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Rabbi Joel (Yoel) Teitelbaum, (d. 1979), known variously as Reb Yoelische and the Satmar Rav, was a prominent Hungarian Hasidic leader in Ultra Orthodox Judaism.
Holocaust
He was sent to the Bergen Belsen concentration camp by the Nazis, but as a result of a deal by a Zionist official, Rudolph Kastner, to save a symbolic train-load of Hungarian Jews from death, Rabbi Teitelbaum was ironically allowed to join a train filled with select Jews, that took him to Switzerland.
Anti-Zionism
He was most widely known for his opposition to Zionism, following the opinions of his father and predecessor Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum and other prominent Hasidic rabbis. He encouraged his followers to form self-sufficient communities outside of the State of Israel and forbade "official" engagement with it.
The reason for this was because the Hasidic Rabbis believed that God promised to return the Jewish people to Israel, and therefore the people are supposed to wait for God to do so. They believe that the current State of Israel, which was established by man, is a secular government, not a religious one, and therefore they do not consider it to be the Holy Land in the biblical sense.
Scholar
His most famous work is a book length exposition of his belief that Zionism is prohibited by halakha entitled "VaYoel Moshe." Other works include collections of responsa and novela entitled "Divrei Yoel" and "Al HaGeulah V'Al HaTemurah."
Community builder
He built a huge community in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn in New York City, as well as launching Kiryat Joel (named for him and where he was buried in 1979) in Monroe, New York. Reputedly over 100,000 Jews attended his funeral. He was succeeded by his nephew Rabbi Mosheh Teitelbaum who has divided the control of the Williamsburg and Monroe Satmar communities between two of his own sons.
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