Eliyahu Poltorak, affirms under penalty of perjury to the SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF KINGS
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AFFIRMATION
THE CROWN HEIGHTS JEWISH COMMUNITY
COUNCIL, INC. a/k/a VAAD HAKOHOL OF CROWN
HEIGHTS,

Plaintiff, - against -
MOSHE RUBASHKIN and
ELECTION SERVICES CORPORATION.

Defendants.
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I, Eliyahu Poltorak, affirm under penalty of perjury:

I reside at 888 Montgomery St. in the neighborhood of Crown Heights. I am a part of the Crown Heights Jewish Community, governed by the Beth Din (rabbinic court) of Crown Heights (the “Beth Din”) and the Vaad Hakahal, a.k.a. the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council (“CHJCC”). Being a married male I am eligible to vote in communal elections governed by the bylaws of the CHJCC.

The Beis Din of Crown Heights has three elected members: Rabbi Yosef Heller, Rabbi Avrohom Osdoba, and Rabbi Yakov Schwei. Rabbi Heller has recused himself from all communal affairs. Over the past three years a rift has developed between Rabbis Osdoba and Schwei creating deadlock on the Beis Din. Rabbi Heller has refused to intervene or to take sides between them. This has resulted in open warfare between the aforementioned rabbis.

Several months ago, Moshe Rubashkin, the Chairman of the Board of CHJCC announced his intention of holding new elections for additional rabbis to serve on the Beth Din.

Mr. Rubashkin has demonstrated time and again that his loyalties lie with Rabbi Osdoba and that he wishes to push Rabbi Schwei out of the Beis Din. See, Exhibits ??

Rabbi Schwei refused to give his approval to this election and announced a ban on participating therein. Rabbi Osdoba lent his support to these elections.

The candidates up for election are all supporters of Rabbi Osdoba’s camp.

Several weeks ago, I began sensing a deep and bitter divide in the community in the run-up to the elections. Having recently graduated from the Columbia University School of Law (my admission to the bar is pending), I decided to put my negotiating skills to use in attempting to mediate between the parties so as to avoid a tragic split in the community.

Up until these events, I had no direct involvement in this conflict. (In fact, my sympathies lay with Rabbi Osdoba, who has served on the Beis Din far longer than has Rabbi Schwei; I publicly urged friends and acquaintances to vote in this election despite the ban by Rabbi Schwei, because I believed elections to be the only way out of the stalemate paralyzing the Beis Din and by extension, the community.) Therefore, I was able to establish a rapport with key players on both sides of this dispute.

When I first began discussing possibilities for a mutually acceptable settlement, I became aware of the fact that, despite Mr. Rubashkin’s assertions to the contrary {SEE EXHIBIT????}, Rabbi Schwei’s camp supported free and fair elections. Their primary objection was to Mr. Rubashkin’s handling of the election in an illegitimate manner.

Last Thursday, April 27th, I negotiated with Mr. Rubashkin all night and hammered out the following proposal: 1) That elections be held within approximately 6 weeks; 2) that the current candidates would be allowed to run, in addition to anyone nominated by Rabbi Schwei; 3) That Rabbi Schwei could pick someone of his choosing to administer the elections.

Avrohom Silver, a key figure in Rabbi Osdoba’s camp, was present throughout most of our negotiations and heard Mr. Rubashkin make this offer.

When I asked Mr. Rubashkin to sign the scrap paper I had outlined the offer on, he reacted with outraged indignity, taking offense at my lack of trust in him.

Upon returning from the meeting at approximately 5 A.M., I e-mailed the terms of the offer to Jacob Herzog, a former chairman of the CHJCC and a key figure in Rabbi Schwei’s camp. {SEE EXHIBIT????} Friday morning, Mr. Herzog replied that he would consider the offer. {SEE EXHIBIT????}

At approximately 1 P.M. I spoke to Mr. Rubashkin and he reassured me that he stood by his offer.

After conferring with his associates, Mr. Herzog accepted the offer at approximately 2 P.M.
I then returned to Mr. Rubashkin and notified him that his offer had been accepted. Mr. Rubashkin replied that at 12:15 P.M., he had spoken via telephone to Rabbi Osdoba regarding an idea suggested by Mendy Hendel earlier that morning. Mr. Hendel had suggested that all concerned parties (i.e., the current members of the Beis Din, their advisers, and the candidates, gather in different rooms in the CHJCC and adjoining Beth Din offices Saturday night, and that several neutral people could then shuttle between them to hammer out a deal.

In reply to this suggestion, Rabbi Osdoba stated his intention to spend the Sabbath with his son’s family in Belle Harbor, Queens and not to return until Sunday. According to Mr. Rubashkin, having heard the rabbi’s belligerent stand regarding negotiations, there was no further room for any agreement.

I then approached Dr. Tzvi Lang, board member of the CHJCC, and attempted to enlist him in support of the deal. Dr. Lang replied: “Whatever Moshe [Rubashkin] says is fine with me.”
On Saturday night, I paid a visit to Rabbi Shlomo Segal, along with Rabbi Pinchas Korf, Rabbi Yekutiel Rap, and Joseph Katzman. All three identified to varying degrees with Rabbi Osdoba’s camp prior to the events described herein. Joseph Katzman is one of Rabbi Osdoba’s most vocal supporters.

We proceeded to explain to Rabbi Segal at length the tragic consequences of continuing with an election rejected by at least half the community. Such action would surely result in a split-up with Rabbi Schwei forming his own Beis Din, leading to an irreversible schism in the community. We also explained to him that it would be in his personal interests to agree to the terms of the offer I had brokered, as then he could run in several weeks and be elected in an undisputed election, rather than in an election rejected by the majority of the community. Rabbi Segal agreed to push for a deal and promised to contact me shortly.

After an hour I had not yet heard back so I telephoned Rabbi Segal. He informed me that he would be meeting shortly with Rabbi Osdoba and Rabbi Zirkind (another candidate). He further stated that Rabbi Osdoba does not trust Rabbi Schwei’s intentions and that he could do nothing to promote the proposed agreement until I had it signed by Rabbi Schwei. I replied that Rabbi Schwei would have to be crazy to sign an agreement binding himself, before the opposing camp even agreed to the deal. He replied that in that case there was nothing he could do. I then suggested a compromise—that I obtain Rabbi Schwei’s signature on the agreement which I would then hold pending Rabbi Osdoba’s decision, and that I provide him with an unsigned copy of the agreement, identical to that which Rabbi Schwei had signed. Rabbi Segal agreed to these terms.

I then drafted an agreement, contacted Rabbi Schwei’s close advisers, and asked them to obtain his signature on the agreement, which they did. See, Exhibit ?

The agreement was written in Hebrew. It stated that: The two undersigned rabbis agree to postpone tomorrow’s election under the following conditions:

1)The elections will take place by June 18th of this year.

2) A neutral third party will administer the elections, and the Community Council will not be involved at all.

3) Either of the two rabbis will be able to approve a candidate and the other rabbi will not be able to challenge him.

4)The elections will take place under the same conditions as presently—i.e., each voter will be allowed to choose whether to vote for 1, 2, or 3 candidates and every candidate receiving more than 50% of votes cast will be elected to the Beth Din.

This represented the offer I had obtained from Mr. Rubashkin, with two minor modifications in his favor: Firstly, I modified the clause calling for Rabbi Schwei to appoint the administrator of the election, calling instead for an independent administrator, so as to avoid accusations of impropriety. Secondly, I modified the clause allowing Rabbi Schwei to add any candidate he wished to the current candidates, to allow either rabbi to approve any candidate he wished with no veto right by the other rabbi. This would allow the three current candidates to run, in addition to any other candidates approved by either Rabbi Schwei or Rabbi Osdoba.

I then delivered several unsigned copies of the agreement to the meeting taking place at Mr. Rubashkin’s house. Mr. Rubashkin, Rabbi Segal, Rabbi Zirkind, and Mr. Silver were present at this meeting. Rabbi Osdoba was not present. I handed the papers to Rabbi Segal, while assuring him that the signed copy was in my possession.

After approximately one hour, I again telephoned Rabbi Segal. He informed me that he was unable to reach Rabbi Osdoba and so could not finalize the deal. We had a lengthy conversation in which I made clear to him that it would be far more difficult, if not impossible, to reach an agreement once the balloting had begun. He replied that he could not commit himself without Rabbi Osdoba’s approval and that perhaps that approval could be obtained in the morning.
Over the course of the night, I contacted Rabbi Shmuel Plotkin, board member of the CHJCC, who was then in Miami. He refused to consider my proposal, telling me to talk to Mr. Rubashkin, as he is the one making decisions.

At approximately 7 A.M., I contacted Rabbi Zirkind, with Rabbi Rap also on the line, and described the proposed agreement to him. (I assume Rabbi Segal showed him the agreement at their meeting.) Rabbi Zirkind replied, “I’m all for it.” He also informed us that he had yet to go to sleep and that he had spent the night pushing for a compromise agreement. I then informed him that I was heading toward Belle Harbor to try to obtain Rabbi Osdoba’s signature. He responded with strong encouragement.

I then drove to Belle Harbor with Rabbis Rap and Korf, both of whom had accompanied me to the previous night’s meeting with Rabbi Segal. On the way, Rabbi Rap telephoned Rabbi Segal and informed him of our plans. Rabbi Segal encouraged us to close the deal with Rabbi Osdoba and offered to speak to Rabbi Osdoba to urge him to sign.

We had difficulty locating Rabbi Osdoba’s son’s home and did not arrive until approximately 7:40. The election was scheduled to begin at 8. Rabbi Osdobo came to the door and informed us that he did not have time to speak as he was running late to prayer services. I handed him an unsigned copy of the agreement and informed him that Rabbis Segal and Zirkind were strongly in favor of the deal. He then telephoned Rabbi Segal who urged him to sign. I then handed Rabbi Osdoba the phone with Joseph Katzman on the line. He too urged Rabbi Osdoba to sign the agreement. Rabbi Osdoba also called Mr. Rubashkin, but despite repeated attempts Mr. Rubashkin did not answer the call.

At approximately 7:55 A.M. Rabbi Osdoba agreed to sign. I then retrieved the copy signed by Rabbi Schwei from my vehicle and handed it to Rabbi Osdoba. Rabbi Osdoba refused to “sign the same page as him [Rabbi Schwei]” and proceeded to sign the unsigned copy I had handed him earlier, which he then handed to me. See, Exhibit ?

At that point, Mr. Rubashkin called back. When Rabbi Osdoba informed him that he had signed the agreement, Mr. Rubashkin began shouting frantically. I was not able to make out what he was saying other than that Rabbi Schwei’s signature was forged. I assured Rabbi Osdoba that the signature was authentic and he accepted my assurances. Rabbi Osdoba reassured Mr. Rubashkin by saying that he could still take back the signed agreement from me.

Mr. Rubashkin continued his frenzied shouting. Rabbi Osdoba responded to Mr. Rubashkin by curtly informing him that he was late for morning services and had no time to talk to him. Rabbi Osdoba concluded by saying words to the effect of, “The candidates themselves do not want to run in an election like this. Rabbi Zirkind kept me on the phone all night saying that he want to withdraw. What do you want from me? I already signed the agreement cancelling the elections. I cannot forbid you from carrying on as Rabbi Schwei has banned this election and I cannot do anything he does, so do whatever you want.” He then hung up the telephone and rushed off to morning services.

I then telephoned Rabbi Segal to inform him of the deal. He stated that he had been on the line with Mr. Rubashkin and Rabbi Osdoba, so he was up to date. He further informed me that Mr. Rubashkin had promised to delay opening the polls by several hours. After Rabbi Osdoba finished the morning services, Mr. Rubashkin would once again confer with him as to cancelling the election altogether. Rabbi Segal concluded by saying, “this is a great thing that you have accomplished.”

Several minutes later, I received a telephone call informing me that balloting had begun. I then once again telephoned Rabbi Segal to ask him what was going on. He reacted with shock and promised to get back to me shortly.

I then returned to Crown Heights, photocopied the agreement, and proceeded to the polling station in the central synagogue at 770 Eastern Parkway. I handed copies of the agreement to Mr. Rubashkin and his associates, as well as bystanders. Mr. Rubashkin loudly proclaimed the agreement a forgery, claiming that I had forged Rabbi Osdoba’s signature.

At approximately 9:30, I telephoned Rabbi Zirkind, informing him of what had transpired in the time since we had spoken. He reacted with furious outrage at the fact that Mr. Rubashkin had opened the polls despite the agreement between the rabbis. He asked me to hand my phone to Mr. Rubashkin. Mr. Rubashkin grabbed the phone out of my hand and flung it violently into a metal garbage bin, causing damage to the phone. I then telephoned Rabbi Zirkind once again. He replied that he was on his way over.

Minutes later he arrived and proceeded angrily toward Mr. Rubashkin. After conferring with Mr. Rubashkin for several minutes he returned to me and asked to see the agreement. I produced both copies of the agreement, signed by the two rabbis. Rabbi Zirkind responded by loudly proclaiming them a forgery. When questioned as to why he considered them forged, he responded that the two rabbis had not signed on the same page. I then informed him that Rabbi Osdoba had in fact refused to sign the same page as Rabbi Schwei. He ignored what I said and returned home.

I then telephoned Rabbi Segal once more, informing him that Rabbi Schwei’s circle was furious at the breach of the agreement and that unless the polls were closed immediately, they would no longer consider themselves bound by it. Rabbi Segal responded that the election is “a nullity,” and that it “has no force whatsoever,” so it didn’t really matter whether the polls closed or not. He went on to assure me that Rabbi Osdoba was on his way back from Belle Harbor and that he would make sure that Mr. Rubashkin closed the polls.

While I was distributing photocopies of the agreement, Rabbi Plotkin forcibly grabbed the pile of papers and attempted to seize them from my hands.

At approximately 10:45 Dr. Lang began telling bystanders that Rabbi Osdoba had agreed to continue the election. I then telephoned Rabbi Osdoba’s office. My call was answered by his son, Rabbi Yakov Osdoba. I asked him to clarify matters and to ask his father to please telephone me. He called me back several minutes later saying that he had spoken to his father, who was then teaching a class at Yeshiva Hadar Hatorah, and that his father stated that this was not really an election but rather “a poll of public opinion” and “a primary.”

I then telephoned Rabbi Segal once again and stated that the state of affairs made a mockery of Rabbi Osdoba and that it was his responsibility to come to the scene and close the polling station. He replied that Benny Raskin was on the way to Rabbi Schwei to obtain his signature on the page Rabbi Osdoba had signed so as to assuage Rabbi Zirkind’s concern. He assured me that the election would be halted within the hour and that the votes were null and void.

Minutes after I had spoken to Rabbi Segal, a bystander telephoned him and asked whether the elections would be postponed. He responded that “a decision has not yet been reached.”

Approximately an hour later, I once again contacted Rabbi Segal and asked him why the election had not yet been cancelled. He answered that Mr. Raskin had not in fact approached Rabbi Schwei. Rabbi Segal then urged me to approach Rabbi Schwei myself to obtain his signature on the same page as Rabbi Osdoba. When I asked why he was going along with this nonsense, despite the fact that he had firsthand knowledge of the circumstances of Rabbi Osdoba’s signing, he replied that he has to respect Rabbi Zirkind’s opinion. I initially refused to return to Rabbi Schwei after such a mockery had been made of this agreement. Nevertheless, I relented and promised to obtain the signature on the condition that Rabbi Segal promise me that he would personally shut down the balloting. Rabbi Segal agreed and promised to do so as soon as I had the signature.

I then proceeded to Rabbi Schwei’s house. Rabbi Schwei was shocked at the strange request and stated that this was a charade. He expressed his outrage that Rabbi Osdoba’s camp was unjustifiably using the separate signatures as an excuse for ignoring the agreement, despite the fact that it was Rabbi Osdoba himself who refused to sign the same page as Rabbi Schwei.
While he was deliberating whether to sign the page with Rabbi Osdoba’s signature, despite the opposing side’s blatant disregard for the signed agreement, I was notified that Dr. Lang had announced in the central synagogue that Rabbi Osdoba had decided to cancel the agreement and continue the election. That mooted the issue and Rabbi Schwei did not re-sign.

Shortly thereafter, Rabbi Osdoba himself appeared at the polling station and cast a vote.
Shortly thereafter, Rabbi Osdoba issued a letter stating: “Whereas there was a misunderstanding with regard to the structure of the elections, a letter went out from me to postpone the elections. However, after further information I have decided that there is no prohibition at all on these elections and that they should continue with all vigor. Also, I agree that the elections should be extended through this coming Thursday, the 6th of Iyar.” {SEE EXHIBIT ???}

At no time during my meeting with Rabbi Osdoba that morning was the structure of the elections mentioned.

Upon information and belief, Shaya Boymelgreen was handed a copy of the agreement when he arrived at the polling station to vote. He proceeded from the polling station to Yeshiva Hadar Hatora where he conferred with Rabbis Osdoba, Segal, and Zirkind, as well as Mr. Rubashkin. He strongly urged Rabbi Osdoba to retract his signature on the agreement and to vote himself.

Upon information and belief, Mr. Boymelgreen is a major supporter of Rabbi Osdoba and is intimately involved in the affairs of the Beis Din and in particular, the Va’ad haKashrus—the kosher supervision arm of the Beis Din. He is known to despise Rabbi Schwei.

Upon information and belief, the previous Sabbath, Mr. Boymelgreen was heard shouting in his synagogue that Mr. Rubashkin should expel Rabbi Schwei from the Beis Din offices and change the locks so that he could not reenter.

Upon information and belief, Meir Eichler, Mr. Boymelgreen’s business partner, was present and also pressured Rabbi Osdoba to cancel the agreement.

At this time Rabbi Segal stopped answering my telephone calls. That afternoon, I proceeded to his house and confronted him regarding the morning’s events. Rabbi Segal indicated that I should approach Mr. Boymelgreen and Mr. Eichler instead of wasting time with the rabbis. When I asked, “Who makes the decisions around here, the Rabbis or the money-men?” he replied, “You see for yourself.” He also asserted that Rabbi Zirkind had approached Rabbi Schwei that morning, asking him to sign the paper signed by Rabbi Osdoba and that Rabbi Schwei had denied. I vigorously denied this, as Rabbi Schwei first heard this demand from me. He then modified the story saying that perhaps he had approached Rabbi Schwei’s people, rather than Rabbi Schwei himself. Upon information and belief, this too is false.

On Wednesday, May 3rd, I once again spoke to Rabbi Segal. He indicated that he intends to assume office based on these fraudulent elections and that he will then invite Rabbi Schwei to submit candidates for another election for additional members of the Beis Din. He indicated that he sees no reason why Rabbi Schwei would refuse such a “reasonable” offer.

I have no interest, financial or otherwise, at stake in this matter other than a desire to see corruption uprooted from my community and to see free, fair, and open elections to a Beis Din accepted by the entire community, rather than the charade that has taken place this week. I have received no compensation for anything I have done in this matter.

Several times over the past several weeks, Mr. Rubashkin has offered to pay me to urge others to vote.

During my Thursday night negotiating marathon with Mr. Rubashkin at the CHJCC office, I heard a reporter for a website call him. He gave the reporter several names of people to interview and then asked the reporter if he has audio/video equipment. When the reporter replied in the negative, he offered to pay for any such equipment and/or studio time out of CHJCC funds in return for the favorable interviews. I heard him say more than once that now “the gates are open” in terms of council funding. At the time, he told me he had already spent over $65,000 of council funds on pre-election publicity. His main advertising push took place after this—over the weekend—including brochures, glossy cards, cars circulating with loudspeakers, etc. etc. Later, he told me that he is paying the company certifying the election approximately $24,000. If his assertions are to be believed, he has already spent well over $100,000 of council money on these elections.

I submit the above information by affirmation, rather than affidavit, because as an Orthodox Jew, I am forbidden from swearing. I understand, however, that my affirmation has the same legal significance as an affidavit and that I am subject to the penalties of perjury in the same manner as if I had given an affidavit.

Dated: Brooklyn, New York
May 5, 2006
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Eliyahu Poltorak