Fans of Lubavitcher Rebbe attack Candace Owens’ via Instagram in response to her criticism of him… See more

JTA — For decades the Chabad-Lubavitch movement has followed the teachings of its last spiritual leader, popularly known as “the Rebbe,” to bring Jewish practice and learning to every Jew across the globe through a sprawling network of emissaries and Jewish centers. That includes cyberspace, where the Hasidic movement maintains one of the most-visited Jewish websites.

But a group normally committed to spreading Jewish joy found itself on the defensive this week after the far-right commentator Candace Owens called the movement’s last leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a hatemonger who believed Jews were superior to non-Jews.