Kiryas Joel Satmar Boycott Brooklyn Anti-Israel Rally
Barclays Center Image by Getty Images
By Josh Nathan-Kazis June 12, 2017
Nearly 20,000 members of the Satmar Hasidic group packed an anti-Zionist rally at the Brooklyn Nets’ home arena last night — even though half of the sect boycotted the event.
The rally against Israel’s efforts to draft ultra-Orthodox Jews was organized by followers of Grand Rabbi Zalman Leib Teitelbaum, the Satmar leader in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Followers of his brother, Grand Rabbi Aron Teitelbaum, boycotted, according to a report in Haaretz. Aron Teitelbaum is based in the upstate New York village of Kiryas Joel, though he has followers in Brooklyn, as well.
Still, the Hasidim filled the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn to hear a message of opposition to the Jewish state, which the group’s rabbis believe should only be established after the return of the messiah.
Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at nathankazis@forward.com or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.
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