Beis Din Rejects Chabad Link to Chossid’s Knesset Bid

Beis Din Rabbonei Chabad in Eretz Yisroel issued a sharp clarification this week after a Chabad chossid was placed on the Otzma Yehudit Knesset list, writing that no individual can speak in the name of Chabad when it comes to political affiliation.

Yossi Goldberger, a 39-year-old Lubavitcher chossid, married with four children, was slotted into the ninth spot on the Otzma Yehudit list by party chairman Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Goldberger has spent recent years working as an advisor to ministers and MKs, and is well known across various chareidi circles and among askanim for helping community members and mosdos navigate government ministries and other authorities.

Following the announcement, the Beis Din released a statement making clear that Goldberger’s candidacy carries no official Chabad backing.

“The inclusion of a Chabad chossid on a political party’s list is intended to associate Chabad with that party,” the rabbonim wrote.

“Any statement, from any source, that the candidate is not acting in the name of Chabad is not sufficient, and this causes a chillul Hashem regarding Chabad, and misleads and deceives the public.”

The Beis Din went further, stating that a chossid may not serve as a member of Knesset on any party list without written approval from the Beis Din itself. Chassidim working within political parties or serving as political operatives, they added, “do not represent Chabad Chassidus at all, and may not use the name of the Rebbe or Chabad in these matters.”

The rabbonim closed their letter with a broader statement of principle. “Chabad Chassidus is not identified with any political movement and rejects any party affiliation or support,” they wrote.

“This does not detract from the responsibility and obligation to vote. The path of the Rebbe, who guided the activities of Chabad Chassidus, is the dissemination of Yiddishkeit and Chassidus to every part of the Jewish people, out of ahavas Yisroel and achdus Yisroel.”

This latest statement builds on an earlier letter the Beis Din issued when the Knesset elections were first announced, in which the rabbonim stated that “the view of the Rebbe is known, that Chabad Chassidus is not a political movement, and we have no affiliation with any party whatsoever. Our business is to spread Yiddishkeit and the wellsprings outward, and to prepare the world for the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu.”

That letter explained that only the Beis Din itself is authorized to state an official Chabad position, and that any individual chossid speaking on the elections does so on his own account alone.

In a radio interview following the announcement, Goldberger addressed his recent appointment directly.

“I am a Chabad chossid, but I am acting as a fully independent person, with no connection to the movement,” he said.

He explained that his candidacy grew out of a longstanding personal relationship with Ben Gvir, dating back more than twenty years, to when the two worked together as parliamentary advisors in the Knesset.

This is not the first time a Chabad chossid’s entry into Knesset politics has stirred discussion. Just several weeks earlier, the announcement that R’ Shabtai Katash, a Lubavitcher chossid, would be entering the Knesset as a Likud representative brought about a similar wave of debate within Anash, with many raising questions about the Rebbe’s longstanding position on chassidim serving in the government and the coalition.