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First a fight in shul, now rabbi evicted

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Krakow's Chief Rabbi has been evicted from his shul three weeks after he was confronted by community members during a Yom Kippur service.

Rabbi Eliezer Gur-Ari, who was sacked by the community the day after a group of congregants rounded on him for refusing to let them lead a prayer, has been told he must leave the Izaak Synagogue, where he has run a Chabad house for the past nine years.

Following the fight in the synagogue, which included screaming and threats of violence, an open letter was sent to the community, setting out a list of who would lead future Yom Kippur services. The letter said anyone who objected to the list would be physically removed from the synagogue.

Rabbi Michael Schudrich, Poland's Chief Rabbi, has expressed support for Rabbi Gur-Ali.

Sources close to married father of four Rabbi Gur-Ari claim that tensions started two years ago when the community, run by president Tadeusz Jakubowicz, hired Rabbi Gur-Ari as Krakow's chief rabbi but severely limited his rabbinical duties.

He had been stopped from overseeing kashrut supervision, running the mikveh and controlling local synagogues.

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