Judge rules on Satmar Rebbe

The sad spectacle, soap opera continues:

Times Herald-Record:

A Brooklyn judge has denied a request by one of two warring Satmar Hasidic factions to appoint guardians over the 91-year-old leader of their movement so they could have greater access to him.
In a decision signed Thursday and released to attorneys yesterday, state Supreme Court Justice John Leventhal said the faction that brought the case failed to prove that Satmar Grand Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum was suffering any harm under his current caretakers, who are aligned with a rival faction.
The decision is a blow for followers of Rabbi Aron Teitelbaum, eldest son of the grand rebbe and chief rabbi of the main Satmar congregation in Kiryas Joel.
That group is fighting supporters of Aron's brother, Zalman, for control of the main Satmar congregation in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. The outcome of that battle could determine which brother succeeds Moses Teitelbaum as leader of the world's largest Hasidic movement.
Several of Aron's children were among those who brought the guardianship petition, which claimed Zalman's allies were holding the aging Satmar leader in virtual isolation in his Williamsburg home.
Leventhal said he and his staff visited the grand rebbe at his home on Oct. 31, observed him studying and walking and found him "satisfied with the care he is receiving." Six people look after Teitelbaum, including a paramedic and a 24-hour butler, the judge said.
"A guardianship proceeding," Leventhal concluded, "is not the proper avenue for a resolution of a family dispute, even when this dispute impacts on the future leadership of the Satmar movement."
"We believe the decision was in error," Steven Finkelstein, the petitioners' attorney, responded yesterday. He and his clients hadn't decided whether to appeal.
Scott Mollen, an attorney for the Zalman side, said his clients were "extremely gratified" with the ruling.

Stop the chillul hashem and chillul satmar! Go to a Din Torah.