Hasidic rabbi hands out millions to anti-Zionist institutions in Israel

The Satmar Hassidic sect believes that the Jewish people should not return to Israel until the messiah arrives.

By World Israel News Staff

The leading rabbi of a Hasidic sect, Satmar, has been handing out large sums of money to anti-Zionist orthodox organizations during his trip to Israel.

Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum landed in Israel on Tuesday for a pre-planned 10 day trip throughout the Holy Land. He has been meeting with Satmar Hassidic leaders, touring the country, and distributing money to orthodox institutions that do not accept funding from the state.

On Thursday, Rabbi Teitelbaum attended the ‘Pure Shekel’ ceremony in Jerusalem, during which he handed out approximately $5 million to roughly 150 select orthodox Israeli institutions who reject financial assistance by the Jewish State because of their anti-Zionist views.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the large sums of money were transferred to the rabbi by his followers in New York for this specific purpose.

The Satmar Hasidic sect believes that the Jewish people should not return to Israel until the messiah arrives. Therefore, they feel that the Zionist movement is an attempt to force God into prematurely sending the messiah into the world.

The Satmar Hasidic sect was established in 1928 by Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum in Hungary. Rabbi Teitelbaum spent time in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp during the Holocaust and later established strong roots in Brooklyn.

Large Satmar communities can be found in Los Angeles, Montreal, Antwerp, London, Buenos Aires, Bnei Brak, Bet Shemesh, and Jerusalem.

MK Yulia Malinovsky took to Twitter on Monday to protest Rabbi Teitelbaum’s arrival.

“Have we all gone mad? Closing roads in Jerusalem for the arrival of the anti-Zionist Satmar leader who objects to the existence of the State of Israel. I don’t understand how he is permitted to enter the state?” she tweeted.