Rabbi Teitelbaum, Satmar Hasidic leader, tests positive for COVID-19

• Published date: 29 December 2020
• Author: SHIRA HANAU/JTA
• Date: 29 December 2020

Teitelbaum, who is in his late 60s, is apparently showing mild symptoms, according to the site.

Teitelbaum, who is based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is not the first Hasidic leader to test positive for the virus. His own brother and leader of a rival faction of the Satmar Hasidic community, Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, tested positive for COVID-19 back in March.

The Satmar community has been implicated in a number of large gatherings over the last several months, in defiance of state and city guidelines meant to minimize the spread of COVID-19. In November, a large wedding for one of Zalman's grandchildren was downsized after plans for it drew public scrutiny.

Later that month, a grandchild of Aaron Teitelbaum married in a massive wedding that was held in secret — and later detailed in an article by his faction's Yiddish-language newspaper. Even after both weddings were publicized and denounced by elected officials, large weddings continued to be held in Kiryas Joel, Aaron's base.

In a speech given at a post-wedding celebration and printed on flyers posted in Hasidic neighborhoods of Brooklyn...