The Satmar Rebbe's will named his younger son successor; New York's highest court refused to decide which son controls the congregation

Grand Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum founded Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar in Brooklyn in 1948. He died in 1979 and his nephew Moses Teitelbaum succeeded him. Moses made his elder son Aaron chief rabbi of the congregation in Kiryas Joel, in Monroe, New York, and his younger son Zalman Leib chief rabbi in Williamsburg. Followers split over who would be the next Grand Rabbi. On 12 and 13 May 2001 each faction held its own election for the Brooklyn board. Aaron's supporters, led by Berl Friedman, sued to void the rival slate and to transfer congregation property to Friedman. Moses Teitelbaum died in April 2006. His will named Zalman, then 54, as successor. Supporters of Aaron, 57, called the designation invalid, and some said the rabbi had Alzheimer's disease. Reporting put the assets at stake at several hundred million dollars. About 50,000 Satmar Hasidim lived in Williamsburg. On 20 November 2007 the New York Court of Appeals ruled 5 to 1 that the election dispute could not be decided without ruling on religion, because membership depended on whether a congregant followed "the ways of the Torah." It said these issues "must be resolved by the members of the Congregation." Judge Robert Smith dissented, saying courts should decline only as a last resort. The ruling left the Williamsburg congregation under Zalman's supporters^†. In 2026 the brothers lead separate Satmar communities^†.