The gravesite of Rebbe Nachman of Breslav zechuso yogen
oleinu is in danger of foreclosure following a Ukraine
Supreme Court ruling regarding a large debt to a construction
contractor who is also a member of parliament. The court
determined Breslav chassidim must pay the contractor $3
million including penalties for a debt that was originally
$100,000.
Someone purporting to represent Breslav signed a contract to
do work on the site, but did not follow through. The
contractor has sued for breach of contract, and is demanding
a penalty payment that was originally specified in the
contract. The central Breslav institutions say that the man
did not speak in their name.
Now site activists are concerned that ownership could be
transferred to non-Jews, who would manage the site
improperly, transforming it into a commercial asset and
harming the sanctity and access limitations.
The Breslav World Center sent Atty. Gilad Corinaldi, an
expert in crisis-solving, to Kiev to speak with the Israeli
Ambassador to the Ukraine, Mrs. Kleitman.
According to Corinaldi, the Ukraine is a signatory to
international treaties that forbid it from selling holy
sites.
