Williamsburg

Satmar

Satmar rebbe honors notorious sex abuser with a visit to daughter’s wedding

At the wedding of Nechemya Weberman’s daughter, Satmar rebbe Zalmen Teitelbaum was an honored guest. Many Satmar Hasidim still believe the convicted rapist is innocent

Williamsburg

At the oldest Orthodox synagogue in Brooklyn, newcomers and old-timers battle for its future

Congregation Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom, the last remaining non-Hasidic synagogue in Williamsburg, has become embroiled in a dispute as some congregants allege fraud and mismanagement

Legislation

NYS bill seeks to raise minimum SNAP benefits, a program widely used by Haredim

The proposed new law would quadruple the minimum benefit amount from $23 to $100

Yeshivas

Williamsburg streets littered with fliers against Satmar rebbe Zalmen Teitelbaum for yeshiva strategy

“Don’t sell MY children for YOUR money,” inflammatory fliers screamed in bold, blood red letters all over Williamsburg's streets

Yeshivas

Incompetent teachers and confused students at Hasidic yeshivas, new DOE documents show

Newly released documents from the NYC education department show troubling patterns at Hasidic yeshivas, including possibly fraudulent classes staged for DOE officials

Yeshivas

‘Where’s our presence in the streets?’ Mayor Adams tells yeshiva leaders to get outraged

“You’re making a big mistake,” the mayor told an audience at Agudah’s annual “Yeshiva Summit,” adding, “I am not going to be a silent friend”

Yeshivas

State finds another 12 Hasidic schools offer inadequate secular education

The state told the schools to submit timelines within 60 days on how they intend to make progress on reaching substantial equivalency

Crime

Williamsburg sex offender accused of assaulting Monsey teenager, boasts of luring boys to mikvahs

While on probation for previous sex crimes, Joseph Grunwald was arrested by the FBI for allegedly grooming, assaulting, and threatening a 14-year-old, after boasting of having access to mikvahs, school buses, and dormitories

Haredi Life

Year end reflections on Shtetl’s first ten months of reporting: the top issues of 2023

With the intimate familiarity of insiders but free from the usual top-down oversight of Haredi media, we reported on everything from the Satmar rebbe's bragging about deceiving legislators to Agudah's efforts to keep the Times from winning a Pulitzer

Haredi Life

First, he converted to Judaism. Then, he returned to Christianity. The Haredi reaction to Satchel Bloyd’s story wasn’t pretty

Satchel, Yechiel, Bartimaeus: he went by different names, but former friends said his embrace of Hasidism was genuine — as long as it lasted