ASHDOD, Israel — American ultra-Orthodox Jews are celebrating the visit to Brooklyn of Israeli Rabbi Shaul Alter, a former senior Gur figure. The Gur sect is the largest Hassidic group in the world, with two main centers in Israel and in the United States. It wields a lot of influence over Jewish life in the diaspora as well as on Israeli politics.

Alter's arrival was his second visit in New York as a Hassidic leader after a first last year. As in his 2021 visit, the American ultra-Orthodox community welcomed him effusively. In an enormous tent in Boro Park, thousands of followers hung on his every word. His meetings with prominent American rabbis were heavily covered by local ultra-Orthodox newspapers.

Such visits by major rabbis usually make headlines in the Israeli ultra-Orthodox press, but this one was practically ignored. Why?

The story starts three years ago with a dispute between a Gur follower named David Berliner and the Gur leadership over a children’s summer camp at the Catskills, New York. Berliner allegedly seized control of the camp's funds after claiming it had not paid him what he was owed. The seizure infuriated the Gur leadership, which immediately called for the community-wide shunning of Berliner. Alter published a letter of support for Berliner and his fate was sealed.