A POSSIBLE BREAKTHROUGH ON SCHNEERSON COLLECTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 002738 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/RUS AND L; DEPT FOR SI E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/04/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV SOCI SCUL KIRF KJUS RS SUBJECT: A POSSIBLE BREAKTHROUGH ON SCHNEERSON COLLECTION REF: A) MOSCOW 282 B) MOSCOW 1537 Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Susan Elliott for reasons 1 .4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Russian MFA Special Culture Representative Mikhail Shvydkoy told us that the GOR might be willing to consider a compromise solution to the bilateral impasse over the Schneerson Collection. According to the compromise, the Library of Congress would write a letter requesting Schneerson books for an exhibit, which would lead to a multi-staged agreement in which first 100, then (after their return to Russia) additional hundreds of books cycle through the U.S. exhibit. Shvydkoy also agreed to ask relevant actors to take measures to strengthen the security of the archival materials. End Summary. ¶2. (C) On November 3, Mikhail Shvydkoy, Special Representative of President Medvedev for International Cooperation in Culture, told Russia NSC Director Howard Solomon that the GOR might be willing to consider a compromise solution to the bilateral impasse over the Schneerson Collection. The Schneerson Collection, which consists of 12,000 books and 50,000 rare documents considered to be sacred by the Chabad Lubavitch branch of Judaism, has remained in GOR possession since 1945, giving rise to a dispute with Chabad leaders in the U.S. who have called for its return to New York (ref A). Embassy officials have visited the Collection, housed in a small room in the Russian State Military Archives, on a number of occasions. In July, the Acting Director for the North America Department of the MFA summoned PolOffs to receive a note announcing the GOR's withdrawal from U.S. court proceedings regarding the Schneerson Collection (ref B). ¶3. (C) The obstacles to this case, seemingly insurmountable in July, now appear to be potentially eroding. Shvydkoy, who during our November 3 meeting was flanked by three lawyers, proposed a multi-staged agreement, starting with approximately 100 books coming to the Library of Congress (LOC) for 4-6 months to build confidence. (Note: As Shyvdkoy noted, the need to build confidence exists because of a previous incident wherein Shvydkoy allowed 5-8 books to travel to the U.S. with the U.S. Vice President Gore, and the books were never returned to Russia. End note.) This first exhibit would then return to Russia, allowing a larger exhibit of hundreds of additional books for a longer period, and this cycle could continue for a period consecutive to the end of the Obama Administration. To begin the process, Shvydkoy proposed having Librarian of Congress James H. Billington write a letter expressing the LOC's interest in receiving the exhibit. ¶4. (C) Apologizing for what he called his "cynicism," Shvydkoy stressed the need for the books to enjoy immunity from any third party in the U.S. seeking to use the U.S. court system to gain possession of them. He noted that the U.S. court case related to Schneerson has been going on for six years, and that the court "might take any decision" to keep the books in the U.S. He said that the GOR would need a guarantee from Billington, and emphasized that it would be very damaging to the Russian side to lose the collection, saying, "We have our constituents, too." ¶5. (C) In the meantime, U.S. concerns remain about the safety and preservation of the Schneerson Collection in Russia, especially in light of the alleged theft and sale of some of the documents (ref A). Shvydkoy said that security was more of a concern in the 1990s, but that now security measures were much stricter and more reliable. Nonetheless, he agreed to ask relevant actors to take measures to strengthen the security of the archival materials. Asked if the Collection might be combined with the National Library to enhance its safety, Shvydkoy deferred to one of the lawyers present, who explained that for legal reasons such a move would be impossible -- the archives could be subject to Holocaust-era claims by Schneerson's heirs or by Poland. Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) Shvydkoy's tone during the meeting was affable but often strict. As is generally the case with GOR officials on this subject, he criticized the ongoing U.S. court case related to Schneerson, saying that it has "no legal basis." He referred to the proposed compromise in non-ringing terms, calling it "theoretically possible." Nonetheless, the mere existence of this proposed compromise could represent a significant breakthrough. MOSCOW 00002738 002 OF 002 Beyrle