Earlier this month, we reported that the Satmar Rebbe of Williamsburg has offered $25K to Yeshivas who
will hold back their students from going to vote on election day. The
Rebbe who is due to arrive in Israel on the week of the Jan. 22 Knesset
election, reportedly offered $100 cash for each Bucher or Yingerman who
would abstain.
In order to justify their actions and promote their anti-Zionist message explaining those who have not yet followed the Satmar Rabbis forbidding to participate in the Knesset elections, the Satmar congregation in Williamsburg is organizing a fundraiser this Saturday night in Brooklyn, in an attempt to raise 500,000 dollars, JDN reports.
The money raised, will apparently be used for a 'Hasbarah' campaign, reaching out to the ultra-Orthodox communities in spreading the ban and notifying them the great sin, in their view, of voting for the governmental elections, that is illegitimate according to the psak of the late Satmar Rebbe, Reb Yoel TeitelBaum Z''l.
Since Satmar recognizes their limits, and the unwillingness of local papers to publish their ads, the money raised by the dinner in the grand Satmar Shul, will be used for posters, flyer hand outs and for organizing events over the course of the remaining weeks until election day.
One of the congregations officials told JDN that the plan is to flood every street from North to South on a daily basis, with Billboards and posters that warn against the idea of participating in the elections. The activity will also include handing out booklets and sending mailers in the Ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods.