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September 30th, 2007

Jewish conflict turns violent

Community, Chabad vie to control Prague's Old-New Synagogue

Tsila Jerochim and her father, Michael, say that a synagogue should be a place for all Jews to worship, regardless of nationality or orthodoxy.
By Dinah A. Spritzer
 Staff Writer, The Prague Post
April 21, 2005


Tensions over control of Europe's oldest Jewish house of prayer were behind the violent altercation April 9 at the Old-New Synagogue in an emotional dispute between Israeli members of the Chabad movement and locals backing Karol Sidon, chief rabbi of the Czech Republic.

Epithets, temple takeovers and hospital visits have now become a regular if unwelcome aspect in the life of 19-year-old Hebrew teacher Tsila Jerochim, who found herself at the center of the fracas. At 34 kilos (75 pounds) and with a penchant for socks covered in smiley faces, she looks all of 13.

Many of the facts surrounding the fight that broke out in the synagogue's entry hall are disputed.

Both sides acknowledge that the conflict became physical when Jerochim was slapped in the face by a male Sidon supporter named Martin, a member of the Prague Jewish Community (PJC). In response, the man and his friend were beaten by several Chabad worshippers, including Jerochim's father.

Police responded to the scene, and Martin, who requested his last name not be used citing fear of further violence, has filed charges against the Chabad members in the fight.

A videotape of the attack taken from a temple camera is in the hands of the Prague 1 police, who are investigating the assault as a criminal offense. Both sides agree that the incident stems from the ongoing tension in the PJC over its leadership and religious future.

Jew against Jew

Jerochim said the tension in the synagogue turned critical Friday evening, April 8, when about 30 Sidon supporters turned up at the Old-New temple along with Rabbi Sidon, who has been running services at the High Synagogue since last summer. Sidon was moved out of the Old-New Synagogue by the PJC's previous chairman.

The group arrived at the Old-New Synagogue, a prestigious spot for any rabbi, to "take it from Chabad," says Jerochim. "But a synagogue is for all Jews, not for this group or that group. I couldn't understand it."

Jerochim admits telling Martin's girlfriend that she was acting like the Nazis by trying to keep Chabad supporters out of the synagogue.

Chabad is an international, ultra-orthodox Jewish sect aimed at getting all Jews to be more observant.

But Martin says his girlfriend, who confirmed his version of events, told him that Jerochim had called her a "Nazi pig," which Jerochim denies. Upon hearing of the slur, Martin slapped Jerochim in the entrance hall of the synagogue. "I didn't do it to hurt her," he said. "I did it because I thought she was being hysterical and that's what the psychiatrists say you should do in such a case." He added that as many of his relatives had been murdered by the Nazis, he found it unbearable that anyone should utter such an insult in a synagogue.

Hearing Jerochim scream, several Israelis who worship at the Old-New pounced on her assailant and his friend. However, other witnesses, such as PJC Vice President Barbora Rappaport, say that the Israelis had no idea why Jerochim was upset and simply seized an opportunity to engage in violence against two people they deemed as obstacles to Chabad's control of the Old-New.

The two beaten men "ended up seriously wounded — one of them was tugged by his legs on the floor after being beaten on the head which resulted in a concussion," a PJC press release reported.

Fear of Chabad

The closure of the synagogue for services following the violence and the ouster of its American Chabad Rabbi Manes Barash are tied to long-simmering resentments in the PJC. The tension began when PJC head Tomas Jelinek fired Sidon as the chief Prague rabbi, infuriating those who admired him as a personality known internationally and a former anti-communist dissident credited by many with helping to rebuild the Jewish Community after 1989.

Jelinek, who is secular, and Sidon, who is orthodox, had contrasting visions for the community's future, as well as personal differences. They took their dispute to a rabbinical court in Israel, promising to accept whatever ruling came forth.

The court backed Jelinek. Sidon, who had been presiding over services for more than a decade at the Old-New Synagogue, was moved to the more modern High Synagogue. Jelinek appointed Barash the rabbi for the Old-New, where mostly tourists and Israelis now attend his services. The court confirmed Barash's post two months ago.

However, the new leadership of the PJC, which had voted out Jelinek last November — a vote he contests — supports Sidon and wants the synagogue back. So does Sidon, who says Jelinek's appointment of Barash contravened the PJC's bylaws.

"The PJC sent Barash a letter in which it made it very clear that the community does not recognize him as a rabbi of the Old-New Synagogue. The rabbinical court was asking the PJC to act against community interests," said Sidon. He notes Chabad's ultra-orthodox approach was alien to the PJC. "Barash treated the PJC with contempt, especially the youth," he said. The PJC has decided that it will only re-open the Old-New when the Israeli court recognizes its choice, a third rabbi not directly involved in the dispute.

Rappaport said the appointment of Barash was predicated on his building closer ties to Czech Jews, including improving his Czech-language skills. "The community does not want him. He never tried to get closer with the community."

Following the visit of Sidon's supporters April 8, Sidon returned to the Old-New Synagogue the next morning prepared to read from the torah, indicating that Barash should step aside, but he refused to do so.

Sidon then told the congregation that they should all move to the High Synagogue. Following the entry hall fight, the PJC announced that the synagogue was closed to services.

For PJC members such as Martin and Rappaport, a long-term concern is that Chabad will try to forcibly take over the community, as it has been accused of doing in several former Eastern bloc cities, including Moscow, Riga and Vilnius.

Rabbi Barash shrugs his shoulders at these concerns. "There is one difference. The community chairman and Sidon agreed to abide by the rabbinical court's decision. This fight is really not my doing at all."

He jokes that it's not like the Old-New was the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York. "What exactly is it that I want to steal? The handful of people who turn up for services? I don't even get a salary."

Jerochim, meanwhile, says she doesn't understand why the community has, in her opinion, turned her into a villain who provoked a fight. "The saddest part," she adds, "is that Jews were attacking other Jews, which should never happen, especially in a synagogue." Martin took a similar view and called April 8 "the worst day of my life."

— Dan Macek contributed to this report



Dinah A. Spritzer can be reached at dspritzer@praguepost.com




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