Incredible that as much as I disagree with you on the necessities of Lazar's actions, you hit the nail on the head with Cunin - and through Krinsky nuch! He finally does something proactive, and this is what he does! Chazal were truly wise in saying Habatalah Meviah Lidei Zimah - Zimah on many levels.
guravitzer | 04.27.07 - 1:00 am | #

let me explain something here,

Chabad has nothing to do with Jackson-Vanik, putin wants chabad to push to end it. he wants a favor from chabad.

Chabad wants something first, they want the seforim, (besides for the fact that chabad cant go saying "we say russia is not like it was" while they continue to illeagaly hold seforim just like the commies did!!!)
eli | 04.27.07 - 2:16 am | #

Lubavitch have made a big issue about these books:Are these books such a big deal?
I'm going to state this here:Lubavitch will never get these books back! When Warsaw was burning what bothered them were these books.They spent precious funds to try get them out, funds that could have been put to real good use.
Norman | 04.27.07 - 4:03 am | #

Norman, you have no idea what you're talking about. You're repeating formulae you've accepted from others, without any examination. That Chabad will never get the books back is true, at least partially due to Russian stubborness. Warsaw has nothing to do with this.
guravitzer | 04.27.07 - 4:07 am | #

Not to flame the anti Cunin fire but as a factual report my friends in Moscow always, for years, told me that the person who is responsible for the books still being there is Cunin himself. They say these are the causes:

1. Even though Cunin brought Kogan, he did not listen or consult anyone who was from Moscow and knew the local mentality so to speak. He came to Moscow with the assumption that he knew how to do things better.
2. Following this route Cunin deliberately antagonized key bureaucrats who it turn became intransient and like Guravizer says stubborn.
3. My friends do not see any reason for the book to remain in Moscow expect for the fact the Cunin ticked off the Russians.
I don’t know if this is true but this is what I have been told.

P.S. I would remind you that the period when Cunin was in Russia, was the time when they divvied up the entire country. Some grabbed oil, others land, others aluminum, real estate, diamonds ;-), etc. The entire regions of the country were stolen or bestowed as feudal property. Forget the lousy books. It took a special skill not to get them. And Cunin succeeded in this, an amazing feat! And now he and Krinsky are making noise about the amendment? What a joke.

Tzemach Atlas | Homepage | 04.27.07 - 8:22 am | #

I repeat someone like Abramovitch can corner the largest in the world aluminum supply and the Jewish books that nobody reads is a national treasure? The latter myth is by the way a deliberate invention to save Cunin and Co, from the utter embarrassment. He probably came to Russian telling that he knows senators, as if they care. But he did not know and didn’t ask the right people how to deal.

Abramovitch could have gotten the books out in 5 seconds flat, I am sure.
Tzemach Atlas | Homepage | 04.27.07 - 8:59 am | #

finally, why should I still care?
Tzemach Atlas | Homepage | 04.27.07 - 9:05 am | #

lovely quote:

"Subsequent to Gorin’s comments, a California Chabad leader active in the library recovery effort, Rabbi Boruch Cunin, issued several forceful statements indicating that Gorin was not an authorized spokesman for Chabad. In response to a Forward inquiry, the executive director of the Russian Chabad federation, Avraham Berkowitz, confirmed that Gorin was in fact the federation’s spokesman. Later, in a phone message at press time, Berkowitz said that Gorin was “not authorized to speak about the library,” and that Cunin was the only person authorized to comment on it. He did not address the Jackson-Vanik disagreement."
Tzemach Atlas | Homepage | 04.27.07 - 10:13 am | #

Let's not forget who started this whole mess and who holds the final (al pi teva) authority to remove it. The situation is similar to the circumstances of WWI when Jewish soldiers serving in opposing armies who were forced to fire upon fellow Jews. In a word, golus, and who among us is adehering to higher standards within our own daled amos.
Truman | 04.27.07 - 11:00 am | #

Tzemach, LOL! A clusterf--- B'Laz.

Didn't you show Gorin's PR "skills" at one point? With the firing of what's his name? Not that I agreed with you on the actual issue, but the PR was definitely not that good.
guravitzer | 04.27.07 - 4:06 pm | #

There go those Lubavitch 'rabbis' making a big fight over nothing.This library has nothing that Judaism can't live and prosper without.Can someone even post if any of the books are one of a kind?
Reminds me of the silly Menorah lighting wars.Nothing good came out of the Lubavitchers legal victory, other than some politician lighting a menorah and Lubab equating Channukah with Kratzmech
Baltimore | 04.27.07 - 6:32 pm | #

Lubab 'rabbis':Long on beard, short on 'seychel'
Baltimore | 04.27.07 - 6:33 pm | #

Tzemach, you're attracting Tzig's crowd...
guravitzer | 04.27.07 - 8:46 pm | #