Satmar Rebbe's ban on voting in Israel to be auctioned

1952 letter by Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum banning participation in Israeli elections and accusing Zionists of being worse than idolaters revealed

Arutz Sheva Staff,

Rabbi Teitelbaum's letter
Rabbi Teitelbaum's letter
Kedem Auction House

The Kedem auction house in Jerusalem revealed the original letter of explanation from the late Satmar Rebbe, Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, against participation in Israeli elections on election day.

In the letter, which was revealed today for the first time, Rabbi Teitelbaum compared participation in Israeli elections to support missionaries and determined that taking part in the Zionist government is worse than idolatry. The letter will be auctioned after Passover.

The letter was written in 1951, prior to Israel's second national election. It includes a long explanation that establishes Rabbi Teitelbaum's position against participation in the elections, which his followers still abide by to this day.

"And the inciters and messengers of the Christians called Missionaries, If the religious observers from Israel would participate with them, they would do a lot of for Israel, they would also have helped Israel to save a few bodies of Torah. Nevertheless, it would have been unthinkable to make any connection with them in any way in the world,"as he would appear, G-d forbid, to be an idol worshiper," he wrote.

The lengthy letter, which is spread over 16 pages, also contains Rabbi Teitlebaum's stern position on the matter of Heter Mechirah, the sale of land to a non-Jew during the 'shmittah' year, which allows the land to be worked. "All the true Torah sages who fear God in their hearts, and seek the truth, have forbidden it. Because all the permits are nonsense, they are not real, which were sought by some rabbis who were influenced by the Zionist administrators of the heretics [...] and misled a few rabbis abroad in ways that can not be written down."

Maron Aran, one of the owners of the Kedem auction house in Jerusalem, notes, "This historic letter is one of the first documents in the dispute that is accompanying our people to this day. The fact that until today many lives still exist in light of these arguments and these positions make it even more fascinating and important."