On November 4, 2012, the JTA circulated a report relating to
Rabbi Chaim Herzog of Chabad of Melbourne CBD. This misleading and fact-flawed
news coverage appears to have been fed to the JTA as part of an ongoing smear
campaign to discredit Rabbi Chaim Herzog and seek to change the balance of
power of the Jewish outreach efforts in Melbourne’s downtown central business
district (the CBD), an area that is now thriving after 14 years of leadership
under Rabbi Chaim Herzog.
Herzog was appointed as a Chabad Shliach by the late Rabbi Yitzchok
Dovid Groner. According to the official website at
www.chabad.org.au he has operated successfully
in the region since 1998, holding major events in the Parliament, City Square
and Town Hall and hosting a wide array of guests including many senior Chabad
Rabbis and other distinguished Jewish figures.
According to a senior Chabad official and advocate who has taken up
Herzog’s cause, Herzog is the subject of “Rabbinical overreaching” by an
overzealous Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Groner, himself fighting to carve out his
own standing in the major void left following the death of his revered father
in 2008. In 2009, the younger Groner, along with Rabbi Aharon Serebryanski and
Rabbi Yossel Gutnick, were jointly appointed by Chabad headquarters in Brooklyn
as the three Head Shluchim (emissaries) to take over certain responsibilities
of the late Rabbi Groner. According to the senior official and many others, the
younger Groner has overstepped his authority, seeking to act unilaterally after
failing to obtain the requisite support he needs of the other two leaders.
The younger Groner sought to remove his endorsement of Herzog in favor
of David Werdiger and his organization, Jews of the CBD, a non-Chabad
sanctioned mirror organization of Herzog’s Chabad House, commonly known in
Chabad circles as a “mushroom” organization. This is where the rabbinical court
in New York stepped in and issued an injunction against the conduct of Rabbi
Chaim Tzvi Groner.
In what has been referred to as a “turf war”, Werdiger, has been
competing with Rabbi Herzog to attract the same constituents to his events and
holiday programs. This has only intensified in recent years with a targeted
campaign of online character assassination against the Rabbi, which according
to Herzog supporters, has been orchestrated by David Werdiger and his
colleagues. Werdiger is no stranger to the blogging world; indeed, on June 15
th this year, one of his blogs, David
Knows, described to readers how to be a victim and “win a PR war”.
Werdiger’s online activities have become the subject of a criminal investigation
into computer hacking by Victoria Police, and earlier on this year, Police were
called to question Ari Werdiger, the 18 year old son of David Werdiger,
following an assault incident involving physical abuse directed at Rabbi
Herzog.
More recently, Werdiger had issued his own proceedings in a rabbinical
“beth-din” (Court) in Melbourne, only to withdraw such proceedings and litigate
the matter through the secular court system in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.
Chabad of Melbourne CBD today issued the following statement in connection with the actions taken by Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Groner.
Regretfully, once again the smear campaign to discredit Rabbi Chaim Herzog and seek to change the balance of power relating to Jewish outreach in Melbourne’s downtown Central Business District (the CBD) are continuing.
For the record, it is well known and documented that Rabbi Chaim Herzog was appointed as a Shliach by the late Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner A”H to Melbourne’s Central Business District (an area that is now thriving after 15+ years of leadership under Rabbi Chaim Herzog)
Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Groner has once again attempted to fulfill his own personal agenda with libelous actions that are clearly motivated by self-serving goals, including but not limited, to removing Rabbi Herzog’s endorsement in favor of David Werdiger and his organization, Jews of the CBD, a non-sanctioned mirror organization of Rabbi Herzog’s Chabad House, commonly referred to in Chabad circles as a “mushroom” organization. For a number of years now, Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Groner has been ingeniously supporting Werdiger and the mushroom organization in defiance of generally accepted protocols.
Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Groner does not unilaterally have jurisdiction to withdraw the endorsement of Chabad Shluchim. There are three recognized Head Shluchim in Melbourne who were jointly appointed by Chabad headquarters in Brooklyn, namely:
1. Rabbi Yossel Gutnick
2. Rabbi Arel Serebryanski
3. Rabbi C.T. Groner
Pursuant to the Agreements put in place following the passing of Rabbi Y.D. Groner A”H several years ago, a change to an appointed Shliach such as Rabbi Herzog is required to be signed off by all 3 Head Shluchim.
In this case, Chaim Tzvi Groner is acting ALONE. He does not have the required support of the other two Head Shluchim.
Chabad of Melbourne CBD and its duly appointed Shliach, Rabbi Chaim Herzog call upon Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Groner to immediately cease and desist from these slanderous actions of Rabbinical overreaching.
To our supporters and constituents, we thank you for your continuing and ongoing support and advise that it’s business as usual for Chabad of Melbourne CBD.
