Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - Synagogue Firefight Deemed Suspicious

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - Fire marshals are probing two suspicious early-morning blazes at the soon-to-be-completed synagogue that will serve as the new Williamsburg headquarters of the Satmar Hasidic sect.

The fires occurred yesterday on the first floor of the site at Ross Street and Bedford Avenue as was reported first on VOS IZ NEIAS.
The synagogue, scheduled for completion next month, is next door to the residence of Rabbi Zalmen Teitelbaum, who leads the Satmar Hasidic sect. The fires were quickly extinguished, but because of their location and the time they occurred, they were deemed suspicious.

The sect has been rocked by a bitter succession dispute. Supporters of Rabbi Zalmen say he is the handpicked successor to his father, Grand Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum, who died in April. But supporters of Zalmen's brother, Rabbi Aron, who heads the Orange County branch of the Satmar Hasidic sect, say he is the grand rebbe.

The Zalmen faction claimed victory in July after an appeals court declined to determine the validity of the competing claims. Backers of Aron said nothing had been decided.