BROOKLYN: RULING IN SATMAR LEADERSHIP CASE

BROOKLYN: RULING IN SATMAR LEADERSHIP CASE A state judge intervened in the power struggle between two brothers who seek to lead one of the largest Hasidic groups in New York, ruling yesterday that supporters of the older brother have a legitimate claim to control the group's business affairs. At stake is the political leadership of the Satmar Hasidim — a voting bloc of more than 50,000 — and control of a vast network of real estate and social services. The ruling, by Acting Justice Stewart A. Rossenwasser of State Supreme Court in Orange County, addressed a question of access to a cemetery in Monroe. But to decide the issue, he wrote that he must first resolve the question of which faction rightfully controls corporate decision-making. He ruled that a close supporter of the older brother, Aaron Teitelbaum, was the legitimate president of the religious corporation.MICHAEL BRICK (NYT)