Chabad Rabbi Receives Death Threats

Written in what appeared to be a felt-tipped black marker, the letter said in Hebrew, "BEWARE FOR YOUR LIVES! If Yaakov does not step down from the position that he has taken at Chen 19, WE WILL TAKE HIM DOWN. With thanks, The S.O.S. Society." Oddly, the letters “S.O.S.” were carefully printed in English.

An ominous death threat was carefully dropped last week into the family mail box of Arad's Chabad Lubavitch emissary, Rabbi Yaakov Mendelzohn, by an unknown perpetrator.

An ominous death threat was carefully dropped last week into the family mail box of Arad's Chabad Lubavitch emissary, Rabbi Yaakov Mendelzohn, by an unknown perpetrator.

Written in what appeared to be a felt-tipped black marker, the letter said in Hebrew, "BEWARE FOR YOUR LIVES! If Yaakov does not step down from the position that he has taken at Chen 19, WE WILL TAKE HIM DOWN. With thanks, The S.O.S. Society." Oddly, the letters “S.O.S.” were carefully printed in English.

Chen 19 is the address of the city's Ashkenazi Central Synagogue, where Rabbi Mendelzohn serves as spiritual leader following the death of his father-in-law, former Arad Chief Rabbi Ben Tzion Lipsker z'l, a year ago.

For more than a year, dozens of local Gerer Chassidim have been working hard to intimidate worshipers in an effort to force them from the synagogue, thus enabling the Gerer community to take over the building, as it has done with
others in the city.

There has been violence on a number of occasions, and police are regular visitors to the synagogue due to the constant attempts by Gerer Chassidim to disrupt services both during the week and on the Sabbath.

It is not clear whether the perpetrator(s) of the above death threat have any connection to this group, or not. An investigation is under way.