubavitch of Ethiopia | Chabad Lubavitch of Ghana | Chabad Lubavitch of Ivory Coast | Chabad Lubavitch of Kenya | Chabad Lubavitch of Mauritius | Chabad Lubavitch of Namibia | Chabad Lubavitch of Nigeria | Chabad Lubavitch of Rwanda | Chabad Lubavitch of Senegal | Chabad Lubavitch of South Africa | Chabad Lubavitch of Tanzania | Chabad Lubavitch of Uganda | Chabad Lubavitch of Zambia
Visits only: Cameroon | Equatorial Guinea | Gabon | Sierra Leone

New York religious corporation founded in 1940 by the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, described by courts as the umbrella organisation of Chabad-Lubavitch; owner of the Chabad library at 770 Eastern Parkway and claimant in the Gourary and Schneerson library cases


Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States

Type Non-profit religious corporation (New York)
Founded 25 July 1940
Founder(s) Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn
Headquarters Brooklyn, New York
Services Umbrella body of Chabad-Lubavitch; holds the Chabad library in trust
Key people Rabbi Avraham Shemtov (chairman, as reported in 2013)
Remarks Plaintiff in Agudas Chasidei Chabad v. Gourary (1985–1987) and Agudas Chasidei Chabad v. Russian Federation (2004–2026)


Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States (Hebrew for "Union of Chabad Hasidim"; often shortened to Agudas Chabad) is a non-profit religious corporation registered in New York. It was incorporated on 25 July 1940, a few months after the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, arrived in the United States.[1] US courts and legal commentators describe it as the umbrella organisation of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.[2] It is best known as the legal owner of the movement's central library at 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, and as the party that brought two major lawsuits. The first, against the Rebbe's grandson Barry Gourary in 1985–87, established that the library was held in trust for the Chabad community. The second was the long US case against the Russian Federation over the Schneerson Collection in Moscow.

Founding and status

According to the US District Court for the District of Columbia, the sixth Rebbe arrived in the United States on 19 March 1940, and "On July 25, 1940, Agudas Chasidei Chabad was incorporated in New York".[1] Bazyler and Gerber write that after arriving in New York, "the sixth rebbe established Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States as a New York religious corporation, with headquarters in Brooklyn". They describe it as "the world-wide umbrella entity for the orthodox Jewish movement called Chabad-Lubavitch".[3] The same court noted that "Long before Chabad was incorporated as a non-profit corporation under the laws of the State of New York, it was an organization of Jewish religious communities located worldwide, with origins in the Russian Empire".[1] In the Russian case the defendants argued that, because the corporation dated only from 1940, it could not have owned the Archive taken in Poland in 1939.[1]

In 2013 the Russian chief rabbi Berel Lazar referred to Rabbi Avraham Shemtov as chairman of Agudas Chasidei Chabad.[4] Its relationship to the movement's other central bodies, such as Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, is not covered here.

The Gourary case (1985–1987)

On 5 August 1985 Agudas Chasidei Chabad sued Barry S. Gourary, a grandson of the sixth Rebbe, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. It was a "diversity action for replevin, also alleging conversion and trespass", brought "to recover some 400 books or the proceeds of their sale". Gourary, joined by his mother Hanna Gourary (the sixth Rebbe's daughter), counterclaimed that those books and the rest of the library "housed at a building at 770 Eastern Parkway, in Brooklyn, New York, owned by the plaintiff" belonged to them by inheritance.[5]

After a bench trial in December 1985, Judge Charles Sifton ruled on 6 January 1987. He found that "the library was never held by the Rebbe as personal property for his personal benefit and his private, as opposed to religious, purposes. It was held as personal property for the community's benefit and for charitable uses." He held that, on its arrival in the United States, the library "was delivered into the custody of Agudas Chabad with an express declaration that it was to be held by that corporation in trust for the benefit of the Chabad Chasidic community".[5] The court dismissed the inheritance counterclaim and granted replevin. It ordered Barry Gourary to return the books, but stayed execution pending appeal.[6]

The Second Circuit affirmed on 17 November 1987. It held that "the district court's finding of an unequivocal intent to create a charitable trust--far from being clearly erroneous--is in our view rightly decided".[6] This was a civil ruling on property and trust law. No criminal finding was made against Gourary. Chabad marks the date of the decision, 5 Tevet 5747, as the festival of Didan Natzach ("our side is victorious").[7] The finding that the library belonged to the community rather than the Rebbe's family was later relied on in the Russian litigation.[1]

The Schneerson library litigation (2004–2026)

Main article: Schneerson library case

On 9 November 2004 Agudas Chasidei Chabad sued the Russian Federation, its Ministry of Culture, the Russian State Library and the Russian State Military Archive. It sought the return of the "Library" (books seized after 1917) and the "Archive" (papers seized by the Nazis in Poland and taken by Soviet forces in 1945).[1] The main rulings were as follows.

  • 2006: the D.D.C. upheld jurisdiction over the Archive claims but not the Library claims.[1]
  • 2008: the D.C. Circuit held that both claims could proceed under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act's expropriation exception.[8] The Harvard Law Review note criticised this ruling for limiting the act of state doctrine "in a way that is inconsistent with the doctrine's constitutional underpinnings".[2]
  • 2009–2010: Russia withdrew from the case. On 30 July 2010 the court entered a default judgment ordering the defendants to surrender the collection.[9]
  • 2013: the court held the defendants in civil contempt and imposed sanctions of "$50,000 per day". It did so over the objections of the US government.[10] Agudas Chasidei Chabad rejected Putin's transfer of part of the Library to Moscow's Jewish Museum. It said the move "does not satisfy Chabad's religious requirements or remedy Russia's unilateral seizure, retention, and claimed ownership of these sacred books".[11]
  • 2024: the D.C. Circuit held that the district court "does not have—and has never had—jurisdiction over Chabad's claims against the Russian Federation". The default and sanctions judgments were therefore void as against the Federation itself.[12]
  • 2026: the Supreme Court denied certiorari on 20 January 2026.[13]

Legal status: the 2010 judgment for Agudas Chasidei Chabad was a default judgment, entered after Russia stopped taking part. It was not a ruling on contested evidence. The contempt sanctions were civil, not criminal. As against the Russian Federation itself, both were later held void for lack of jurisdiction.[12]

Editor's note: Seth M. Gerber's affiliation in the 2010 article is Bingham McCutchen, and his role, if any, in the Chabad litigation has not been verified. Agudas Chasidei Chabad's governance, officers other than the reported chairman, finances and its disputes over the 770 Eastern Parkway building have not been researched for this page.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation, Memorandum Opinion, No. 05-01548 (RCL), D.D.C., filed 4 December 2006; reported at 466 F. Supp. 2d 6. Court record.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation, 528 F.3d 934 (D.C. Cir. 2008)", recent case note, Harvard Law Review 122 (2009), pp. 1985–1992, at p. 1985. Scholarly (legal) source.
  3. ↑ Michael J. Bazyler and Seth M. Gerber, "Chabad's Lawsuit Against Russia: Using the Law to Recover Jewish Cultural Property", International Journal of Cultural Property 17 (2010), pp. 361–386, at pp. 363–364. Sympathetic legal-academic source (see editor's note).
  4. ↑ "Russian Chief Rabbi Tells Jews To Back Off on Criticizing Vladimir Putin", The Forward, 2013. Press.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Gourary, 650 F. Supp. 1463 (E.D.N.Y. 6 January 1987) (Sifton, J.). Court record.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Gourary, 833 F.2d 431 (2d Cir. 17 November 1987). Court record.
  7. ↑ "Hayom Yom: Tevet 5", Chabad.org. Chabad-side.
  8. ↑ Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation, 528 F.3d 934 (D.C. Cir. 2008). Court record.
  9. ↑ Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation, Memorandum Opinion, D.D.C., 30 July 2010; reported at 729 F. Supp. 2d 141. Court record.
  10. ↑ Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation, Memorandum Opinion, D.D.C., 16 January 2013; reported at 915 F. Supp. 2d 148. Court record.
  11. ↑ "Russia's Transfer Of Books From The Schneerson Collection Does Not Resolve Its Dispute With Chabad", Agudas Chasidei Chabad press release via PR Newswire, 14 June 2013. Chabad-side primary source.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation, No. 23-7036 (D.C. Cir. 6 August 2024), reported at 110 F.4th 242. Court record.
  13. ↑ "US Supreme Court declines to hear Jewish group's bid to sue Russia over seized religious texts", Reuters, 20 January 2026. Press.
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