Unfortunately you are reading the headline correctly, the headline wasn't written in a way to grab your attention..
Who are the "Bnei Yoel?" Are they Satmar Chassidim?
When the founder of the Satmar dynasty, R' Yoel Teitelbaum z"l, passed on without leaving children and without leaving a will designating a successor, the Satmar elders appointed the Sigiter Rav, R' Moshe Teitelbaum a nephew of R' Yoel, who was in fact the halachic "yoirish", as his successor.
The rebbetzin of R' Yoel despised R' Moshe for many reasons, and refused to recognise him as the Satmar Rebbe. In fact she made herself the de facto "rebbe" and took "kviltlach" which she would in turn take to R' Yoel's grave.
There were a group of Satmar chassidim who were followers of the old Rebbitzin and who never recognised the "rabbistiveh" of R' Moshe, openly despised him and mocked him and they called themselves "Bnei Yoel" the "Children of Yoel".
When the old rebbitzen, the wife of R' Yoel passed on to a world where there is only truth, they continued being "Satmar Chassidim" but appointed their own rabbanim and dayanim and opened their own moisdois, and continued to defy R' Moshe; being a thorn in his eye.
Meanwhile R' Moshe wrote a will designating his younger son, R' Zalman Leib as his successor.
When R' Aron, who was the older son, got wind of that fact, he went ballistic and decided to drag his old feeble ailing father to secular court to get the court to declare his father, "insane."
While this was still in the courts, R' Moshe passed on to meet his uncle R' Yoel, who made a point of not writing a will, and not naming R Moshe as his successor, and the previous rebbitzin that despised him,
and it took only minutes for his elder son, R' Aron, to declare himself "Satmar Rebbe" ala Biden.
Hence the split between the two brothers...
The "Bnei Yoel" continue to be "Bnei Yoel" and hate both brothers.
R' Aron who designated himself the Satmar Rebbe, and who lives in Kiryat Yoel, opened a "public school" for children with special needs, calling it "Shaarei Chemla" the "gates of mercy".
To service a child with "special needs" is a very costly undertaking and runs about $60,000.00 per child, could possibly be more.
Kiryas Yoel has hundreds of children with special needs ..........you make the "cheshbin"
The federal and state governments offer these services for free, and even pay for all the school's upkeep including playgrounds etc..
One little problem.... if you take federal and state funds, you cannot teach religion and cannot display any religious symbols ..
In other words you can teach the Alef Beis but cannot teach Chumash or Shulchan Aruch in the building, you are also prohibited from putting a Mezuzah on the doors (I believe that Satmar got around that somehow)
So R' Aron established a public school in Kiryas Yoel servicing the children with special needs, that follow federal and state guidelines.
The "Bnei Yoel" who take their instructions from a Rebbe and a Rebbitzin that are no longer among the living, were livid and were opposed to the public school that would not allow religious studies.
They are of the opinion that if teaching religion is prohibited in this building, then Satmar should stop taking funds and open a private school.
But they offer no solutions and they have no clue how to accomplish that. Running this type of "private" school requires millions of dollars a year, but they won't allow facts to get in the way.
FYI, in Israel, the "treifinie medina", religion can be taught in the public schools for special children and all Satmar families send their children that require special education to these Zionist schools...
Shhhhhhh... don't tell anyone...
