Senior Russian official: Chabad Lubavitch is a neo-pagan cult

Assistant Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Alexei Pavlov wrote in an op-ed that he believes “Neo-pagan cults [have] gained strength in Ukraine,” naming one of them as the Chabad-Lubavitch hassidic movement.

Chabad is the most dominant Jewish group in Russia and Ukraine, making this a shocking statement that was perceived negatively by rabbis and emissaries. “The main life principle of the Lubavitcher followers is the supremacy of the sect’s supporters over all nations and peoples,” Pavlov added.

"The main life principle of the Lubavitcher followers is the supremacy of the sect's supporters over all nations and peoples."

Assistant Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Alexei Pavlov

Russian chief rabbi condemns "vulgar antisemitism"

Russia’s Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar strongly condemned these statements and categorized them as “vulgar antisemitism.”

Lazar wrote a letter to Pavlov in response to his remarks. “Unfortunately, the article contains a position that is difficult to grasp, other than an insult to millions of Jewish believers, including the vast majority of Jews in Russia,” Lazar wrote.

“Lubavitch Hassidism, the religious movement of Chabad, is not a sect, but a stream in Judaism,” Lazar wrote. “Moreover, today, it is the largest movement within the hassidic world. 90% of the rabbis working in the Jewish communities of Russia belong to Chabad and I myself am also a Lubavitch hassid,” Lazar stated.

As for the Chabad ideology, Lazar said that contrary to “the fictions,” of Pavlov, Chabad “resolutely rejects idolatry, while at the same time respectfully supporting all religions that teach belief in one God.”

“A considerable part of the movement’s social, cultural and educational projects are intended not only for Jews, but for everyone,” Lazar shared.

“Pavlov’s logic can be called nonsense, vulgar and antisemitism, but this is a new type of old blood libel, and if they are uttered by a member of the Russian Security Council, this poses huge danger [for Jews],” Lazar stressed. He said he demanded “an immediate and unequivocal response from [Russian] society and [Russian] authorities,” on the matter.

In his op-ed, Pavlov gave an example and said that Jewish Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoisky “is a Lubavitcher hassid, an adherent of the ultra-Orthodox religious movement.” He added that “a number of other Ukrainian oligarchs belong to this movement, in particular Victor Pinchuk who is the son-in-law of the second President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma.”