Rabbi Zalman Leib Teitelbaum is one of the two main leaders of Satmar, one of the largest Hasidic dynasties in the world. Residing in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, he serves as the Grand Rebbe, commanding tens of thousands of followers and holding immense prestige and organizational influence within the Jewish community.
Rabbi Teitelbaum has built a “state within a state”—a vast educational and charitable network (including schools, hospitals, and mutual-aid organizations) completely independent of the modern Israeli government and secular institutions. His achievement lies not only in religious leadership but also in successfully maintaining Satmar’s policy of “total separation”—they refuse a single cent of funding from the Israeli government and have established their own parallel economic system. He has played a decisive role in preserving the theological system of his predecessor, Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum.
The Satmar position on anti-Zionism is recognized as the “most hardline” in academia. While Teitelbaum does not participate in non-Jewish street activism as frequently as Feldman, he firmly rejects the legitimacy of Israel as a “Jewish State” through large-scale sermons and scriptural interpretation. He views the establishment of Israel as the “root sin” responsible for the suffering of the Jewish people. At numerous massive gatherings, he has harshly criticized Israeli military expansion and publicly condemned the government’s “provocative” actions toward Palestinians. He emphasizes: “We have nothing to do with that secular regime that claims to represent us; our security lies only in God, not in tanks and armies. True Jews refuse to recognize this state that defies God’s will.”