Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who recently contrasted Israel’s 108 ambassadors to the thousands of Chabad shluchim, visited the Rebbe’s Ohel on Tuesday.
By Anash.org reporter
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited the Rebbe’s Ohel for the first time on Tuesday, while in New York for diplomatic purposes.
Cohen departed from Israel on Monday for an official visit to New York where the UN Great Assembly is underway. During his visit, he will conduct meetings with the foreign ministers of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Turkey, Greece, Singapore, and Azerbaijan, among other officials. Cohen will also speak at the UN Future Summit.
Since his appointment as Foreign Minister, Cohen has overseen a list of ambitious projects. He visited Sudan to lay the groundwork for peace talks, traveled to Turkey after the major earthquake they experienced, and arranged that Oman would open the air space for Israeli planes to pass through.
During his travels, he has come in contact with many Chabad shluchim around the globe. In places such as Ukraine, Belgia, Croatia and other locations, he met with the shluchim and was able to see their dedication first-hand.
He expressed his admiration for Chabad shluchim at a recent event at the Knesset, saying that “Israel has 108 ambassadors, but Chabad has thousands of ambassadors spreading Yiddishkeit around the world.”
His admiration led him to clear time from his busy schedule to pay a visit to the Rebbe’s Ohel. His day had been full, with meetings planned with 20 heads of state and foreign ministers. But he cleared a slot, drove over from the UN to the Rebbe’s Ohel, and then immediately back to the UN after his visit.
Cohen’s visit to the Ohel on Tuesday was planned by brothers Mendi and Shlomo Rizel, Lubavitcher journalists who are also personal friends of the Foreign Minister. He was greeted by Rabbi Abba Refson, director of Ohel Chabad, Rabbi Avremi Deitsch, and Dudi Farkash.
Counterpart might be the word you are looking for, instead of competition