The grand rabbi of one of the branches of the Satmar hassidic dynasty Reb Zalman Leib Teitelbaum conducted a whirlwind trip to Israel Monday night and Tuesday, culminating in a ceremony in which he donated large sums of money to haredi institutions that refuse to take money from the state and instruct congregants not to vote in elections.
The Satmar hassidic community is the largest hassidic group in the world, radical, fiercely anti-Zionist and as such rejects any association with the State of Israel.
The distribution of money to institutions refusing support from the state is an official Satmar project known as “the Pure Shekel.”
Upon arrival in Israel on Monday night Teitelbaum, head of the Williamsburg branch of the Satmar community, was stopped and questioned reportedly on suspicion of bringing large sums of money into the country for distribution but was released without further action after approximately thirty minutes.
As well as the usual recipients of “pure shekel,” Teitelbaum also donated to institutions that instruct young haredi men not to present themselves to IDF recruitment offices when called.
The large majority of haredi men do not serve in the IDF, but most do present themselves to IDF recruiting offices when called and then subsequently receive their exemption.
Following reforms carried out in 2014 to draft haredi men into military service, reforms which have recently been repealed, a minority haredi political grouping called on young haredi men to even refuse to go for preliminary processing.
Failing to report to the IDF when called legally renders a person a deserter and liable to arrest. If this position would be adopted en masse, it would severely undermine the rule of law since the state and the IDF would be unable to enforce the law.
