San Francisco, CA – Officials say a planned visit to San Francisco by a Russian sailing ship was called off Friday over legal and diplomatic issues.
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The San Francisco Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/rjjC5t) that the 360-foot Nadezhda (na-dezh-da) was due to arrive in San Francisco around 9 a.m. Friday, but just after dawn the ship’s captain was ordered to head to Mexico.
Russian Consul General Vladimir Vinokurov told the newspaper that the ship’s visit was canceled because of longstanding legal problems involving the so-called Schneerson Library, a collection of thousands of Jewish religious books and documents.
The collection is held by the Moscow State Library, and last year a U.S. court ordered Russian authorities to turn the library over.
Vinokurov said he had been told that Russian officials were concerned the ship might be seized under a court order if it were to call at a U.S. port.
Previously, this legal dispute has threatend to block some of the greatest Russian religious art treasures from being displayed at museums in the U.S. In another case, a major Russian balet company has cancelled its U.S. tour. Now, the issue is spilling over into international commerce. Regaining control of these books are important to Chabad but at what price for other vital American interests?
Um… Russia can go jump into a frozen lake. They stole the books. They refuse to give them back. I don’t see what the huge conflict is. All Russia has to do is give them back and everything goes back to normal. Nations of the world have no right to mess with holy things.
Too bad they couldn’t muster so much clout to rescue Shalit or Pollard instead.
The Russians are purposely misinterpreting the US decision and keeping back items and performances that Chabad (and the government itself) could never use for enforcement of the terms of that decision. They want the Americans to see Chabad as villains who are preventing them from enjoying Russian “culture.”
Meanwhile, hardly anyone cares about a ship, the ballet or the icon exhibitions.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe prophesied that when the books are returned, Moshiach is close. So let’s pray the books are returned via some kind of miracle… and Moshiach will be here too.
Where are all the Chabnicks who kvelled when Putin posed with them in photos.
Those who pose with Putin look like Lubavitchers and some were once sent by the Rebbe ZYA but today they are not doing what the Rebbe ZYA wanted from them. They are acting in the sad Russian/Soviet tradition of the rav mi-taam for whom Hashem was secondary to the government, which is everything that Chabad fought against.
To #12
Yes if you know anything about the Lubavitcher Rebbe you wouldn’t write what you wrote. If you don’t want to call him a navi do realize that there has been many things which he said would happen and did happen. Just a few examples. The victory of the 6 day war which not even israel believed would happen The fall of the iron curtain which also no one thought would happen but did. During the golf war when everyone thought they would send nuclear missles he said there wouldn’t be and there wasn’t. The list goes on and on.
So maybe go learn what defines a navi and then go back and comment.