NEW YORK
Times Union

By Louis Grumet and John Caher
Friday, May 13, 2016

After the Holocaust, the Satmar Hasidim followed a charismatic leader and concentration camp survivor, Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum, originally from Satmar, Hungary, to the United States.

They settled in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Their numbers grew over the decades and they became a powerful voting bloc in New York City. Since Brooklyn is the most populous Democratic county in New York, this made them one of the most potent pressure groups in the state. There is no loyalty to any political party, or politician, only to their spiritual leader.

Despite their relatively small numbers, the Satmar can, and do, determine the outcome of close elections. On select issues, and when they choose to mobilize the collective power, the small, insular group is a political wrecking ball — but only to the extent that…