Satmar sucession fight begins
Satmar leaders, New York police brace for inheritance battle
While thousands of black-clad hassidim gathered at the main Yetev Lev synagogue in the Satmar stronghold of Williamsburg, Brooklyn Tuesday to bid a tearful goodbye to the 91-year-old rabbi, others began planning for a battle between two of the rebbe's sons to inherit their father's mantle.
In the past, battles between supporters of first-born Aharon and third-in-line Zalman Leib have turned violent , and the succession battle has been in and out of civil court for years. Police now fear the fight could grow far more serious now that the "moment of truth" has arrived. One Satmar man called the upcoming battle "world war III."
High stakes
At issue is more than just the honor of heading the group estimated to contain about 100,000 followers. Fiancially, too, the stakes are huge: According to the New York Times, the group runs a private school system, real estate holdings worth hundreds of millions of dollars, a matzah factory and a network of social services.
There are approximately 100,000 Satmar hassidim, and the group influence extends through most parts of the ultra-Orthodox world, incluiding in Israel.
