Meir Baranes

Meir Baranes (born 1968) is an Israeli who is notable for promulgating an extreme formulation of Chabad messianism, declaring Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson to be God, and placing a curse on Pope John Paul II during a visit to Israel in 2000. He is a former member of the Israeli paratroopers.

Baranes, a native of Safed, came to public prominence in March, 2000 when he was arrested and remanded in custody for five days by Acre Magistrate's Court for putting a Kabbalistic death curse - a Pulsa de Nura - on the eve of John Paul's visit to the Holy Land. He was arrested on suspicion of belonging to a [...] organization, harming religious sensibilities, and threatening to harm a world leader. The ceremony was filmed by Israel's Channel 2 News and there were suggestions that the event was staged for their benefit. Baranes declared that Schneerson had ruled any meeting with the Pope to be forbidden. Due to his actions Chabad disassociated themselves from Baranes. Chabad spokesman Menachem Brod declared that Baranes was not a part of Chabad and expressed anger with Channel 2 for broadcasting the ceremony.

In April 2000 he ran-down Rabbi Levy Bistritzky, the Chief Rabbi of Safed and left him in a serious condition. In the hours following the attack Baranes called a press conference and admitted carrying out the attack. He was sentenced to a year in jail for the crime.

Baranes published a series of ads in the press in the late 1990s, addressing God on the issue of Schneerson's death, demanding that he be returned to life. He also organized demonstrations with similar demands.

In 2005 he was arrested again, this time on suspicion of distribution fliers claiming that was going to kill Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon alongside fliers that claimed that "the next Prime Minister would be the Lubavitcher Rebbe.