Why should they care what "prominent people in the United States" think?
I think someone like Avigdor Lieberman and others who made aliyah from the USSR, should be obligated to help since the JDL helped Soviet Jewry.
With all his media exposure, is Rabbi Schmuley Boteach considered prominent? With his media appearances and also considering that I believe he's supposed to start a TV show in Israel, would he be considered prominent? Boteach supports I think he'd be in favor of Chaim being allowed to make aliyah. Would Lubab know if Boteach would be in favor of Chaim?
Although I disagree with some things he's said at times, his views tend to be better than many liberal rabbis.
Schmuley has stated the following:
"At every available opportunity the Rebbe reached out to non-Jews. Several times a year, when his live addresses were broadcast on national television, he always addressed the mainstream public. Whether the subject was the need for a moment of prayerful silence in public schools, or a call to greater acts of charity, the Rebbe made it clear that outreach to the widest possible audience was his intention.
Most importantly, he made it a central staple of Chabad outreach to teach the universal code of morality, as embodied in the Bible's Noachide covenant, to all non-Jews. "
He also stated:
"This is a subject that is extremely close to my heart. Three months after the Rebbe's death I was summoned from my station in Oxford to a meeting of the Chabad leadership in London, where I was told that I would have to rescind the membership of 5,000 non-Jewish students because too many in Anglo-Jewry complained that their participation diluted the Jewish character of our organization."
So I think he would be pleased that Chaim supports having a good relationship with Christians, especially those who support the Noahide Laws.
He also has contacts with Giuliani. Giuliani made it known that he considered Arafat to be a terrorist. However, if JTF could get Boteach to write a letter of support for Chaim, I'm not sure if it would be good or not to try and get him to have Giuliani do the same.
There are some conservatives who are so opposed to Giuliani that they will look for any excuse to bash him. If it were to get in the media that Giuliani supports Chaim being allowed to make Aliyah, there'd probably be lots of people who know nothing about Chaim who would try and bash him and consequently, make it look bad for Giuliani.
When I've mentioned Boteach's name on this forum in the past, there have been some disagreements. However, unless anyone else has any other ideas, he might be one of the few people who Israel's courts would consider prominent. I'm not saying he's a better rabbi than most others in the US, just that he's more well-known due to his media appearances.
In summary, I have no idea who from the US, Israel's court would consider to be prominent. I think
someone like Boteach could be good enough. Although Chaim probably disagrees with Boteach on some things Boteach has written or said, more than I disagree with him, I think Chaim could put his differences aside in exchange for an endorsement; they probably agree more than they disagree.
Is Debbie Schlussel considered prominent enough? She's written newspaper columns and sometimes makes television and radio appearances. I think she definitely would write a letter on behalf of Chaim. However, maybe they'd consider her to be too anti-Bolshevik for them. I'm not sure. Olmert would probably go crazy if he knew anything about her and saw a letter of endorsement from her.
Topic: Big News! Chaim Is Applying For Aliyah Again! (Read 19099 times)