Kiryas Joel Satmar Rebbe Attacks Israeli Haredi Politicians As Moneygrubbers, Calls Voting In “Impure” Elections Heresy

Speaking at a fundraiser for a campaign to disrupt Israel’s “impure” January 22 national elections, Teitelbaum equated voting in the elections, campaigning for a political party or running for a Knesset heresy, reportedly calling it "a very serious prohibition related to the foundations of the faith in God,” noting that his great-uncle Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, who founded the Satmar hasidic movement and who was the world’s leading anti-Zionist in the years before the Holocaust – and afterward, despite having been rescued from the Nazis by Zionists – wrote exactly the same thing "from the depths of his heart and with the tears in his eyes."

Rabbi Aharon Teitelbaum

Kiryas Joel Satmar Rebbe Attacks Israeli Haredi Politicians, Calls Voting In Upcoming “Impure” Elections Heresy
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
   
The Kiryas Joel Satmar Rebbe Rabbi Aharon Teitelbaum claims that Israeli haredi politicians are only interested in "glory, power, money and [Knesset] seats.…The battle about who will lead brings out everything: They fight with each other, engage in slander, disgrace their friends in public,” Ynet reports.
 
Speaking at a fundraiser for a campaign to disrupt Israel’s “impure” January 22 national elections, Teitelbaum equated voting in the elections, campaigning for a political party or running for a Knesset heresy, reportedly calling it "a very serious prohibition related to the foundations of the faith in God,” noting that his great-uncle Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, who founded the Satmar hasidic movement and who was the world’s leading anti-Zionist in the years before the Holocaust – and afterward, despite having been rescued from the Nazis by Zionists – wrote exactly the same thing "from the depths of his heart and with the tears in his eyes."
 
Referring to his opposition to the mandatory induction medical exams done by IDF physicians on all new recruits, Aharon Teitelbaum called the medical exams forbidden and chastised haredi politicians who allow them.
 
"All the tests are to check if [a recruit] is healthy; there is no test about a chapter in the Mishna. They undergo body examinations to see if they are fit for the army, may the All-merciful protect us,” Teitelbaum said.

Teitelbaum spoke about his brother-in-law the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, who had ordered yeshiva students not to report to IDF induction centers to submit to the physical exams, and the haredi rabbis and politicians who opposed him.

"There are those who say not to go and shout that they shouldn't go, but those who shout are only the ones who don't have a [Knesset] seat. Whoever has a seat in the Knesset keeps quiet, and whoever doesn't have one shouts.…

“Less than 24 hours [after ordering yeshiva students not to report and taunting Israeli police and the IDF to arrest him for doing it], politicians arrived at his home to make him understand that he must not talk that way now.
 
"Boys [i.e., yeshiva students] have been going to the [IDF medical] examinations for week, and there have been a lot of issues of sanctity there, but the politicians said that they must keep quiet and there was complete silence. But after he spoke, the politicians suddenly found a good arrangement.

"Where have you been till now? If you managed to reach an arrangement, why did you wait and not make an arrangement till now? Because of the politics they realized they have to be quiet, but after a small row had already begun – they suddenly found an arrangement,” Teitelbaum claimed, referring to the IDF’s agreement with haredi leaders announced earlier this week that allows haredi inductees to have their induction physical done in a private doctor’s office of their own choice, or by the inductee’s choice an IDF physician at an IDF induction center – as long as the doctor doing the exam is a male, meaning the haredi inductee is not allowed to chose to allow a female doctor to do the exam.

Haredi rabbis objected to testicle palpatation done as part of the exam to check for testicular cancer and hernias.

Very few IDF physicians are women and almost none of them work in induction centers. Those who do work almost exclusively doing exams of female inductees.

Despite haredi claims of female doctors examining yeshiva students, no cases were ever confirmed, and when haredi complaints first surfaced weeks ago, the IDF immediately told haredi leaders that no male inductee, haredi or not, had to undergo a physical exam given by a female doctor if the inductee found that embarrassing or problematic.

But haredi complaints continued, causing some to think that the complaints were being manufactured to justify draft refusal and to strengthen the more conservative splinter group of Ashkenazi haredi politicians who oppose reporting for induction physicals and who oppose reporting for the basic IDF competency evaluations.

Teitelbaum’s brother Zalman Leib, the Williamsburg Satmar Rebbe, is behind a drive to pay Israeli haredim not to vote, and Satmar is raising what it hopes will be in excess of $1 million dollars to disrupt Israel’s national elections January 22, which are now only 18 days away.

He is expected to arrive in Israel January 20 with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to pay haredim who do not vote.

Comments

[Expatriate Owl]

And, of course, the Satmars in Kiryas Joel would never, ever, trade their votes in America for improper or immoral purposes, now, would they?

[John Nagle, Silicon Valley, CA]

Is there a chart of all the factions somewhere? A chart of faction/leader/location/number of adherents/major positions/allies/enemies would help keep this straight.

[Lubavitchers are Christians]

The Kiryas Joel Satmar Rebbe Rabbi Aharon Teitelbaum claims that Israeli haredi politicians are only interested in "glory, power, money and [Knesset] seats.…

Posted by: Shmarya

Without getting into the details of this article, just that one line from the Satmar rebbe is very telling.

That's a line straight out of Failed Messiah. Could the satmar rebbe be reading FM? Could he be influenced from the opinions of FM readers?

Let's reword the statement:

"Shmarya claims that haredim are only interested in "glory, power, money and [Knesset] seats.…"

That said, these Teitelbaum rabbis are the cause of so many satmar hasids going OTD, which is actually a good thing. I've heard statistics that the satmars have the largest percentage of OTD'ers in teh haredi community. Maybe Rachmuna Litzlon can verify this.

[Sarek]

John Nagle - great idea. I cannot possibly keep track of who follows whom. Also would need names of the rabbis who originally founded the cults, whether Ashkenaz or Sephardic, their home towns, Israeli political parties, etc.

I suspect there will be a lot of singleton nodes...

[Abracadabra]

Posted by: John Nagle, Silicon Valley, CA | January 04, 2013 at 02:25 PM

Yes John. You can find the chart in your local library, right next to the reference chart of the Italian Mafia Dons, their positions, allies, enemies, locations, etc.

[Abracadabra]

They fight with each other, engage in slander, disgrace their friends in public...

The pot calling the kettle black. He did all this just a few years ago when fighting with Zalman for the Satmar "crown." These guys are a bunch of transparent clowns, and their worshipers are fools.

Btw - I'd like to know where he got that polka-dotted robe. I'm looking for a bath robe like that for my grandmother.

[Devorah]

"He is expected to arrive in Israel January 20 with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to pay haredim who do not vote."

That's part of my NY State tax dollars he skimmed!

[seymour]

when I rad about these guys I feel I am reading a fantasy novel like harry Potter

[Isidore]

Just like their father Moses before them, neither Aaron nor his brother Zalman have the right to call themselves "Satmar Rebbe". For Joel Teitelbaum made a Tzava'a stating that there are to be no successors to his Satmar office.
Note: Do not pray at Joel Teitelbaum's grave! There are Jews who have done so and gotten very ill afterwards. Stay away from Avoda Zara - the Vilner Ga'on knew what he was talking about.

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

Shockingly, I find myself in agreement with his words "politicians are only interested in "glory, power, money and seats."

[Garnel Ironheart]

> that Israeli haredi politicians are only interested in "glory, power, money and [Knesset] seats.…

Take out the last part and the Satmar is describing himself perfectly.

Nice coat he has on. I always wondered what happened to my aunts old couch...

[T]

Ppl here are just so bitter....

[Bruce Pere]

In respect to Satmars beliefs this is consistant. There wil be many who disagree like I do. But they are entitled to their opinion and theyy are great in numbers and the Rebbe is a very holy man. Cladity is what we need.this must be the days of Moshiach.

[Friar Yid]

Bruce- They're entitled to their opinion, not to openly buy votes in Israel.

[Friar Yid]

John- Wrote a long comment to you on Friday but the site ate it. In short, the two Teitelbaum brothers are the great-nephews of the founding Satmar rebbe. In addition, Aaron the older is married to one of the daughters of the Hager family, who are the ruling family of the Viznitz dynasty. Moshe Yehoshua Hager, who recently died, married all his daughters off to prominent rebbes & rabbis, so besides Aaron he also had the Belzer and Skverer rebbes as sons-in-law. M.Y. Hager and his younger brother were themselves embroiled in a split after their father died, hence there being two Viznitz branches, one in NY and one in Israel. His sons followed their father's example and also spent the last two years feuding, so between them and some cousins there are now about five or six Viznitz courts. At this point most of the larger groups seem to be splitting or on the way to splitting, likely due to the big baby boom among the post-war generation. The more sons and sons-in-law, the more contenders to the crown after each "big" rebbe dies. Even the ones who are relatively stable, like Belz and Ger, will probably have to deal with this sooner or later. (Ex: the present rebbe of Belz is an only child, as is his son. The son, however, has NINE sons.)

Wikipedia has several Hasidic family trees that are also useful to keep these families straight. Most of them have married into each other at one point or another, though that doesn't necessarily indicate they get along.

[Jeff]

Wikipedia has several Hasidic family trees that are also useful to keep these families straight. Most of them have married into each other at one point or another, though that doesn't necessarily indicate they get along.

Hasidic dynasties have been intermarrying for generations. Their family trees are as complex as those of European royalty.

There have always been conflicts, but this business of having multiple rebbes for each sect is, I think, something new. It's indicative of the breakdown of their subculture. Most of them don't see it or are in denial; those who do realize it try desperately to ignore it.

This is all being drawn out to an unnecessary length and being made much more painful for them than it has to be.

[Ephraim]

satmar is a cult who doesn't even recognize anyone but themselves, let them comment on Romanian politics and leave Israel to the Jews. This is the trend among the charedi today, they show their piety by putting down other people because of course they are so perfect

[Audrey the Liberal]

When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.