Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum, leader of the Chasidic Satmar sect, was buried Tuesday in Kiryas Joel, N.Y. Teitelbaum died Monday in New York at age 91 after a battle with spinal cancer. His funeral was attended by thousands of followers, The Associated Press reported. “We are like orphans left without a father,” Teitelbaum’s son, Aaron, said at the funeral. It remains unclear who will follow Teitelbaum as leader of the Satmar sect, which numbers an estimated 120,000 people. Aaron Teitelbaum and his brother, Zalmen Teitelbaum, have been battling over succession. Teitelbaum took the Satmar reins in 1979 following the death of his uncle. The Satmars oppose the State of Israel and often make common cause with Israel’s enemies because they believe Jews should not have political sovereignty until the Messiah comes. Teitelbaum was born in what is today Romania and came to the United States in 1946, the A.P. reported.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
