(JTA) — The umbrella group representing the Jewish community of Frankfurt is distancing itself from the city’s Chabad-Lubavitch chapter following a series of alleged instances of “disrespect” shown against local non-Chabad rabbis.

In an open letter published March 20, the Jewish Community of Frankfurt am Main group wrote that the city’s synagogues will no longer provide rooms for Chabad events. The letter cites “increasingly aggressive behavior” and “insults” from Chabad rabbis aimed at two local rabbis, Avichai Apel and Julian Chaim-Soussan.

Apel was hired as a replacement for Rabbi Menachem Halevi Klein, who retired in 2015 after heading the Orthodox Westend Synagogue for 21 years. The Chabad Frankfurt am Main chapter has been holding its services and housing its yeshiva in the Westend Synagogue.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“[It] appears, unfortunately, that one party [in the conflict] expected to be able to demand new roles within the community upon the retirement of Rabbi Klein,” read an editorial on the website Honestly Concerned, an Israel advocacy organization based in Frankfurt.

Among other things, Chabad leaders are accused of barring Apel and Chaim-Soussan from accessing the bimah on Purim and ignoring Apel at a public menorah lighting last Hanukkah.

The Honestly Concerned editorial also described “the interruption of a Sabbath service, completely inappropriate yelling, a scene that shocked members of the community and led to a deepening of splits in the community.”

Chabad leadership has yet to respond to the letter.

“Jewish and religious life in Frankfurt was possible before Chabad and we are ensuring that it will continue to be possible without the involvement of Chabad,” the Frankfurt group said in its letter.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount