Chabad Lubavitch of Poland
Chabad-Lubavitch in Poland: the Warsaw mission founded in 2005 under Rabbi Shalom Ber Stambler, the Kraków centre, the 2013 dispute with Poland's chief rabbi over the ban on ritual slaughter, the 2019 court case over Kraków's Izaak Synagogue, and aid to refugees from Ukraine in 2022
| Chabad Lubavitch of Poland
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| Type | Jewish religious organisation (Chabad-Lubavitch) |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Founder(s) | Shalom Ber and Dina Stambler |
| Headquarters | Warsaw |
| Location | Warsaw and Kraków |
| Area served | Poland |
| Key people | Shalom Ber Stambler (director); Eliezer Gurary (Kraków) |
| Website | https://chabad.org.pl |
| Remarks | Known in Polish as Chabad Lubawicz; the Kraków centre is run through the Chabad Lubawicz Kraków Foundation |
Chabad Lubavitch of Poland (Polish: Chabad Lubawicz w Polsce) is the Chabad-Lubavitch network in Poland. Its first full-time centre opened in Warsaw in 2005 under Rabbi Shalom Ber Stambler and his wife Dina.[1][2] A second centre, in Kraków, is run by Rabbi Eliezer Gurary.[3] The movement's own directory lists only these two centres in Poland.[4]
Unlike in Russia and Ukraine, Chabad does not dominate Jewish religious life in Poland. JTA noted in 2013 that the country's chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, is not a Chabad rabbi, and that Chabad ran two centres in Poland against six in Belarus.[5] In 2013 a Chabad-affiliated lobby group clashed in public with Schudrich over Poland's ban on ritual slaughter. In 2019 Chabad's Kraków foundation won a court order that let it return to the city's Izaak Synagogue after the local Jewish community had locked it out.[6][7]
History
Warsaw mission (2005)
Lubavitch.com, the movement's headquarters site, reported in December 2005 that a new Chabad House had opened in Warsaw. It called it the first full-time Chabad centre in Poland. The centre was run by Shalom Ber and Dina Stambler, and its opening was made official at the international conference of Chabad emissaries (Kinus Hashluchim) that year. The same report says ten yeshiva students had come to Warsaw with the couple, and that relatives of Stambler, Meir and Zalman Stambler, had made earlier trips to the country.[1] Later in December 2005 Lubavitch.com reported that a branch of the Tomchei Tmimim yeshiva had opened in Warsaw with students from Montreal. It said the centre coordinated its work with Chief Rabbi Schudrich.[8]
JNS reported in 2023 that Stambler and his brother, Rabbi Mayer Stambler, came to Warsaw as emissaries in 2005. It described Shalom Ber Stambler as director of Chabad of Poland.[2]
On 7 June 2022 the foreign minister, Zbigniew Rau, gave Stambler the ministry's honorary Bene Merito badge. He was one of five people honoured for their work in Jewish social, cultural and religious life in Poland. The ministry described him as chairman of Chabad Lubavitch in Poland.[9]
Kraków
Chabad's Kraków centre is run by Rabbi Eliezer and Esther Gurary.[3] According to Gazeta Wyborcza, as reported by JTA, Chabad leased the Izaak Synagogue in Kraków's Kazimierz district from the Jewish Community of Kraków from 2008.[10]
Centres
Chabad's Polish website gives two contact addresses:[11]
- Warsaw, postcode district 00-195;
- Kraków, Kazimierz (postcode district 31-057).
Ritual slaughter dispute (2013–2014)
Background and court ruling
Ritual slaughter became illegal in Poland from 1 January 2013, following a ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal.[12] On 12 July 2013 the Sejm rejected a government bill to allow it again, by 222 votes to 178.[13]
On 10 December 2014 the Constitutional Tribunal ruled, in case K 52/13, that a ban on religious slaughter in slaughterhouses was unconstitutional. The case had been brought by the Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland, not by Chabad.[14][12]
Dispute between rabbis
These are statements reported in the press, not findings of any court or regulator.
- JTA reported that Rabbi Menachem Margolin, director of the European Jewish Association and the Rabbinical Centre of Europe, was due to meet President Bronisław Komorowski about the ban, but the meeting was cancelled. Margolin blamed Schudrich for the cancellation. JTA described Margolin as affiliated with Chabad and the Rabbinical Centre of Europe as "Chabad-affiliated".[5]
- After the Sejm vote Margolin called on Schudrich to resign. He said Schudrich had "blocked efforts by Jewish groups out of ego considerations". Schudrich called Margolin's words "unwarranted hate".[6]
- Schudrich and Piotr Kadlčik, president of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities, objected to the European Jewish Association's lobbying. The association had hired Roman Giertych, a former leader of the League of Polish Families, for a legal challenge.[15]
- In the same JTA report, Stambler said Chabad was eager to expand in Poland.[5]
When the Tribunal ruled in 2014, Margolin called the ruling a "relief".[12]
Izaak Synagogue dispute, Kraków (2019)
Lockout
In late June 2019 the Jewish Community of Kraków, the building's owner, stopped Chabad from using the Izaak Synagogue. JTA reported that guards in balaclavas barred worshippers, and that the community had earlier cut off the water and electricity. The community said in a statement that it had no obligation to Chabad. It said the building had been damaged.[10] Avi Baumol, a representative of Chief Rabbi Schudrich in Kraków, said the guards were armed. According to the Times of Israel, a Holocaust survivor, Dov Landau, was among those locked out.[16]
Court ruling (civil case)
In September 2019 the District Court for Kraków-Śródmieście ruled that the July eviction of Gurary was a "violation" of the lease. It ordered the premises to be released to the Chabad Lubawicz Kraków Foundation.[7] Lubavitch.com named the judge as Jacek Blat.[17] Gazeta Krakowska reported that the foundation was represented by Roman Giertych, and that the court accepted that the lease had been extended for ten years. It said the keys were handed back after about three months, while the community's renovation of the building went on. It also said the two sides were in a separate legal dispute over rent.[18]
Allegations
The community's statement alleged damage to the building, including mould and unpermitted rewiring.[10] Gurary denied the claims.[7] No court finding on the damage claims has been found. Schudrich condemned the eviction and climbed the fence of the synagogue in protest.[7]
Refugees from Ukraine (2022)
Chabad.org, the movement's news site, reported in March 2022 that Stambler had sent rabbinical students to the Ukrainian border. It said the Warsaw centre's kitchen was running day and night, and that Chabad had rented hotel rooms and apartments for refugees. It added that Stambler's brother and cousin were emissaries in Ukraine. In Kraków, it said, Gurary and Rabbi Refael and Dini Popack were also helping refugees.[19]
See also
- Chabad-Lubavitch
- Chabad Lubavitch of Hungary
- Chabad Lubavitch of Ukraine
- Chabad Lubavitch of Belarus
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Raizy Metzger, "New Chabad House Opens In Warsaw", Lubavitch.com, 1 December 2005.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Jewish life in Polish capital thriving 80 years after Warsaw Ghetto Uprising", JNS, 18 May 2023.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters, "Chabad-Lubavitch of Krakow", Lubavitch.com, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters, "Poland – Centers", Lubavitch.com, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cnaan Liphshiz, "It's rabbi vs. rabbi in competing campaigns to overturn Poland's shechitah ban", JTA, 6 August 2013.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Jewish group calls on Polish rabbi to resign following shechitah ban", JTA, 16 July 2013.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "Rabbi evicted from Krakow synagogue must be allowed back, Polish court rules", JTA, 25 September 2019.
- ↑ "Chabad Opens Yeshiva in Poland", Lubavitch.com, 21 December 2005.
- ↑ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland, "Wręczenie Honorowych Odznak „Bene Merito" animatorom współczesnego społeczno-kulturalnego i religijnego życia żydowskiego w Polsce i relacji polsko-żydowskich" (Polish), 7 June 2022.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Cnaan Liphshiz, "Armed guards block Chabad worshippers from entering Krakow synagogue amid dispute among Jewish groups", JTA, 1 July 2019.
- ↑ Chabad Lubawicz, "Kontakt" (Polish), accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Polish court rules ban on ritual slaughter unconstitutional", JTA, 10 December 2014.
- ↑ "Poland rejects shechitah slaughter", JTA, 12 July 2013.
- ↑ Constitutional Tribunal of Poland, judgment of 10 December 2014, ref. no. K 52/13.
- ↑ "Polish Jewish leaders slam lobbying effort to overturn shechitah ban", JTA, 1 August 2013.
- ↑ JTA, "Worshipers blocked from Polish synagogue in inter-community row", The Times of Israel, 1 July 2019.
- ↑ "Chabad Regains Rights to Krakow Synagogue Before High Holy Days", Lubavitch.com, 25 September 2019.
- ↑ "Kraków. Koniec sporu o synagogę Izaaka. Jest decyzja sądu. Roman Giertych: udało się bez siłowego rozwiązania", Gazeta Krakowska (Polish), 25 September 2019.
- ↑ Mendel Super, "22,000 Jewish Refugees on Both Sides of Ukrainian Border Aided by Chabad", Chabad.org, 9 March 2022.