Yossele Schumacher ( he, יוסל'ה שוחמכר, yi, יוסל'ה שוכמאכער; spelled in the Soviet orthography; born 1952) is a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
-born
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
cause célèbre
A cause célèbre (,''Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged'', 12th Edition, 2014. S.v. "cause célèbre". Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre ,''Random House Kernerman Webs ...
within
Israeli Jewish
Israeli Jews or Jewish Israelis ( he, יהודים ישראלים, translit=Yehudim Yisraelim) are Israeli citizens and nationals who are Jewish through either their Jewish ethnicity and/or their adherence to Judaism. The term also include ...
society. Schumacher was abducted by his
Haredi Orthodox Jewish
Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
grandparents to prevent him from being raised as a Secular Jew by his parents, and was found in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
after an extensive international search by
Mossad
Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...
before being returned to his parents' custody. Schumacher's abduction led to an early major polarization among Israeli Jews due to disagreements between Orthodox Jews, who largely supported the abduction, and Secular Jews, who largely opposed it.
Background
Yossele Schumacher was born in 1952 in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
to secular Jewish parents Alter and Ida Schumacher. His maternal grandparents, Nachman and Miriam Shtrakes, were conservative
Haredi Jews
Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
Hasidic
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
sect. In 1958, the family immigrated to Israel, where Schumacher's parents settled on a secular
kibbutz
A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
, but after running into financial difficulties they asked his maternal grandparents to look after him instead. The Shtrakes had settled in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and joined the Breslov community there, and agreed to look after Schumacher, sending him to a religious boarding school. A few months later, the financial situation of Schumacher's parents improved and they asked for his return to their custody, but the Shtrakes, determined to raise him as a Hasidic Jew, refused due to the Schumachers' objection to bringing him up religiously. The Shtrakes also accused the Schumachers of planning on returning to the Soviet Union to raise the boy as a
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
, which was an accusation that would often be voiced by Haredi Jews. The grandparents decided to hide the boy within the Haredi community in Israel, and Nachman Shtrakes, together with his son Shalom, arranged for Yossele to be hidden away.
Abduction
Yossele Schumacher was hidden in various Haredi
enclaves
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
in Jerusalem,
Bnei Brak
Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an are ...
,
Safed
Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...
,
Rishon LeZion
Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan ar ...
, and
Komemiyut
Komemiyut ( he, קוֹמְמִיּוּת, lit="sovereignty") is an Hasidic moshav in south-central Israel. Located in the southern Shephelah near Kiryat Gat, it falls under the jurisdiction of Shafir Regional Council. In it had a population of . ...
. Israeli police launched a search operation for him, and the
Israeli Supreme Court
The Supreme Court (, ''Beit HaMishpat HaElyon''; ar, المحكمة العليا) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction.
The Supreme C ...
ordered the Shtrakes to return him to his parents by 15 February 1960. The grandparents refused, insisting that the parents were planning on returning to the Soviet Union, and Nachman Shtrakes was subsequently imprisoned, but still refused to divulge any information. The Haredi couple in Bnei Brak that had briefly hidden him was also imprisoned. With police still searching for Schumacher, it was decided within the Haredi community that he needed to be taken out of Israel, and they now needed to find someone who could smuggle a small child out of the country. Rabbi Abraham Eliyahu Maizes of the
anti-Zionist
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the modern State of Israel, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the region of Palestine ...
Yeshiva
A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...
(Jewish Religious College) ''Torah Vyirah'' asked one of his disciples, Ruth Blau, also known as Ruth Ben David, to do it. Blau, originally Madeleine Feraille, was a French convert to
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
, managed an import-export firm, and attended graduate school in France and
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
before converting to Judaism in 1950. Although initially
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
, she later adopted Haredi anti-Zionist views and in 1965 married
Amram Blau Amram Blau (1894–1974) was a Haredi rabbi in Mandatory Palestine and Israel. He was one of the founders of the fiercely Anti-Zionist Neturei Karta.
Biography
Blau was born in Jerusalem into the city's Hungarian Jewish community. His father ...
, founder of
Neturei Karta
Neturei Karta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: , , ) is a religious group of Haredi Jews, formally created in Jerusalem, then in Mandatory Palestine, in 1938, splitting off from Agudas Yisrael. Neturei Karta opposes Zionism and calls for a "pea ...
. Her son Uriel assisted her, and Yossele himself, who had been convinced that his parents did not want to bring him up as a proper Jew, cooperated. On June 21, 1960, Schumacher was taken out of Israel by Blau, who had disguised him as a girl, forged a passport for him, and then taken him on a flight to
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. Schumacher would spend two years total in Europe under her care, living in Switzerland, France, and
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. Initially, Blau took him to Switzerland, where she enrolled him in a
yeshiva
A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...
. Meanwhile, authorities in Israel had increased their search efforts.
Investigation
The Haredi community criticized the Israeli government and police's desire to return Schumacher to his parents, believing it was part of a government plot to secularize as many Orthodox Jewish children as possible. The Israeli government, on the other hand, saw the refusal to return Schumacher as a direct challenge by a religious
subculture
A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...
to its authority.
Shin Bet
The Israel Security Agency (ISA; he, שֵׁירוּת הַבִּיטָּחוֹן הַכְּלָלִי; ''Sherut ha-Bitaẖon haKlali''; "the General Security Service"; ar, جهاز الأمن العام), better known by the acronym Shabak ( he, ...
, the Israeli internal security service, along with
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
soldiers and police, searched for Schumacher in religious neighborhoods, villages, and kibbutzim.
Prime Minister
David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the name ...
finally asked the
Mossad
Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...
to investigate. Mossad Director-General
Isser Harel
Isser Harel ( he, איסר הראל, 1912 – 18 February 2003) was spymaster of the intelligence and the security services of Israel and the Director of the Mossad (1952–1963). In his capacity as Mossad director he oversaw the capture and co ...
assembled a team of forty agents, but due to their unfamiliarity with the traditions and nuances of Haredi life, they were swiftly unmasked in their attempts to infiltrate the Haredi world. As the search for Schumacher proved fruitless, Harel became convinced that the child had been smuggled abroad and was probably somewhere in Europe.Thomas, Gordon: ''Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad'' Subsequently, the Mossad began searching for Schumacher internationally, and Harel moved his operations headquarters to a Mossad safe-house in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, and sent agents to infiltrate Haredi communities throughout
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, then expanded the search to
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, but their efforts to infiltrate these communities proved difficult. During their investigation, Mossad agents abducted Rabbi Shai Freyer, a teacher at the yeshiva Schumacher was studying in, as he traveled between Paris and
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
. He refused to divulge anything during intense questioning, convincing the agents this was another dead end, but Harel ordered him held prisoner in a Mossad safe house in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
(where he was beaten and tortured to try to divulge information but he wouldn't budge), until the end of the investigation to prevent him from alerting the Haredi community.
After getting word that Mossad was searching for Schumacher in Switzerland, Blau took him first to
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and then to Paris, presenting the child as her daughter each time she traveled. When the Mossad focused its search on the Haredi community of Paris, she smuggled Schumacher to the United States in March 1962 on a flight to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where he was hidden in the apartment of a Haredi woman, Mrs. Gertner, at 126 Penn Street,
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a Neighborhoods in Brooklyn, neighborhood in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant to the s ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The family gave Schumacher the name Yankele Frenkel and kept him indoors, holding him from the time he arrived in March until August 1962. The Mossad had anticipated the possibility of Schumacher being smuggled to the United States, and asked the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
for assistance. In 1961, FBI agents searched Ultra-Orthodox summer camps in the
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...
for Schumacher. As they combed potential suspects in the Haredi world, Mossad investigators found a potential lead in Ruth Blau. Checks showed that she was a regular visitor to Israel, where she spent time with members of Neturei Karta, had met Yossele's grandfather on several occasions, and that her last visit to Israel was around the same time of the abduction. Focusing their investigation on her, the agents traced Blau, who was still in France, to the outskirts of Paris. At this time, Blau had decided to sell her house, and in August 1962 met a potential
real estate agent
A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...
named "Mr. Faber" in an attorney's office. The real estate agent was in fact Harel, accompanied by a team of Mossad agents who had interrogated
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, a ...
that Schumacher was living with a Hasidic family in Brooklyn, he instructed the FBI to fully cooperate with Mossad. In September 1962, a team of FBI agents and Mossad operatives took Schumacher into custody and put him on a flight to Israel, where he was reunited with his parents.
Controversy
The abduction of Yossele Schumacher caused enormous controversy among Jewish society within Israel, driving a divide between many Haredi Jews — who supported the grandparents and claimed that the government was only working on this case as a direct fight with the Haredim, and therefore the matter was much more controversial and hot topic at the time.
Many Secular Jews yelled ''Epho Yossele?'' ("Where is Yossele?" in
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
) in Jerusalem, turning to the more Haredi neighbourhoods and terrorizing the Jews living there, as the phrase had previously been used by Haredi Jews that supported Schumacher's grandparents to taunt police searching for Schumacher both in Israel and internationally.
The search itself was also an object of controversy, as Harel was criticized for his focus on this case at the expense of manhunts for
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
officials, notably by then
Aman
Aman may refer to:Poli
People First names
* Aman Hambleton (born 1992), Canadian chess grandmaster
* Aman Hayer (born 1979), Bhangra musician
* Aman Verma (actor) (born 1971), Indian actor
Surnames
* Mohammed Aman (born 1994), Ethiopian midd ...
director Major General
Meir Amit
Meir Amit ( he, מאיר עמית, 17 March 1921 – 17 July 2009) was an Israeli politician and cabinet minister. He served as the Chief Director and the head of global operations for Mossad from 1963 to 1968, before entering into politics an ...
and even from the Israeli spy
Peter Malkin
Peter Zvi Malkin ( he, פיטר צבי מלחין; pl, Cywka Małchin, May 27, 1927 – March 1, 2005) was a Polish-born Israeli secret agent and member of the Mossad intelligence agency. He was part of the team that captured Adolf Eichm ...
.
Later developments
Yossele Schumacher returned to his family, which at the time was living in
Holon
Holon ( he, חוֹלוֹן ) is a city on the central coastal strip of Israel, south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan Gush Dan area. In it had a population of . Holon has the second-largest industrial zone in Israel, after Haifa. ...
. At first, he attended a religious school but was later sent to a secular school. In 1969, he was chairman of the Holon Youth Parliament. He was conscripted into the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
in 1970, and served as an officer in the
Artillery Corps
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications dur ...
. He then worked at IBM for several years. In August 1979, he married Ita Horowitz in a wedding that drew media attention. Schumacher has three children, and lives in the
Israeli settlement
Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
of
Sha'arei Tikva
Sha'arei Tikva ( he, שַׁעֲרֵי תִּקְוָה, ''lit.'' Gates of Hope) is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank at an elevation of 200 metres. Located northeast of Rosh HaAyin and one kilometre east of the Green Line near Elkana, it is ...
and serves as a member of the settlement committee. In 2007, he visited New York and met Mrs. Gertner, in whose home he had been hidden.
See also
*
List of kidnappings
The following is a list of kidnappings summarizing the events of each individual case, including instances of celebrity abductions, claimed hoaxes, suspected kidnappings, extradition abductions, and mass kidnappings.
Before 1900
1900–1949
...
*
List of solved missing person cases
Lists of solved missing person cases include:
* List of solved missing person cases: pre-2000
* List of solved missing person cases: post-2000
See also
* List of kidnappings
* List of murder convictions without a body
* List of people who dis ...