It’s summer in Australia, and despite a depressing economy, the numbers at Camp Gan Israel of Melbourne have grown, says camp director Rabbi Moshe Kahn.

(lubavitch.com) France’s Consul General, Mr. Philippe Lalliot, toured Chabad Lubavitch’s international headquarters in Brooklyn, Wednesday. The Consul General was accompanied by his Press and Information counselor, Marie-laure Charrier and Harriet Mandel, President of Jewish Global Associates. Rabbi Yirmi Berkowitz and Mrs. Batya Lisker from Lubavitch Headquarters. 

During his visit, he met with several members of Chabad leadership and explored the writings and artifacts housed in the library of Agudas Chasidei Chabad.

The Consul General and his entourage also visited the Jewish Children’s Museum and the Educational Institute of Oholei Torah, a boy’s yeshiva where many French students study. There they met with a delegation of French students.

Consul General Lalliot, who has been based in New York since August of last year, serves the French expatriate community. France is home to the largest Chabad community outside of Israel and the United States. There are over 500,000 Jewish people living in France today.

During a meeting with Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, Chairman of the Chabad-Lubavitch educational and social services divisions, the two discussed various challenges facing contemporary Jewish life. 

The Consul General expressed his understanding of these challenges and also voiced his support for continued education. He has taken his three young children to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. “It is very difficult to explain to young innocent children,” he related. “We don’t want to shock anyone, but educating them is so important.”

Throughout his Brooklyn tour, Consul General Lalliot asked many questions regarding Chabad’s history and global efforts, its connection with France, and general Jewish practice. Before leaving, he remarked, “I had an image in my mind that your community was very closed, but it’s exactly the contrary.”

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Staff writer Yaacov Behrman contributed to this report

(lubavitch.com) Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois attended a Chanukah party on Monday in Downtown Chicago, hosted by Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois. State Senator Ira Silverstein, and State Representative Lou Lang joined the party at the James R. Thompson center, where the offices of the State of Illinois are located.

The Governor spoke of the message of Chanukah, of the triumph of light over darkness. He also thanked Chabad for the Menorah that had been set up in the lobby of the center.

Rabbi Daniel Moscowitz, Director of Lubavitch Chabad pointed out that the menorah is lit incrementally, with one additional candle added each night to the menorah. The lesson in this, explained the rabbi, echoing the message of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, is “that we must consistently work to increase light in the world. One must never be satisfied with yesterday’s achievements.”

“This is especially pertinent to the government,” he said, which should consistently enhance its services “towards the citizens they serve.”

After the lighting of the Menorah, a quartet of students from the Lubavitch Mesivta of Chicago sang the popular Chanukah song, Maoz Tzur.

At the conclusion of the event, the Governor met with the Chabad representatives in the state of Illinois.

Two hundred people showed up at Buckhurst Hill Chabad to watch the lightning of a 7 foot menorah built out of clear piping filled with 65 Litres of Single Malt Scotch.

(lubavitch.com) Latkes with applesauce and sour cream may be a familiar favorite, but Pessy Haskelevich is serving them instead with a side of pear and ginger compote.

A Muslim man attacked a Chabad rabbi Saturday night as he was conducting the annual ceremony to light the public Chanukah menorah in Stefenfaltz Square in the city of Vienna, Austria.

The attacker hurled himself at Rabbi Dov Gruzman, principal of the city’s Jewish school run by the Chabad-Lubavitch Chassidic movement, and began punching him, a local resident told Arutz Sheva.

As the rabbi tried to hold off his attacker, the Muslim suddenly bit his victim, severing part of his finger in the process. The Muslim was caught and arrested by police, and was held for questioning. The rabbi was evacuated to the hospital where doctors rushed to reattach his finger.

Gruzman told Arutz Sheva that the Muslim had raced towards the entrance at the beginning of the ceremony and began to curse the Jews who were there and the Jewish people in general. “I tried to hold him off, to keep him away from the entrance and he bit me really hard, and that’s how he injured me,” he said.

The event itself did not discourage Rabbi Gruzman, and in fact strengthened his resolve. “We are glad that such an event occurred,” he said. “Today, because of what happened, we are planning [a much larger event]. We increased the number of sufganiot [Chanukah jelly doughnuts] from 50 to 700 – and this is our answer to the attack and to anti-Semitism.”

However, the rabbi himself will be unable to participate in Sunday evening’s ceremony due to the fact that he is still hospitalized, and being monitored for infection from the bite. Nevertheless, he emphasized, through the Chanukah lighting ceremony he sends his blessing to every Jew around the world.

Reprinted from Israelnationalnews.com

On a rare visit to Hungary this week, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel applauded Chabad-Lubavitch for its work reviving Jewish life in his native country.