Former NBA star writes on Instagram 'it's a miracle' to be at burial place of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson

President calls longtime leader of Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement 'a rare species of leader, full of love for Israel'; PM says rabbi influenced him personally

Pilgrimage to the burial site in Queens, known as the Ohel, takes place ahead of anniversary on Saturday

Admirers of Menachem Mendel Schneerson come from as far as Alaska, South Africa to visit his burial site in Queens, hail its lack of pomp: 'It's authentic. ... It's not contrived'

Pictures of a standoff between armed guards and Jewish worshippers in front of a locked synagogue shocked people abroad, but it's only one side of a lengthy European power struggle

In final ruling after 8-year legal battle, court denies request by Gothenburg emissaries to teach their 2 kids at home for religious reasons

Had rocket exploded, hit a few meters over, or been shot just a few minutes earlier, devastation could have been widespread at religious school or adjacent synagogue

Assault on rabbi prompts fresh concern over rising violence against Jews in country, which for first time has an anti-Jewish presidential candidate

Lori Gilbert Kaye, 60, was killed last month when a white supremacist walked into Chabad of Poway and opened fire on congregants

Local and state law enforcement and fire officials coordinating their investigations, looking into possibility that fires are hate crimes