June 8, 2010
Arrests lead to protests in ongoing Kiryas Joel dispute
KIRYAS JOEL — Angry protests erupted on Sunday after at least two people were arrested in the latest confrontation over a synagogue that community dissidents were forced to vacate.
Around 7 a.m. that day, displaced worshippers began their latest Alamo-like defense of the property after construction vehicles sent by Kiryas Joel’s main congregation arrived to rip up a sliver of land in front of the synagogue that both factions of Satmar Hasidim claim to own.
Congregation Yetev Lev leaders had tried the same thing in October, but state troopers stopped them after a long standoff.
This time, the demolition proceeded with little interference for several hours until state police stepped in again, this time by order of state Supreme Court Justice Elaine Slobod, who’s handling a new court fight over the synagogue.
A series of YouTube videos posted by the dissidents show two excavators ripping up a stone walkway, buried septic tank, fence and curb and yanking down the synagogue’s electrical line as dissidents yelled from their front porch.
One 20-year-old who intervened found himself pushed to the ground and held down by five Kiryas Joel public safety officers, pepper-sprayed and handcuffed — then charged with third-degree assault, resisting arrest and three other offenses, according to a statement he gave to police and a YouTube recording.
“One officer put my head between his feet and started to squeeze,” Joel Waldman, a nephew of dissident leader Joseph Waldman, told state police in his statement. “I was struggling to not give up my hands to the public safety (officers) because I didn’t believe they could arrest me.”
The arrests and demolition later prompted large protests in Kiryas Joel. Within hours, people were marching through the village holding signs plastered with images of Waldman being held to the ground.
David Ekstein, president of Congregation Yetev Lev, said Monday that his group ordered the demolition because it plans to build parking spaces for its own members outside the dissident synagogue. He pointed out that the matter has been in litigation for five years.
“Enough is enough,” he said. “If they decide to run back to court every few minutes with frivolous lawsuits, this won’t stop us from acting on our own property.”
To watch a video of the demolition in Kiryas Joel on Sunday, go to
To see the resulting arrests (Joel Waldman’s begins at 2:11), go to
To see the ensuing protests, go to
http://www.mahnishmah.com/system/scripts/modules/admin/pages/show_page.cgi?p=14339
Source: Record
לאפלאש said,
June 8, 2010 at 11:15 AM
א גוט ווארט פון א קלוגן איד;
ר’ אהרן קען נאר ארבעטן זונטאג פארטאג’ס. אנגעהויבן פון זונטאג חוהמ”פ תשנ”ט פארטאג’ס, און אצינד זונטאג פרשת קרח פארטאג’ס…
און א סוף וועט ער האבן ווי ער האט געהאט יענעם זונטאג!!!!