KIRYAS JOEL — They had hoped to attract hundreds to protest attempts by leaders of Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum's congregation to close a dissident synagogue.
But whether from fear or lack of interest, only a few men stood in solidarity beside Forest Road on Friday morning as Rabbi Alter Moshe Goldberger raised a megaphone and began railing against Teitelbaum, the spiritual leader of Kiryas Joel's majority faction.
For nearly three weeks, a group calling itself the Committee for the Victims in Kiryas Joel had pressed village officials for a permit to protest in front of Teitelbaum's house, saying at first they expected as many as 1,000 participants.
Unused to such requests, the village initially provided a building application form, then created a six-page permit application that demanded such details as the loudspeaker wattage, the expected decibel level and a "survey by licensed engineer or surveyor of the premises upon which the mass gathering is to be conducted."
Result: No permit was issued.
The dissidents, enraged that the main congregation shut off utilities to their synagogue to try to evict them, settled for a more central location and held their protest anyway, gradually drawing a crowd of fewer than 100 men and boys — both supporters and opponents of their cause.
Opponents were gleeful about the low attendance: "I think it's a sign of the economic downturn," one passer-by joked.
As the crowd grew, a state trooper pulled up, and Kiryas Joel Public Safety Director Moses Witriol entered the fray with him to speak to the organizers.
"You don't have a permit to protest," Witriol said.
Goldberger lifted his megaphone and retorted: "The only place in the world where you are not allowed to protest is the Village of Kiryas Joel!" Not much happened after that except for speeches and taunts. The trooper drove away, Witriol retreated to his SUV, and the protest ended in less than 45 minutes.
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