Murder plot against previous Satmar Rebbe Rav Yoel Z"TL revealed in Der Blatt newspaper

 The following story of a Murder plot against the previous Satmar Rebbe by the heads of state, appeared in Yiddish in the Satmar newspaper Der Blatt. The article was published in the weekend edition commemorating the 34th Yartzheit of the Previous Satmar Rebbe Rav Yoel Teitelbaum Z'Tl. The story is told over by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Grenberg who is one of the last living witness to the affair.

The year was 1958 a decade after the establishment of the state of Israel, in the Mea Shearim neighborhood on Salant Street the city began operating a mixed swimming facility serving the secular population of Jerusalem. Indeed, residents began demonstrations and protests to eliminate the  spiritual decline and have the pool shut indefinitely. The  Satmar Rebbe, decided to help the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and asked to make a big demonstration in front of Israeli diplomatic missions in New - York. At the same time, Abba Eban - who was at that time the Israeli ambassador to the UN, and later served as Foreign Minister in the governments of Israel was planning an impressive gala ceremony on Independence day, near UN headquarters in Manhattan, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the State of Israel. Abba Eban worked for 6 months on various logistical details of the event. When the Rebbe learned  that Abba Eban planed  to conduct a ceremony at the United Nations, he decided to sabotage the joy. The plan was to counter it and hold a large demonstration against the state opposite the United Nations, at theexact time as Ebban's ceremony, throwing a negative light on the state. The demonstration was intended to send a message to the world, that the State of Israel persecutes religion and deny the rights of the minority. 

 Abba Eban, who heard about it - knew the media spotlight may be directed to the thousands of ultra-Orthodox demonstrating, called the Rebbe's residence and asked to speak with him urgently. He was told by the Gabboim that he would not be able to speak directly with the Satmar Rebbe. Instead, he was directed to Rabbi Lipa Friedman - who served as Rosh hakohol of Satmar. Abba Eban, swore he is willing to commit that the pool will be closed immediately and begged that the Rebbe cancel the demonstration, it can be harmful to us. He promised to do all in his power and connections to get the pool closed. Friedman Repeated over the conversation to the Rebbe, the rebbe responded that he does not trust Abba Eban, he is certain that after the cessation of the festivities - if the demonstration is canceled, He would not lift a finger to keep his promise. Still, I'm willing to grant the request and to consider favorably, so nobody could say then, that the Satmar Rebbe is guilty in not closing down the pool because he was offered a swap, eliminating a demonstration for the pool, and he refused the offer. 

Three days  passed since the  ceremony marking the day of Independence. Abba Eban contacted Friedman and apologized to him for not keeping the deal. "I assure you that I spoke with Prime Minister Ben Gurion and anyone who could speak on the issue - but all of them sealed their ears from hearing." When the Rebbe heard that ebben did not keep the deal, he was furious he said "I knew". He would not let Ebben or the zionists get away with it and promised a larger demonstration to humiliate the state. The next demonstration will be double the quantity and we will look at every avenue to bring to the attention of the world the exploits of Zionism, persecuting the Orthodox Jews in Israel. The next demonstration was impressive, it took place in front of the White House in Washington. The President at the time was Dwight Eisenhower. The President agreed to meet with meet the representatives of thousands of protesters, including the late Rabbi Lipa Friedman, the late Rabbi Sender Deutsch, and Rabbi Joel Klein  all Satmar community leaders. They conveyed to the President the cause of the demonstration and the fact that the Zionists  were persecuting Orthodox Jews at every opportunity. The President promised to convey the message to the heads of state and ask them to consider the needs of Orthodox Jews.

  The mixed pool eventually closed. However the ire of the Zionists burned within. They could not bear the humiliation of mass demonstrations organized by satmar and the media coverage it received. Apparently, within the Israeli Mossad they devised a plot. it was decided to eliminate and kill the  enemy which is the Rebbe  rav Yoel Teitelbaum Zatzal, who continued attacking and demonstrating against them.
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Somehow, the plot came to the Rebbes attention. Only few in the inner circle were notified and were told to keep quiet. Rabbi Mendel greenberg, rushed to buy a gun and served as a bodyguard to the Rebbe. Being single at the time, allowed him to provide security to the Rebbe around the clock. Meanwhile, the Gabboim summoned an urgent meeting with the secret service and told them about the information received. A plan of action was formulated to provide security. The secret service had 5 members dress up as orthodox Jews. Three of them sat in an unmarked car in front of the rebbes home,  two were stationed in the rebbes house.They were on the lookout for a hit man or suspicious activity. The system worked like this: one of the yeshiva students, dressed in a hat and suit and wearing sunglasses, sat in the reception room of the Rebbe, and recorded all those entering and leaving the house. On the roof of the  five-story building stood another guard, who was equipped with a radio and he too kept track of all those coming and going.Late every day, the 2 guards would  cross check between the lists making sure the number of outgoing and incoming were identical. On the third day, when  Rabbi Yosef Ashkenazi the main gabbai, announced that kabolas kahal was over for the day, the guards compared notes and discovered that one person entered the building and has not yet emerged. The signal was given to close and search the building. Members of the Secret Service arrived as reinforcements  to prevent the escape of the suspect hiding in the building. Guards entered with guns drawn the building, and began to search the five-story, trying to find the assassin. They initially, visited the fifth floor,  and searched house to house. Following a strict and thorough scan they found the assassin hiding in a tank in the boiler room which was located below the basement floor. The assassin was waiting to carry out the mission assigned to him by his handlers. He was arrested and handed  over to the FBI, for questioning. A total news blackout was imposed on the details of this  story, and the Rebbes circle were not informed of any follow up details of the arrest. The secret service personnel informed the Rebbe that life can return to normal. All they were told was that the Israeli Government had a hand in the attempt and were issued a stern warning by Washington. Beyond that, no more details were given that could shed light on the event. Forty-four years later, when all those involved have passed onto the next world,  the last witness, Reb Mendel Greenberg, decided to share one of the darkest episodes of Zionism.