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Russia Refuses To Recognize US Court Order On Return of Jewish Book Collection

By Howard M. Friedman

According to Interfax today, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is refusing to comply with an order issued last month by a United Stated federal court requiring the Russian government return a library and archive of Jewish books and manuscripts to the Chabad movement in the United States. (See prior posting.) The Ministry's statement said in part:

The Schneerson library has never belonged to Chabad. It never left Russia and was nationalized because there were no legal heirs in the Schneerson family.... On the contrary, it is American Hasids who must return to Russia seven books from the same collection that they lent from the Russian State Library in 1994 through the U.S. Congress library for two months and have withheld illegally for 16 years now.... Unfortunately, the U.S. judge made an unlawful decision, which cannot be enforced in Russia.... There is no agreement between Russia and the U.S. on mutual recognition and enforcement of civil judgments.

The Ministry's statement said that Russian courts are open to the American Hasidic group to assert its claims.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on August 12, 2010 (boomark / email).