Yossele Schumacher
Encyclopedia
Yossele Schumacher is an Israel
i whose abduction as a child became a cause célèbre
in Israel and led Shin Bet and its director Isser Harel
on a worldwide search for his whereabouts.
and immigrated
to Israel as a child with his parents. Ostensibly, due to financial difficulties, but actually because his parents wanted to live a carefree life in Holon and didn't want to be 'bothered' by having to deal with their two children; his parents requested that Yossele's Haredi
grandparents, Nachman and Miriam Schtraks, take care of him. They became his 'surrogate parents' because his parents were "too busy' even to visit their son. Yossele became very attached to his grandparents and was brought up by them as regular Haredi boy.
After a few months, the father, who was an avowed communist, yet from his days in Russia, decided that he wanted to move back to Russia. Yossele's grandparents were aghast and were determined that Yossele not go back.
Fearing that the Schumachers might end up in Russia, the Orthodox community of Jerusalem took the boy from his grandparents and hid the boy in 1960 with another Haredi family in Bnei Brak.
In the shadow of a court order for his return and a possible police search, the rabbis of the Jerusalem Orthodox community disguised Schumacher as a girl and placed him the care of a Frenchwoman and convert to Judaism
named Ruth Ben-David (then Madeleine Feraille, later well known for her controversial marriage to Rabbi Amram Blau
), who took him with her to Europe. Schumacher would spend two years total in France and Switzerland under her care.
By this time, authorities in Israel had increased their search efforts, leading Ben-David to again disguise Schumacher as a girl and smuggle
him into the United States in March 1962. There he was hidden in the apartment of a Haredi woman named Mrs. Gertner at 126 Penn St. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
. Subsequently the family changed Schumacher's name to Yankele Frenkel and kept him indoors, holding him from the time he arrived in March until August 1962.
By this point it was August 1962, and with Schumacher's location identified, two officials from Shin Bet came to the door of the Gertner's home in Brooklyn on a Saturday night and requested the immigration papers of Yankele Frenkel. No papers were presented, and the boy was removed from the house until his mother came to retrieve him several days later.
who wished to bring the boy with them back to Russia — and secular Jews, some of whom reportedly yelled in Jerusalem, Epho Yossele? ("Where is Yossele?").
The search was also an object of controversy, and Harel was criticized for his focus on this case at the expense of manhunts for Nazi
officials, notably from then Aman director Major General Meir Amit
and even from Israel's greatest spy, Peter Malkin
(who had caught Adolf Eichmann
).
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i whose abduction as a child became a cause célèbre
Cause célèbre
A is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate. The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases. It is a French phrase in common English use...
in Israel and led Shin Bet and its director Isser Harel
Isser Harel
Isser Harel was spymaster of the intelligence and the security services of Israel and the Director of the Mossad . In his capacity as Mossad director he oversaw the abduction, and secret transport to Israel, of Holocaust organizer Adolph Eichmann....
on a worldwide search for his whereabouts.
Abduction
Schumacher was born in RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and immigrated
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to Israel as a child with his parents. Ostensibly, due to financial difficulties, but actually because his parents wanted to live a carefree life in Holon and didn't want to be 'bothered' by having to deal with their two children; his parents requested that Yossele's Haredi
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
grandparents, Nachman and Miriam Schtraks, take care of him. They became his 'surrogate parents' because his parents were "too busy' even to visit their son. Yossele became very attached to his grandparents and was brought up by them as regular Haredi boy.
After a few months, the father, who was an avowed communist, yet from his days in Russia, decided that he wanted to move back to Russia. Yossele's grandparents were aghast and were determined that Yossele not go back.
Fearing that the Schumachers might end up in Russia, the Orthodox community of Jerusalem took the boy from his grandparents and hid the boy in 1960 with another Haredi family in Bnei Brak.
In the shadow of a court order for his return and a possible police search, the rabbis of the Jerusalem Orthodox community disguised Schumacher as a girl and placed him the care of a Frenchwoman and convert to Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
named Ruth Ben-David (then Madeleine Feraille, later well known for her controversial marriage to Rabbi Amram Blau
Amram Blau
Amram Blau was a Haredi rabbi from the Hungarian community of Jerusalem. He was one of the founders of the fiercely Anti-Zionist Neturei Karta.Blau was born in Jerusalem, and grew up in the Meah Shearim neighbourhood...
), who took him with her to Europe. Schumacher would spend two years total in France and Switzerland under her care.
By this time, authorities in Israel had increased their search efforts, leading Ben-David to again disguise Schumacher as a girl and smuggle
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
him into the United States in March 1962. There he was hidden in the apartment of a Haredi woman named Mrs. Gertner at 126 Penn St. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
. Subsequently the family changed Schumacher's name to Yankele Frenkel and kept him indoors, holding him from the time he arrived in March until August 1962.
Investigation
Following Schumacher's disappearance from Israel, Schtraks was imprisoned and police arrested the couple that had hidden the boy in Bnei Brak. Sometime later on, Ruth Ben-David, still in France, decided to sell her house and met a potential realtor named Mr. Faber in an attorney's office. The realtor was, in fact, Isser Harel, who placed Ben-David under interrogation with humiliating treatment. Though uncooperative at first, Ben-David began to talk after the Shin Bet told her that her son was cooperating with them.By this point it was August 1962, and with Schumacher's location identified, two officials from Shin Bet came to the door of the Gertner's home in Brooklyn on a Saturday night and requested the immigration papers of Yankele Frenkel. No papers were presented, and the boy was removed from the house until his mother came to retrieve him several days later.
Controversy
The abduction of Schumacher caused enormous controversy in Israel between many Haredi Jews — who supported the grandparents and claimed that Schumacher's parents were communistsCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
who wished to bring the boy with them back to Russia — and secular Jews, some of whom reportedly yelled in Jerusalem, Epho Yossele? ("Where is Yossele?").
The search was also an object of controversy, and Harel was criticized for his focus on this case at the expense of manhunts for Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
officials, notably from then Aman director Major General Meir Amit
Meir Amit
Meir Amit was an Israeli politician and general. He served as Director of the Mossad from 1963 to 1968 before entering politics and holding two ministerial positions.-Biography:...
and even from Israel's greatest spy, Peter Malkin
Peter Malkin
Peter Zvi Malkin , , was an Israeli secret agent, and member of the Mossad intelligence agency. Malkin was part of the team that captured Adolf Eichmann in Argentina in 1960 and brought him to Israel to stand trial....
(who had caught Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
).