Satmar

Satmar

The main Satmar synagogue in Kiryas Joel, New York
Total population
around 26,000 households
Founder
Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum
Regions with significant populations
United States, Israel, United Kingdom, Canada, Romania, Australia, Argentina, Belgium, UK
Religions
Hasidic Judaism

Satmar (Yiddish: סאַטמאַר; Hebrew: סאטמר) is a Hasidic group founded in 1905 by Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum (1887–1979), in the city of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary (now Satu Mare in Romania). The group is an offshoot of the Sighet Hasidic dynasty. Following World War II, it was re-established in New York.

Satmar is one of the largest Hasidic dynasties in the world, with some 26,000 households. It is characterized by extreme conservatism, complete rejection of modern culture, and fierce anti-Zionism. Satmar sponsors a comprehensive education and media system in Yiddish, and its members use Yiddish as a primary language. The sect also sponsors and leads the Central Rabbinical Congress, which serves as an umbrella organization for other very conservative, anti-Zionist, and mostly Hungarian-descended ultra-Orthodox communities.

After Joel Teitelbaum's death in 1979, he was succeeded by his nephew, Moshe Teitelbaum. Since the latter's death in 2006, the dynasty is split between Moshe's two sons, Aaron and Zalman Leib, with each holding dominion over separate communities and institutions.