[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 37 (Thursday, March 2, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S1572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        THE CHABAD ORGANIZATION

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, with all the division and conflict in 
politics today, it would take something truly compelling to unite all 
100 Senators, including Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and 
liberals. Well, it has happened. This week I sent to Secretary of State 
Rex Tillerson a letter, signed by all 100 Senators, asking that it be 
conveyed to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The letter supports the 
decades-long quest by Agudas Chasidei Chabad of the United States to 
recover from Russia its collection of sacred religious texts and 
manuscripts.
  Chabad was established in the 18th century in Russia and is today the 
largest Hasidic Jewish organization in the world. The organization's 
past leaders, or rebbes, accumulated this collection of sacred texts, 
which includes a library and an archive and is central to Chabad's 
religious life. The Soviets took control of the library in 1920 and in 
1927 arrested the sixth rebbe and sentenced him to death. He was 
allowed to leave Russia later that year but had to leave the library 
behind. In 1933, the sixth rebbe and the archive moved to Poland.
  In 1940, after both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland, 
the sixth rebbe fled to the United States without the archive. It was 
confiscated, first by the Nazis and then by the Soviets. Chabad has 
since worked to reclaim both the library and the archive.
  It is important to place the letter we sent this week in its full 
context because this is only the latest in a long series of actions by 
all three branches of the U.S. Government to support Chabad's quest. 
Members of Congress, for example, began calling for the return of these 
works in the 1930s. Just weeks before the Soviet Union dissolved on 
Christmas Day 1991, both President Mikhail Gorbachev and a state 
arbitration panel ordered that the library be returned to Chabad. On 
January 24, 1992, the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe 
wrote President Boris Yeltsin, urging him to carry out the court's 
order and return the collection.
  Unfortunately, both President Gorbachev's directive and the court's 
order were effectively nullified when the Russian Federation replaced 
the Soviet Union. Within a few months, however, the U.S. State 
Department expressed ``strong support'' for returning the full 
collection to Chabad. On May 31, 1992, all 100 Senators signed a letter 
to President Boris Yeltsin urging the collection's ``quick release.''
  On February 20, 2005, all 100 Senators signed a letter to President 
Putin, again urging that the collection be returned to Chabad. The 
letter said this: ``The religious texts that Chabad seeks to retrieve 
consist of rare and irreplaceable books, archives and manuscripts on 
Chabad philosophy, Jewish religious law, prayer and tradition. . . . We 
urge you to return these sacred religious texts, archives, and 
manuscripts to Chabad, which would be a significant example of your 
government's commitment to justice, human rights, and religious 
freedom.''
  Chabad filed suit against Russia in Federal court. During this 
litigation, the United States filed statements of interest reiterating 
its ``strong support'' for returning the collection to Chabad. On July 
30, 2010, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered 
Russia to return both the library and the archive to Chabad.
  I am truly grateful to all of my colleagues for your support of 
Chabad and their effort to recover this important component of their 
religious life. As striking as this unity is, I hope my colleagues also 
see it as part of a much longer story of extraordinary faith and 
commitment in the face of loss and persecution. I hope and pray that 
such efforts will be successful and that Russia will respond favorably 
to Chabad's request. It would indeed be a demonstration of their 
commitment to justice, human rights, and religious freedom.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the 1992, 2005, and 2017 
Senate letters to which I referred be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                     Washington, DC, May 31, 1992.
     Hon. Boris Yeltsin,
     President of the Russian Republic,
     Moscow, Russia.
       Dear Mr. President: We understand that you have personally 
     committed yourself to secure the return of the Lubavitch 
     texts, and we appreciate your having taken a stand on behalf 
     of an act of justice.
       When the Senate was in recess, the U.S. State Department 
     issued a statement (copy attached), with which we now wish to 
     associate ourselves. In particular, it is our hope and 
     expectation that you will fulfill your commitment decisively 
     through the quick release of the Schneerson-Agudas Chabad 
     collection.
       Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
                                  ____



                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                Washington, DC, February 24, 2005.
     Hon. Vladimir Putin,
     President, Russian Federation.
       Dear Mr. President: We, the undersigned members of the 
     United States Senate, respectfully request your assistance in 
     returning the Schneerson collection from the Russian State 
     Library and the Russian State Military Archive, to its 
     rightful owners in the United States: Agudas Chasidei Chabad 
     of United States (hereafter referred to as ``Chabad'').
       The religious texts that Chabad seeks to retrieve consist 
     of rare and irreplaceable books, archives and manuscripts on 
     Chabad philosophy, Jewish religious law, prayer and 
     tradition. The first portion of the Schneerson collection was 
     seized by the former USSR around the time of the Bolshevik 
     revolution and placed in the Russian State Library, where it 
     remains to this day.
       The second portion of the Schneerson collection is in 
     storage at the Russian State Military Archive. It had been 
     assumed that this portion of the collection had been 
     destroyed or captured by Nazi Germany during the holocaust 
     and Nazi occupation of Warsaw, Poland in World War II. Chabad 
     recently learned that the Soviet Army captured this portion 
     of the Schneerson collection from the Nazis and transferred 
     it to the Russian State Military Archive.
       Chabad has worked tirelessly to secure the release of these 
     texts, archives, and manuscripts that comprise the sacred 
     heritage of an entire community. On May 31, 1992, the entire 
     United States Senate collectively appealed to then-President 
     Boris Yeltsin to honor his own commitment to return the 
     Schneerson collection. A copy of this appeal is enclosed. 
     Since 1992, however, a mere eight volumes have been released.
       We urge you to return these sacred religious texts, 
     archives, and manuscripts to Chabad, which would be a 
     significant example of your government's commitment to 
     justice, human rights, and religious freedom.
                                  ____



                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                Washington, DC, February 27, 2017.
     President, Vladimir Putin,
     Russian Federation,
     Moscow, Russia.
       Dear Mr. President: We are writing respectfully to reaffirm 
     our support and request for the return of the Schneerson 
     collection of sacred texts from the Russian State Library and 
     the Russian State Military Archive to its rightful owners, 
     Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States (``Chabad'').
       On May 31, 1992, all one hundred members of the United 
     States Senate appealed to then-President Boris Yeltsin to 
     honor Russia's commitment to return the collection to Chabad. 
     On February 24, 2005, all one hundred members of the United 
     States Senate again signed an appeal for your assistance in 
     returning the collection. Copies of these letters are 
     attached hereto. Since 1992, eight volumes of the collection 
     have been returned to Chabad. We hereby respectfully request 
     your assistance in seeing the return of the entire 
     collection.
       Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

                          ____________________