UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN:
THE SCHNEERSON COLLECTION AND HISTORICAL JUSTICE


APRIL 6, 2005

COMMISSIONERS:

U.S. SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK (R-KS)
CHAIRMAN
U.S. SENATOR GORDON H. SMITH (R-OR)
U.S. SENATOR KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R-TX)
U.S. SENATOR SAXBY CHAMBLISS (R-GA)
VACANT
U.S. SENATOR CHRISTOPHER J. DODD (D-CT)
U.S. SENATOR RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD (D-WI)
U.S. SENATOR HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY)
VACANT

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH (R-NJ)
CO-CHAIRMAN
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FRANK R. WOLF (R-VA)
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPH R. PITTS (R-PA)
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ROBERT B. ADERHOLT (R-AL)
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MIKE PENCE (R-IN)
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE BENJAMIN L. CARDIN (D-MD)
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE LOUISE MCINTOSH SLAUGHTER (D-NY)
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ALCEE L. HASTINGS (D-FL)
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MIKE MCINTYRE (D-NC)


WITNESSES/PANELISTS:

U.S. SENATOR NORM COLEMAN (R-MN)

AMB. EDWARD B. O'DONNELL, JR
SPECIAL ENVOY FOR HOLOCAUST ISSUES
DEPARTMENT OF STATE

RABBI BORUCH SHLOMO CUNIN
DIRECTOR
CHABAD-LUBAVITCH ON THE WEST COAST
SENIOR EXECUTIVE MEMBER OF AGUDAS
CHASIDEI CHABAD-LUBAVITCH
AND THE DELEGATION APPOINTED BY THE LUBAVITCHER REBBE

RABBI MENACHEM MENDEL SCHNEERSON

MARSHALL B. GROSSMAN ESQ.
ALSCHULER GROSSMAN STEIN & KAHAN LLP
ATTORNEYS FOR AGUDAS CHASIDEI CHABAD-LUBAVITCH

JON VOIGHT
ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING ACTOR
ADVOCATE
HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES

LEON FUERTH
RESEARCH PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
VICE PRESIDENT ALBERT GORE

RABBI JOSEPH WINEBERG
NOTED AUTHOR ON JUDAISM
SENIOR MEMBER
CHABAD-LUBAVITCH

RABBI YEHUDA KRINSKY
FORMER ASSISTANT CHIEF-OF-STAFF
TO THE LUBAVITCHER REBBE

REBBE MENACHEM M. SCHNEERSON
CHAIRMAN
INTERNATIONAL CHABAD-LUBAVITCH SOCIAL SERVICES
AND EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
SENIOR EXECUTIVE MEMBER AND SECRETARY

AGUDAS CHASIDEI CHABAD-LUBAVITCH.

RABBI ISAAC KOGAN


The hearing was held at 2:30 p.m. in Room 216 Hart
Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., Sam Brownback, Co-chairman, Helsinki
Commission, moderating.

[*]
BROWNBACK: Call the hearing to order.

I thank you all for joining us today. We just got a vote posted
in the Senate, and I understand here's a 3:15 vote, I believe, in the
House.

The way we're going to operate this is I'm going to hold my
opening statement for a little bit later on. I will get it in here
during the hearing.

Senator Coleman has a limited schedule; can't be with us for very
long. I'm going to go to him for his opening statement. And then I'm
going to turn it over to Congressman Smith to run the meeting in my
absence until I can get back from the vote. Then I'll continue, and
he'll run over to his vote after that.

I apologize for this musical chairs, literally, type of operation
in a very important and key hearing. But we've just got a series of
votes that are taking place, and we want to get this meeting going.
We've got some excellent testimony on a topic that I hope to get a lot
of focus on and interest in moving this on forward.

So with that, I want to turn first to my colleague from the
Senate, Senator Coleman, for a brief statement that he would have on
this hearing and this topic.

COLEMAN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I do want to thank Chairman Brownback for holding this very
important hearing and for inviting me to share a few words. This is
an important issue, and we need to shine a light on it. And that's
what's being done today.

Persecution's taught the Jewish people a lot about education. As
people that have often been dispossessed, we know that the only true
wealth is what you carry with you in your heart and between your ears.
For the Jewish people, studying our sacred books is more than an
academic exercise; it is an essential part of Jewish identity.
The time has come for Russia to return these books to their
rightful owners; it is simple as that. The saga has been going on for
90 years. Commitments have been made and have been reneged. Courts
have ruled and these rulings have been ignored.

I am here as someone who has marched for Soviet Jewry in my
youth. Now, there is no doubt that Russia has made some important
progress in those days. But anti-Semitism is still a problem in
Russia. And Russia's failure to return these books, the Schneerson
Agudas Chabad collection to return these books to the Chabad community
to study and use in preservation is simply unacceptable.

I've been working on this issue for some time now, and I can tell
you that few issues have generated the high level of unqualified
bipartisan support as this noble effort has. The Senate leadership
has been unequivocal in their support. Secretary Rice, during her
confirmation hearing, committed to me that she would raise this issue
with her Russian counterparts.

In my letter to President Putin, which gathered the signatures of
all 99 of my Senate colleagues, 100 United States senators, was given
to President Bush for his meeting with President Putin in Bratislava
earlier this year. It is an issue that is getting a lot of well-
deserved attention.

We would not be here today without the tireless efforts of so
many in the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. My good friend, Rabbi Fellah
(ph) from St. Paul, I know is here today, the indomitable Rabbi Cunin,
whose spirit and energy is so moving. Others have joined this fight.
I was pleased to meet with Jon Voight, the great actor and great
humanitarian who is here with us today. And I am thrilled that
Chairman Brownback is using the forum of the Helsinki Commission to
raise what I believe is a fundamental question of religious freedom
and the rule of law.

One of my favorite quotes is from former Prime Minister David
Ben-Gurion, Israeli prime minister, who once said, "Anybody who
doesn't believe in miracles is not a realist." That's why we're here
today. After decades of frustration, we need a breakthrough. Let's
make this miracle happen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

C. SMITH: Thank you very much, Senator. And I do want to thank
you and Chairman Brownback for convening this hearing.

This week, as we mourn the departure of a devout man of the
Christian faith who was a tenacious fighter against anti-Semitism,
Pope John Paul II, we are reminded of the great men of the Jewish
faith who struggled at the risk of their lives and fortunes to
preserve a priceless library of Hasidic writings while the chaos and
brutality of fascism and communism raged all around them.

As co-chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in
Europe, I am proud that this institution is presenting the story of
the Schneerson Collection today.
We are honored to have a number of distinguished guests in this
room who suffered greatly at the hands of the Soviet government due to
their association with Rabbi Schneerson. Their bravery and
perseverance, as has been capsulated in their written statement for
the record, is a testament to the power of faith.

The return of the collection is an issue that the Congress and
the U.S. Helsinki Commission have followed closely since the early
1990s. We had hoped that with goodwill, patience and observance of
the rule of law the disposition of the collection would be resolved by
now.

I understand that the Russian government believes it has a legal
case for keeping the books in Russia. However, Chabad has presented
voluminous and impressive information to support its position. And I
am unable to understand why the supreme arbitration court decision in
favor of Chabad was not carried out.

We are informed that the collection is being transferred to a
separate facility in Moscow where the physical conditions are better
than the main state library. This would seem to represent progress,
but as someone once said, "Nothing is resolved unless it is resolved
justly." I hope this hearing will help to point to a just resolution
of this.

I would like to yield to my good friend and colleague, the
ranking member on the Helsinki Commission, Mr. Cardin, for any opening
comments he might have.

CARDIN: Let me thank Chairman Smith for his leadership on this
issue and so many issues involving the human dimension of the Helsinki
Commission work. And I want to thank Senator Brownback for conducting
this very, very important hearing.

I'm going to put my entire statement in the record; I want to
hear from our witnesses. But let me just make one point, if I might.

The Helsinki obligations are very important obligations signed by
55 states. They are rather general in nature as to what we commit to
do and have a legitimate right to question the actions of other
countries as to whether they're living up to their Helsinki Commission
commitments.

But we judge that by specific actions. It's the specific action
that speaks to whether a country is adhering to the principles of
Helsinki.

Russia is not today by its failure to return this very important
collection. They should do it. They should do it now. And I think
this commission's hearing underscores the priority of our commission
in this undertaking.

I thank you all who are here today for being here to join us in
this hearing.

The Schneerson Collection represents the cultural history of a
community that was destroyed during World War II. And its rightful
owner is entitled to this collection. And I believe that today's
hearing will give us additional information so that we can continue to
make this point.

We will not be satisfied until justice is done. That is what
we're entitled under the Helsinki process. And this hearing is, I
think, an important part of us carrying out that responsibility.

Thank you.

C. SMITH: Thank you very much, Mr. Cardin.

The chair recognizes the president of the Parliamentary Assembly,
Alcee Hastings, the gentleman from Florida.

HASTINGS: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And I shall not
take a long time.

I echo yours and my colleague, Mr. Cardin's, sentiments as well
as those of Senator Coleman. I thank you and Senator Brownback for
calling this very important hearing.

I'm delighted that our first witness is all of our good friend
who has labored actively in response to many requests regarding our
rightful property owned by all Jews, not only here, but throughout the
world.

Ambassador O'Donnell and I had the good fortune of being at lunch
together yesterday at the Anti-Defamation League. And many of the
same kinds of issues were discussed.

From the history of war reparations to the recent controversy
regarding the Hungarian gold train, we, especially those of us here in
Congress, are keenly aware of the sad fact that in addition to lost
lives, Europe's Jewish communities lost irreplaceable and invaluable
artifacts during the war years. When we discover that such items have
been found intact, it is only natural and just that we will want to
ensure their safe and complete return.

The hard work that has been put forward by the Chabad community
and the Lubavitch is deserving of some resolution. It is our hope
that this hearing will expedite the return of these critically
important documents in the name of the Schneerson Collection and
historical justice.

With that, Mr. Chairman, with your permission, I ask unanimous
consent that my entire statement be entered into the record.

C. SMITH: Without objection, your statement will be made a part
of the record. And all members who would like to submit record
statements will be so done.

Let me just now introduce our first very distinguished witness, a
friend -- a good friend. Let me amend that: a great friend of this
commission who has been a strong and articulate voice on behalf of the
rightful cause of those who are seeking property restitution and other
important aspects of restitution, much of it attributable to World War
II. And that is Ambassador Ed O'Donnell.

I would just say to the assembled audience, when we embarked on
the Berlin conference on anti-Semitism last year as well as the Vienna
conference before that, Ambassador O'Donnell was a great friend and a
very informed and articulate person who provided us very valuable
information.

And so, Ambassador O'Donnell, thank you for the tremendous work
you're doing, and we look forward to your statement today.

O'DONNELL: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And thank you for
that introduction. I appreciate that.

And thank you, CSCE commissioners, Mr. Cardin.

Congressman Hastings, thank you for your comments as well.

And it's a pleasure to be here. And thank you for the invitation
to discuss with the commission the Schneerson Collection. And I will
make a brief summary of remarks. And I would appreciate my written
statement be entered into the record.


C. SMITH: Without objection, it will be put in the record.

O'DONNELL: Thank you.

This complex issue has been on our diplomatic agenda with Russia
for many years. The fate of the Schneerson Collection resonates as an
issue of basic fairness for members of Congress and for Americans of
all religions and faiths. My testimony will address past U.S.
government efforts in support of a resolution of this issue: also the
current U.S. government position and the current Russian position as
Russian officials have conveyed it to us.

The Schneerson Collection consists of two parts, the Schneerson
Library, a collection of religious texts, and an archive that Chabad
discovered at the Russian military archive in 2003. So that we can
distinguish between the two separate entities, I'll use the term
"library" for the items we have known about for almost two decades and
the term "archive" for the more recently discovered materials. The
term "collection" will be what I'll use for the two entities together.

Since the early 1990s, the United States government has strongly
supported the efforts by Chabad to obtain the Schneerson Library. Our
efforts have been at the level of presidential summits as well as in
cabinet, ambassadorial and working-level diplomatic discussions.

In 1992, Acting Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger denied
the Russian State Library, formerly the Lenin State Library,
assistance under the Freedom Support Act. He made this decision as a
policy matter based on the Russian State Library's continued
possession of the Schneerson Library.

In 1993, the United States received a political commitment from
the Russians, in the form of a memorandum of understanding, to
transfer the Schneerson Library to a facility that was both readily
accessible to the Chabad community as well as better suited for the
protection and conservation of fragile and valuable documents. The
government of Russia formerly established the Center for Oriental
Literature in 1993 under the umbrella of the Russian State Library,
thus creating a new home for the collection.

The original plan called for the transfer of the Schneerson
Library to the Center for Oriental Literature to take place by March
1994. The building designated by the Russian government for the new
center, however, required far more extensive renovations than foreseen
originally.
Unfortunately the center was only opened in 2003. We understand
that the Russian State Library expects to complete the transfer of the
Schneerson Library to the Center for Oriental Literature in May of
this year.

A second subject of the discussions was a library-to-library
loan, which was arranged in 1994 between the Russian State Library and
the Library of Congress, this under the MOU. The loaned books are
still in the United States, and the terms of the loan have been the
cause of continuing disagreement between the two parties.

In 2002, the Russian State Library permanently gave a number of
volumes from the Schneerson Library to the Marina Roscha Lubavitch
synagogue in Moscow. The Schneerson Library had more than one copy of
these volumes, and I understand this is approximately 39 books.

This administration remains firmly committed to working with the
Russian government and the Lubavitch community to resolve this issue.
Each of our ambassadors to Russia over the past 15 years have been
personally involved in this effort. Our embassy in Moscow monitors
events concerning the Schneerson Collection closely and maintains
contact with all the parties involved.

In 2003, Ambassador Vershbow suggested to both the Russian
minister of culture and to Chabad that the two parties meet with him
at the embassy for a roundtable discussion of the Schneerson Library
issue. And the ambassador and the embassy continue to offer this
proposal as a way forward.

I also want to acknowledge the helpful and important
interventions by members of Congress on this issue, the most recent
being the letter to President Putin signed by all 100 members of the
U.S. Senate. Senior White House officials conveyed this letter to
President Putin's delegation at the February 24th Bratislava summit.

Russian officials have frequently referred to the Schneerson
Library as a national treasure, a part of Russia's cultural heritage.
They cite various laws and decrees as providing the basis for Russia
to retain the Schneerson Library, which they point out was created in
Russia and has always been in Russia.

Russian officials maintain that the divestiture of the Schneerson
Library would violate Russian law and would also establish a legal
precedent for the return of other cultural property nationalized in
the wake of the Russian Revolution.

Despite a political commitment to negotiate a resolution on the
final status of the Schneerson Library, the Russians now maintain that
they are prepared only to discuss the use of the library and not its
transfer.

In closing, I would note that this hearing brings the Schneerson
Library and archive to public attention, which we very much welcome.
We hope that this hearing will help both parties to realize the
importance of reaching a mutually acceptable solution.
For Chabad, the collection has strong and understandable
religious value. Chabad members want to be able to benefit from the
teachings of their rebbes. According to Chabad leaders, having
limited, periodic access to the collection does not serve that
purpose.

For Russia, the collection bears witness to the activities of a
vibrant Jewish group for nearly two and one-half centuries.

Mr. Chairman, it is now up to both parties to identify their
respective interests and to seek an arrangement by which to further
and protect those interests. If these hearings help to accomplish
that objective, they will have done a service to us all.

Thank you very much, and I look forward to your comments and
questions.

C. SMITH: Thank you very much, Mr. Ambassador. And thank you
for your work on this.

And I would just note that all of us were very encouraged when
the president did raise this in Bratislava as well as Secretary Rice
when she was undergoing her confirmation, when she made it clear that
this would remain a very important part of our dialogue with the
Russians.

My understanding is that President Bush will be meeting with
President Putin on May 9th to celebrate the victory over the Nazis. I
wonder if it will be raised there as well. And hopefully with the
added backdrop that to me and to my colleagues on the House side and,
of course, for the senators -- and you pointed out 100 senators have
signed that letter -- it is dismaying beyond words why they are
dragging their feet and not only dragging their feet, moving in the
opposite direction and obstructing what seems to be an extremely
unfair position.

There are other issues between the Russians and ourselves,
including Chechnya and other issues, that are much more vexing and are
not as deliverable, it would seem to me, as this one. So I would hope
that the Russians would realize how dismaying this truly is that they
are continuing down this misguided path.

I would also note for the record we did invite the Russians to be
here to present testimony to the commission. We frequently do that.
We have ambassadors and Ben Cardin and I and Alcee. We go to other
capitals and give representation on behalf of our nation. So there is
no real precedent involved here. It is the normal course of what the
Commission on Security and Cooperation does. And they have decided to
opt out.

They do have submitted some materials that we will include in the
record, but it would, I think, have been very helpful had they been
here to see just how strongly all of us feel in a bipartisan way and
in a bicameral way and with the executive branch as well.

So any comments you might have, especially with regards to the
May 9th meeting with Putin.

O'DONNELL: OK. If I may, Secretary Rice, in response to Senator
Coleman, since that time when she said we would continue to push on
this issue of the Schneerson Collection, we certainly have done that.
Ambassador Vershbow and his staff have been in contact with the
Russian State Library, the Ministry of Culture, the government
officials at various levels, here in Washington, the State Department,
the White House with the Russian embassy here.

Also I would say that we continue to use every appropriate
opportunity to raise this issue and will continue to do so. And, of
course, you mentioned the summit in Bratislava at the end of February
when we delivered the letters to President Putin's delegation.

Secretary Rice will be making a trip to Moscow the 19th and 20th
of April. And she intends to raise this issue in this her first visit
to Moscow since becoming secretary of state. And that's what we see
as the next step.

There will be other actions on our part and concrete measures to
keep pushing this issue and that it remains a part of our agenda.

I don't have the specific information about the president's
meeting in May, but our focus for the next step certainly is Secretary
Rice and her raising it during her visit to Moscow later this month.

C. SMITH: I appreciate that.

Mr. Cardin?

CARDIN: Well, let me first thank Ambassador O'Donnell for his
service to our country and for your testimony here today. It's been a
pleasure to work with you on these issues.

And I think your testimony is very clear, that it is the position
of our country that Russia should return the balance of the Schneerson
Collection as soon as possible. We said that in December of 1997 when
some volumes were returned, so we clearly have a position on this.

And I understand the diplomacy, understand how in dealing with
Russia and the former Soviet Union for many years that they somehow
think that these issues are going to go away and that we won't be
interested in the future. Well, they have an awakening here. We are
going to stay involved in this issue until we succeed in reaching a
just solution, the return of the collection. And I think that is very
clear by our hearing here today.

So what I would ask, Mr. Ambassador, is this: that I am very
much encouraged by the State Department raising this issue at the
highest levels with our president and secretary of state who will
raise these issues at meetings of their counterparts. I would like to
have a clear understanding as to what the current status of the number
of volumes, et cetera.

And I don't know whether we have that or not, but I think it
would be helpful for us if we could know what volumes -- percentage
still remain under Russian control and what has been released and
whether we think that's an accurate number, whether we have a good
sense as to the expectation of how much of the collection still
remains that we're interested in getting returned. I think that would
be helpful for us to have those numbers.

And then lastly, I would ask that you coordinate, as you always
do, the work of the State Department, the work of the administration
with the work of the commission -- because I think we have a common
strategy -- so that we can be the most effective. We'll have meetings
with our counterparts in the Parliamentary Assembly coming up as early
as next week in Copenhagen, and we'll have additional meetings here in
Washington in the summer.

So it'd be helpful if we could just stay completely up to date as
to the status of the responses that you're getting from the Russian
Federation so that we reinforce what the secretary is doing, what the
president is doing with our counterparts in the Russian Duma.

Thank you.

O'DONNELL: Thank you, Congressman.

In terms of the numbers, the results are disappointing. The
library itself consists of 12,000 volumes, 381 manuscripts. The
archive is an estimated 25,000 hand-written pages. So there are two
different elements to the Schneerson Collection both that have a
different history, the library having been taken by the Soviet
government after the revolution, the archives as a part of World War
II and the Holocaust.

And to date, one volume was given to Vice President Gore in 1993.
Seven volumes were transferred in the inter-library loan program
between the Russian State Library and the Library of Congress under
the MOU. And then approximately 39 volumes were transferred on a
permanent loan basis to the Marina Roscha synagogue in Moscow.

We understand from the Russian embassy that they will also have
another permanent exhibit of some type. But again, we haven't seen
this. And that would be in the Jewish center in Moscow. But that
remains to be seen.

But certainly, the results are disappointing. And our basis of
this is the MOU and the political commitment by the Russian government
to both safeguard the collection and make sure it's secure and
catalogued and also to continue the dialogue on the eventual
disposition of the Schneerson Collection. And that's what we will
continue to push on. And that second part is equally important.


CARDIN: So we are making progress then in the documentation but
not in the return, is that right?

O'DONNELL: Well, there has not been -- the last amount
delivered, I think, was in 2002, 2003. But that's on a permanent loan
basis. But again, it's very small.

And I think certainly in terms of our objective, it's to -- we
have several objectives: one, to safeguard the collection and make
sure that the Center for Oriental Literature, when it opens in May is,
one, an adequate facility -- our embassy has visited that, our
officials -- but also the important issue of access; that the Chabad
community can access the library, the Center for Oriental Literature
for religious purposes.

But also that second part of it of continuing the dialogue. And
that's where we've got to keep pushing the Russians, that that's not
the end of the story, just the adequate facilities, that that's an
interim step to safeguard it. But we very much are going to continue
to push on that issue of the disposition with the objective, of
course, of helping Chabad obtain the Schneerson Collection.

CARDIN: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Ambassador.

BROWNBACK: Congressman Hastings?

HASTINGS: Thank you very much, Senator. I didn't see you come
back in on the rotation.

To our friends in the Lubavitcher and those that are assembled
here, as the chairman has said, we rotate out for votes. And we, Mr.
Smith and Mr. Cardin and I, have to go all the way over to the House
side. Senators have the good fortune of being able to step down the
hall. In short, we apologize to you for having to leave to go and
vote. And we'll try to get back as quickly as possible.

It's, kind of, hard, too, to apologize for working. I say that
all the time to constituents. But I'm sure that you all understand
that.

When you look at the history of this matter, I think, Ambassador
O'Donnell, first, thank you for the clarity and the brevity of your
remarks. And I know the depth of your sincere conviction, as well as
those in the State Department and the administration, is demonstrated
by the continuing efforts that have been put forward.
But when you look at the history of this matter, if you date back
all the way to World War I and the seizure that took place at that
time and then the follow-up seizure of the collection after World War
II, I think it important at least that some of us emphasize that these
papers, this historic collection, was seized and was not donated. And
I think that in and of itself is a distinction, although I have not
read the court opinions. And that's the thrust of my question in two
parts.

One: To what extent is the impact of the federal courts decision
with respect to Russia returning the documents? And if I'm not
mistaken, the Russian supreme court has already ruled favorably on
this matter. And then what effect does that have on the federal
court?

And then my final question is is there any specific timeline, not
the administration's -- but to the administration's knowledge that the
Jewish community is looking to secure the release of this collection?

It's never too late to right a historic wrong. And as my
colleagues have said, we intend to continue to raise this with our
interlocutors that our counterparts in the Russian Duma and the
Parliamentary Assembly. And you can be assured that we will. And we
hope, Ambassador, that we coordinate our efforts.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

BROWNBACK: I thank you, Congressman.

Mr. Ambassador, I apologize for not hearing your testimony and
for having to leave. I do want to ask a couple questions, and they
may be redundant, given that I wasn't able to be here. And I
apologize for that.

Ambassador, to the very point of the issue, the president will
soon be traveling to Russia, will soon be meeting with President
Putin. I think he really should aggressively put at the list of items
amongst the top items to address the return of the Schneerson
Collection.

It is something that the Russian president, the Russian
government has in their operation to be able to convey. They can
resolve this issue that's been left simmering for far too long.

As we all know, as you certainly know and the president knows,
these are not just merely a collection of books. These are a
connection to the divine. They are extremely important. They cannot
be measured in value or worth by any means. And they need to be where
they belong and in the community of interest that owns them, that
reveres them, that uses them. And the sacred text belongs to them,
that they could see and have and learn and grow from.

It's a bit like having the secret book of the cure to cancer and
you know it's there, but you can't get access to it, but you know it's
there. And you want it. Only it's much more than that than a
physical issue. It's a spiritual issue.
And I really hope we can put this up on the agenda, high on the
agenda when the president meets with President Putin here the first
part of May.

O'DONNELL: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you for the
invitation to speak today and for holding this hearing.

And I just would like to emphasize that Secretary Rice had
answered Senator Coleman that she would continue to push this issue.
And we've continued to do that.

Ambassador Vershbow and our embassy in Moscow and here in the
State Department, White House officials and continuing to push on the
basis of the MOU, which is a Russian political commitment from 1992 to
both safeguard the Schneerson Collection and to continue to discuss
with us with best efforts to resolve the disposition of the Schneerson
issue.

Now, Secretary Rice will be going to Moscow April 19th and 20th.
And she intends to raise this issue. And that is our next step.

BROWNBACK: It is on her agenda to raise at that time?

O'DONNELL: Yes, sir.

BROWNBACK: Good.

O'DONNELL: And as I think you know, President Bush met with
President Putin in Bratislava at the end of February. And the letter
from the 100 senators was conveyed to the Russian delegation as a part
of that summit meeting. And so, we're continuing to push on this
issue.

And I understand your comments about the presidents meeting in
June. And I don't have information today on that, but certainly our
next step to focus on is Secretary Rice and her meeting in Moscow.

BROWNBACK: And then after that, I would ask that you would
convey to the administration that it be raised with President Putin at
the next time when they meet.

O'DONNELL: Yes, sir.

BROWNBACK: And it seems to me to be a fairly clear and quite a
doable thing for the Russian government to deal with. And I have some
great deal of difficulty understanding why it hasn't occurred when the
clear value of this and its clear ownership is obvious.

O'DONNELL: Well, from the Russian embassy, I can tell you what
they have conveyed to us is that they consider this to be a national
treasure and a part of their heritage and would set a precedent for
return of other archives and books and so on taken by the communist
government around the time of the Russian Revolution.

From our standpoint, we go back to that MOU and that political
commitment from 1992 that we will continue to talk about this and also
safeguard the collection. And there are a number of objectives here,
but certainly safeguarding the collection, access by the Chabad
community for religious purposes are two. And that's where we're
working as well.

But again, as an interim measure, not as the long-term solution.
The long-term solution has to be -- and certainly is our position on
record -- is to help the Chabad community obtain the Schneerson
Collection.

BROWNBACK: Well, I hope you'll push that aggressively within the
administration. And it's something that's time. This has gone on for
a long time, and this is time for it to happen and for it to move on
forward.

Mr. Ambassador, thank you very much for joining us.

O'DONNELL: Thank you.

BROWNBACK: I appreciate your willingness to testify. And I
appreciate also your willingness to continue to press this issue with
some clear degree of strength of interest on this.

This should not be continuing. I understand they may view it as
part of a much bigger picture, but I would hope, if nothing else, they
could see a reason to separate it out for the sacredness of the text,
although I would think they also should deal with the bigger-picture
issue of if you've got things that were not conveyed to you but
acquired by other means, it seems that that should be reviewed as
well.

Thank you for being here today.

O'DONNELL: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

BROWNBACK: I apologize for how this is moving. But I wanted to
put in a statement at this point in time and present a portion of it
that I didn't get to at the speed earlier.

I'm pleased with all the people that are here today and the
interest in this topic.

Today's hearing is an effort by the Jewish Chabad community and
the United States to recover the Schneerson Collection of sacred
Jewish texts that is now in possession of the Russian government. And
our purpose is to try to give this community a chance to tell their
story and the history of these texts. As tragic as that story of
survival and faith is, it is also a story of hope and perseverance and
what it means to live spiritual lives.

There are many in the room today who have seen and lived through
unspeakable horrors during World War II and the Holocaust.

As a matter of fact, are there any Holocaust survivors that are
here today? And if they are, I would be honored if you would see fit
to stand. Would you please stand if you're a Holocaust survivor? My
goodness.
(APPLAUSE)

Thank you. You honor us greatly by your presence.

You know, it is an unspeakable thing that you have witnessed and
have been through and that your community has experienced. It's also
brought an insight into genocide, mass killing. Today is the 11th
anniversary of the Rwandan massacres that took place: 800,000 people.

Even as we're here today, a genocide exists in Darfur, Sudan,
that many in your community are involved in. And I'm sorry, deeply
sorry for what you experienced. It's also brought a light to that
experience that's happened in other places as well.

But thank you very, very much for being here and honoring us with
your presence. I hope afterwards, if we have some time, I can greet
some of you individually. I would very much appreciate that.

The value of the Schneerson Collection of sacred Jewish texts is
not financial, but immeasurably spiritual. They are a link between
humanity and divinity. In that sense, they belong to all of humanity
and on behalf of which the Chabad community has been entrusted with
their safekeeping.

On May 9th of this year, leaders from around the world will be in
Moscow to celebrate the end of World War II in Europe at a time when
the Soviet Union and the free world fought together to defeat Hitler
and the Nazis. It would be a welcome gesture by President Putin, on
the occasion of civilization's victory over fascism, to order the
return of the Schneerson Collection to its rightful owners.

Mr. Putin, I should add, has distinguished himself with many
positive gestures toward Russia's Jewish population. In June of 2002,
he issued a medal of courage to a Russian citizen after she was
injured trying to remove a booby-trapped anti-Semitic poster near
Moscow. In addition, President Putin has on various occasions
strongly and courageously condemned anti-Semitism in Russia. Jewish
culture is thriving today to a degree that would have seemed
completely unimaginable 20 years ago.

I hope the stories we hear today will persuade the Russian
government to reexamine its position on the Schneerson Collection and
return the original texts to the organization that Rabbi Schneerson
designated to seek its return.

As I mentioned, the U.S. government has been engaged for many
years regarding the Schneerson Collection. In addition to the efforts
by former President Clinton and Vice President Gore, President Bush
also raised the issue of the collection with President Putin at a
recent meeting. And on two separate occasions, all 100 members of the
Senate signed letters appealing to Presidents Yeltsin and Putin.

And I know of very few issues -- I don't know of another issue
where 100 members of the Senate, every one, has signed the letter. I
don't know of another issue.

(APPLAUSE)

To me, that bespeaks of the clarity of this issue.

During her confirmation hearing on January 19th of this year,
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated that the administration
will, quote, "very much push," end of quote, on the issue of the
Schneerson documents. And we look forward to hearing how that policy
is being implemented.

I'd like to thank members of the community that are here today
and have prepared written accounts of their persecution in Eastern
Europe and the Soviet Union for being associated with Rabbi Schneerson
-- that they were persecuted for that. They have provided inspiring
narratives that will be entered into the written record. And we will
also be hearing some of the testimony.

Given the number of witnesses at today's hearing, I'd like to ask
the witnesses to summarize their statements and to observe the time
limits. Because of the number of witnesses that we have here, I will
be running the clock and will run these lights here on a five-minute
basis. And the reason is to really just try to keep things moving
along. It's not a hard and fast rule, but we really do want to try to
keep the hearing moving forward.

Your full statements will be a part of the record for the hearing
itself. So what you will be putting forward in writing will be there.

I'd like to ask the panel members on the second panel to now come
forward and take their seats, if you would.

On this second panel, we'll hear testimony from Rabbi Cunin,
senior executive member of Agudas Chabad community -- if I
mispronounce some of these words, I apologize, and some of these names
-- Jon Voight, Academy Award-winning actor and advocate for human
rights issues; Rabbi Joseph Wineberg, who survived the bombing of
Warsaw with Rabbi Schneerson and preserved parts of the Schneerson
Collection; Leon Fuerth, former national security adviser to Vice
President Albert Gore; Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, former assistant chief of
staff to the Rebbe Menachem M. Schneerson; Marshall B. Grossman,
Esquire, representing the Agudas Chabad community in the legal effort
to recover the Schneerson Collection.

I'm delighted that each of you are here today. As I mentioned,
we will run the time clock, if we can get that started when we get
going here. I am very pleased that each of you would join us today.

Rabbi Cunin, I believe is here. Yes, please, would you open the
testimony of this second round? Thank you for joining us. Good to
see you again.


CUNIN: Chairman, Senator Brownback, all of the wonderful members
of our Congress, of our State Department, the White House, President
Bush, Secretary of State Rice, I am here today as a spokesman for our
rebbe. I have nothing to say.

I stood with our rebbe, whose spiritual presence can be felt in
this room. As we returned to the rebbe, Rabbi Alonov (ph) and myself,
to Rabbi Kogan (ph) from our delegation was able to get from the KGB
in Kiev the last audience with the rebbe before his stroke. And the
rebbe held gently a picture of his father, Rabbi Yitzchock, who died
in exile because of the KGB. The rebbe gently held the letters of his
mother, Rebbitzen Chana, begging for the release of her husband who
was imprisoned for baking matzah for Passover and sharing it with
others. And those letters were never sent anywhere because all they
sought to do was to destroy anyone who had any connection to Rabbi
Schneerson.

As the rebbe's books lie in cold, frigid cellars in the Russian
State Library, as the rebbe's manuscripts -- ancient manuscripts with
the handwriting of the Alter Rebbe, founder of Chabad, lie untouched
by human hands for close to 60 years, as potatoes lie in sacks, in the
freezing cellars of the military archives. I am here on behalf of the
rebbe to first say how much the rebbe's appreciation and blessing is
to this great country. God bless America.

America was the one who opened its arms to the Chabad movement
with the coming of the previous rebbe here in 1940. Americans were
the ones who saved his lives; the lives of all of those that were
saved is only because of the intervention of this great country. God
bless America.

You will hear from the other members of our panel all the beauty
that lies in these books, those sparks, the soul trapped in isolation,
in loneliness, their lives in danger, the lives of the sparks, because
of their horrific conditions that the physical papers that they are
written on find themselves in.

Eight hundred years ago Maimonides wrote (inaudible) whose books
are entombed in these prisons, "There will come a time" -- as the
rebbe told us, "(inaudible) do what you could do to make an end to
this horrific suffering."

Maimonides wrote, "There will come a time there will be no more
war, no more suffering. (inaudible)." Eight hundred years ago
Maimonides wrote this, that the period is coming of goodness and of
kindness with the redemption that will cover the face of the Earth as
the waters cover the bed of the sea.

Thank you. God bless you.

BROWNBACK: Thank you, Rabbi. Thank you, Rabbi.

We'll next have Jon Voight.

VOIGHT: I'd like to pass for the moment, Senator.

BROWNBACK: OK.

Rabbi Wineberg is who I had next. And we will also have -- there
is an additional witness I did not announce, Rabbi Isaac Kogan will
also be testifying.

But, Rabbi Wineberg, are you prepared to testify?

WINEBERG: I would like to thank you...

BROWNBACK: Let me get that microphone up a little closer, if you
could. Thank you. Thank you very much.

WINEBERG: May the Almighty bless you all for this great
gathering for what you will accomplish, with God's help, for mankind
in general -- not only for the Jewish people, but for mankind in
general.

It's a very serious matter, and people are in a very serious
mood. And we were told by our sages, talmudical sages, that they had
the power, the godly power to put a whole philosophy in a few words,
that always one should begin with a little light sense; call it a joke
or whatever.

I would like to say the first thing that I always say that
English is my mother tongue: My mother didn't know the language, and
I don't know the language.

(LAUGHTER)

Another thing that also our sages taught is us to begin with a
word of praise and honor for the host.

And in a sense we are today the guests of the very, very great
institution called the Helsinki Commission. May I make a statement
that every head like a Helsinki -- such an institution in the '30s, in
1938, 1939, perhaps, and maybe more than perhaps, that 60 million
people that perished in the Second World War would not perish.

(APPLAUSE)

Unfortunately the forces of evil started doing things wholesale,
not just to kill one person, several persons, the entire world.
They're out, God forbid, against the entire world, including
themselves with the suicide bombers and so on. And any good act like
this to save treasures of spiritual and moral values for which are not
only for the Jewish people, it's for the entire mankind, because the
entire mankind take from our Bible, from our Talmud and so on. And
you could never know what one saying could accomplish -- one saying.

I had the great merit to observe the rebbe in the most difficult
times, in his most difficult days, in Warsaw when they bombed Warsaw.
And (inaudible), may his name be erased, Hitler said a statement that
he is going to make Warsaw flat. He flattened out Warsaw. And on
such a day, the day before Rosh Hashanah, before the new year -- that
was in 1939 before Rosh Hashanah.

I was standing with the rebbe, and it was under bombardment
across the street. A six-story house fell, and the entire house was
destroyed. Many, many casualties. We went into each and every house
in Warsaw was a system that had a yard, a backyard. And we were
staying between walls in order to -- shrapnel from the bombardment
would not hit us.

And I took the rebbe -- point at them, two suitcases. One was
one of these books, perhaps as a symbol one. The other one was the
rebbe's phylacteries, tefillin, and prayer shawl standing there.
Seeing later how the rebbe in the most difficult days was so concerned
about the library, about the archives and so on, I had a deeper
understanding why we are called the People of the Book -- that's what
we are called, the Am HaSefer, the People of the Book.

Because at base (ph) I just remembered late after I was
interviewed -- I just remembered in 1947, I went in a mission from the
previous rebbe to South Africa.

Over there there was a Rabbi Hasdan (ph). He was in Stockholm at
the beginning of the war. And he showed me letter after letter about
where the rebbe had written to him because the books were supposed to
go -- those books that were in Warsaw -- to go to Stockholm and from
Stockholm to the United States because the rebbe was hoping to come to
Israel before the rebbe came to the United States. One letter after
the other -- when the rebbe was very much worried about his own
children, the success of the present rebbe and his own daughters and
so on and then about his spiritual children, the students of the
yeshiva. At the same time the rebbe had shown such concern about the
books.

May I just make it short? God bless you for taking up an issue
which is the concern of the entire mankind. And by saving it, you are
saving -- like a statement also from our sages: Saving one soul is
like saving an entire world.

Here by saving such a thing, you have removed a blemish for the
entire world that was not active enough to save us when we were at the
Holocaust. And also to see to it that these treasures should come out
openly, and people should learn from these beautiful words (ph) and
with them and with all of you together to meet the righteous messiah
speedily.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWNBACK: Thank you, Rabbi. Thank you. Beautiful.

And when you say it's not just for your community, it's for the
whole world, I say amen to that. A gentleman, Rabbi Sherman that
maybe some of you know in New York, has sent me several editions of
interpretations of the writings of the Talmud and then interpretations
by the sages. And periodically I'll pull those out and look.

And I feel like I'm a spiritual child there drinking of that same
well. And one can only imagine then what's in this set of books and
then how much we starve humanity when they're left in the cold. They
need human contact. They need contact with souls to be able to
flourish.

And we are the poorer. Mankind is the poorer when that doesn't
occur. Thanks for continuing to push that.

Leon Fuerth: Thank you very much, Professor, for joining us.

FUERTH: It's a great honor.

I must say that when I was a staffer up here, I used to sit back
where my former colleagues are now sitting. And little did I imagine
ever winding up on this side of your table. But it's a very good
opportunity, and I treat it as a great honor.

Before I begin, I'd like to note simply that we transmitted
electronically a copy of a message from former Vice President Gore.
At some point, I can turn over to you a hard copy of it for your file.


BROWNBACK: Thank you.

FUERTH: You already have my statement. And in keeping with the
need for speed, I want to just touch on the reasons why as a senator
and then as part of the Clinton/Gore administration, a decision was
made to pursue this issue and why it was pursued with such tenacity.

I think there were two fundamental things in play. One of them
was an understanding of the meaning of these books rather much in the
same way that you, sir, understood them.

I mean, now that we're in the age of the microfiche and the
floppy disk, it's not quite the same to have a library. But when
you're in the presence of the physical objects that have passed
through the hands and the minds of those who have gone before you,
that is a connection which future generations may miss as we move from
paper to electronics and from reality into the ether.

These books are sacred, not only because of what they contain,
which is a record of a spiritual struggle to understand the will of
God, but they are also sacred because of who has owned them and spent
their lives pouring over them and has used them to teach younger
generations. We understood that, as do you.

Secondly, at the particular period of time when we first met,
this community -- and I'm not using the royal we; it's then-Senator
Gore and myself as his staffer -- Russia had emerged from the Soviet
Union under very uncertain circumstances. It was threatened all
around by chaos. You couldn't tell whether that country would
collapse entirely, whether it would be taken over again by the
communists, whether or not it would be taken over by a man on
horseback.

So you watched for signs about which way this new government was
going. And we thought that their fidelity to their pledge to return
this book was a bigger symbol and a bigger indicator of where they
were really going to go.

We understood that they were surrounded by opponents. I remember
very vividly seeing an edition of a Russian newspaper printed by
Pamyat, a right-wing fascist organization which was very vocal in
those days. It contained cartoons of Jews. And I remembered years
ago getting a book from the Anti-Defamation League showing the way in
which Nazi newspapers portrayed Jews as cartoon figures. And I took
the book off my shelf and discovered it was the same symbols over
again.
And so, I understood that there was going on in front of us a
fight over which way Russia would go. And these books were an
indicator of how things were going to transpire.

And finally, there is the question of the rule of law, whether or
not when you go to a court of arbitration and you get a decision, the
decision can be enforced by that court. And in Russia, that was not
the case. And these books became a symbol of progress or lack of
progress in that direction.

Finally, because I was directly involved, I want to mention the
MOU. That MOU was negotiated to be interim. It was a middle step for
confidence building and to help secure the physical well-being of the
books until such time as their final disposition was made. It was
negotiated with the clear understanding that it did not compromise
either side's position as to what should be the end state of the
books.

But the U.S. government in those years always made it clear that
in our view the proper location for the library was with the
Schneerson Collection in New York, and the sooner, the better.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWNBACK: Thank you.

During questioning, I want to discuss with you some of the
conversations you had with Russian officials at that time, too.

Rabbi Krinsky, let's go to your testimony, if we could, at this
time.

KRINSKY: Chairman Brownback and all the esteemed members of the
Helsinki Commission, I want to assure you of the profound gratitude of
Chabad-Lubavitch communities and beyond all around the world for your
realization of the importance of this issue and for your concern and
the time you are devoting to it. God grant you success.

In 1957, I was appointed a member of the secretariat of the
rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of blessed memory. I served the
rebbe in that capacity for 40 years. During those years, I was
intimately aware of the rebbe's deep concern and hope that the
Schneerson Collection would be returned to its rightful home.

Those raised in the Chabad tradition cherish these books and
manuscripts. To us, their value is not about art and perhaps not even
sanctity. It's about family. These books are like human beings.
They give life to life.

There is no question that the Schneerson Collection at the heart
of these hearings was wrongfully seized. There is no question, and I
needn't tell you, that they were seized neither for love of Judaism or
interest in the scholarly works of the Chabad rebbes that motivated
the seizure of the Schneerson Collection. There is no doubt that
withholding them today rewards the evil gain of a dark, sinister and
destructive past.
In September 2000, I attended the dedication ceremony of the
Chabad-Lubavitch center in Moscow, the Marina Roscha synagogue that
was mentioned before. President Vladimir Putin was there, and he
spoke. He addressed the thousands of people gathered in the plaza
before the new edifice and before the international media.

He spoke passionately in praise of Lubavitch work in Russia and
expressed deep regret and apologies for the persecution that Lubavitch
suffered at the hands of the earlier Russian regime.

Mr. Putin spoke with admiration for the accomplishments of
Lubavitch in Russia, for its effectiveness in rebuilding Jewish
communities and Jewish life throughout the vast country.

He talked of the value and virtue of Chabad's education network
of schools that are finally, he said, providing Jewish children with
the education they need and deserve and its ramifications for the good
for the larger Russian population.

And then Mr. Putin pledged to do whatever he could to help
Lubavitch in its vital work for the benefit of the Jewish people.

Following that ceremony, I had a private conversation with
President Putin. He was interested to learn that both my parents were
born and raised in Russia. He gave me reason to believe that justice
and love of peace and goodness are values he personally subscribes to
and aspires to and that they are part of his vision as a world leader.

The return of the Schneerson Collection under his tenure would
offer genuine and lasting testimony of his allegiance to justice and
the values of a free and just society.

I think you will agree that the position we are in here today as
we sit here, where Chabad is forced to plead for the return of its
books, is implausibly and patently absurd. They belong to us; they
should be returned to us without any further delay.

I have also submitted a full written statement for the commission
and would be happy to answer your questions if there are any.

BROWNBACK: Thank you, Rabbi. Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

Marshall Grossman, who has represented the legal efforts to
recover the Schneerson Collection?

GROSSMAN: Mr. Chairman, thank you.

BROWNBACK: Yes, sir.

GROSSMAN: And thanks to all members of the commission, to Shawn
Woo (ph), to John Finnerty (ph), to your remarkable staff.

I learned of the work of your commission in Moscow in helping
Anatoly Sharansky and Eda Neudell (ph) before they were victims of
show trials and later exiled, both internal and to Siberia. I never
thought that I would be before you one day.

My colleagues Seth Gerber (ph) and Jonathan Stern (ph) and I have
been working on the legal front to try to right an injustice. We went
through the legal system in Moscow. We played by the rules. We won
in the trial court and in the supreme arbitration court. Those two
courts held that this library -- the archives were not known to be in
existence at that time -- that this library had not been nationalized;
that it was owned by Rebbe Schneerson.

And then a funny thing happened on the way to execution. A sole
deputy or assistant in ex parte proceedings without notice to anybody
on the Chabad side issued an order purporting to nullify the court's
decisions.

Secretary Eagleburger saw through that when he found -- I don't
know what it means as a policy decision; I'm not a nuance guy, I'm a
direct guy -- when he found that there was a final enforceable
judgment ordering the return of these books that had not been
executed. That's what Secretary Eagleburger found.

To attempt to enforce this order before the ex parte conduct met
with the most hideous of treatment at the hands of the Russian State
Library. Many of the rabbis sitting here were threatened by Russian
State Library police officers when they attempted to retrieve the
library.

Library officials told them that the library was closed because
of excess contamination of dust and microbes. They could not get
access to these books which Russia now claims to be a national
t, reasure.

The head of the manuscript department at the library got on a
bullhorn and incited thugs outside of the library to inflict bodily
harm on many of these rabbis who are sitting here today.

The press did not respond very favorably in Moscow to the
judicial decrees. Both Pravda and an extreme right-wing publication
said that the reason why the "Talmudic yids" wanted their books back
was because they hid the secrets of Jewish crimes against Christians.
That's what these men have gone through.

The Russians fault us for suing in the United States. We can't
use self-help to get these books back. So we are now seeking legal
recourse in the United States.

This commission did not ignore the rulings of the courts in
Moscow. On January 24, 1992, this commission wrote and requested
President Boris Yeltsin to return the library to Chabad.

We spoke earlier of 100 senators signing a letter, and a critical
letter, just a couple months ago. It was the second time it was done.
May 31, 1992, all 100 senators signed a letter to President Yeltsin.

Interim agreement? State Department listen clearly: That
agreement is dead. Moscow has not performed. The United States has
performed. When Chabad sent eight high-speed, $50,000 worth of
microfilm machines to that library to duplicate that library
consistent with the interim agreement, they were turned away and
unable to even photocopy the library. It is a dead letter. The time
to return those books is now.

National treasure? National treasure accumulated during the
course of some of the most vicious persecution, death squads and
interrogations, including interrogation into imprisonment of the
Lubavitch rebbe. That's a national treasure? Moscow, you have a very
strange way of showing what you consider to be your national
treasures.

Mr. Chairman, you and this commission understand what a national
treasure is. These men are national treasures. The men and women of
Chabad are national treasures, and they deserve to be reunited with
their family, which are the books and the manuscripts, the teachings
of our people.

I thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWNBACK: Thank you very much.

Rabbi Isaac Kogan?

I want to introduce this witness adequately. He's a former
refusenik and a member of the community in Moscow, the delegation
appointed by Lubavitcher rebbe Rabbi Schneerson to secure the return
of the Schneerson Collection. So this is a key additional wit, ness. ,, , , <, BR>I'm delighted that you are here to join us and very much
appreciate your traveling to be with us here today.

KOGAN: Thank you.

BROWNBACK: De nada.

KOGAN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Today it is my honor, my dear
fellows, to stand before you and tell you about these books and these
collections of those who passed away and those who perished looking to
protect these books and who studied from these books.

Today marks the day this week when, in 1938, 10 students of Rabbi
Schneerson were taken out to be shot only for one reason: for their
association with Rabbi Schneerson and his teachings. These were
friends of my grandfather, who was also put to death in 1950.

Today I'm going to report to you a book that will bring forth the
history of the Lubavitch community.

Today is a very special day for the Jews of Russia to receive
their freedom. Today freedom in Russia for Jews is where anybody can
go to Israel, if they so wish to. They can go to school, Jewish
schools. They can practice i