Conflict in Prague's Jewish community becoming increasingly bitter

A long-simmering dispute in the Prague Jewish community over the leadership of one of the city’s most prestigious synagogues has resulted in a violent altercation and the synagogue's temporary closure. The rabbi of the Old-New Synagogue, Manis Barash, was conducting Shabbat services and was displeased to find that Karol Sidon, chief rabbi for the Czech Federation of Jewish Communities, was offered an aliyah to the Torah by the synagogues’s gabbai, according to observers. Barash, an American-born Chabad member, made his displeasure known, pointing out that he, not Sidon (who was fired as chief rabbi of Prague last summer) was the only person who should be conducting a Torah reading. Soon the incident erupted into violence, leaving several people injured and at least one considering criminal charges. The background to the incident was laid last summer. The Prague community erupted in a furor when then-chairman Tomas Jelinek fired Sidon, claiming the rabbi was not performing his duties properly and had misplaced ceremonial objects. But Jelinek admitted that the larger problem was a conflict over the direction of the community.