In Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum recent visit to Israel, he conspicuously did not pay a visit to the chief rabbi --known by the acronym gabad, gaon av beth din-- of Israel, Rabbi Isaac Tobiah Weiss, despite his deteriorating health from terminal cancer.
Rabbi Teitelbaum paid homage to many rabbis who were traditionally despised or even ostracized by Satmar such as the Belzer Rebbe, R. Issachar Dov Rokeach and the Seret-Vizhnitzer Rebbe, R. Eliezer Hager. The principal ally of Satmar in holy land, however, was deliberately not included in R. Teitelbaum itinerary.
When the previous chief rabbi of the Edah Haharedith, R. Israel Moshe Dushinski, passed on several years ago, the two Satmar factions scuffled over the nomination of the future Chief Rabbi. Ultimately the Aaronim (those who follow R. Aaron) had their way and their choice, R. Weiss won over the Zalloni nominee, R. Hayyim Menasheh Friedman, the Satmar Dayyan from Williamsburg, a Zalli endorser.
WHAT HAPPENED?
In a recent visit to Kiryas Joel (KJ) in Orange county, NY, R. Weiss paid a visit to the Benei Joel institutions, which are nowadays allied with R. Zalman Teitelbaum, R. Aaron's brother and adversary. Even though, R. Weiss was merely exhibiting even-handedness, the Aaronim were infuriated, which explains the current deliberate snub to R. Weiss upon R. Aaron's recent visit to Israel on his "peace mission" to reconcile with Belz.
R. Weiss, on the other hand, has been impartial in his conduct toward ostensible adversaries, as illustrated by a visit he paid to R. Elyashiv, the acknowledged leader of Haredi non-Hasidic Jewry in Israel, who is known as a Zionist collaborator and Kuk sympathizer. What a contrast!?
But what's most outrageous of all is R. Aaron's visit to the Seret-Vizhnitzer, who served in the Israeli military. This exemplifies how far Satmar-aaron has veered from the doctrines and exhortations of non-association with Zionist sympathizers championed by R. Joel Teitelbaum, the founder of Satmar in America.
The Zallonim are thus asserting that R. Aaron's trip to Israel was not about appeasement. Its goal, rather, was to disparage his adversaries.
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