he too has a "dark side"

Motzie Simchas Torah 2006 (2), originally uploaded by yr514.

Schneur Zalman of NY commenting to mentalblog.com: The Chameleon: I can assure the readers that the historical information in this post is highly biased. The old Belzer rav loved his nephew and treated him in a very special manner. The young Rebbe was raised to be a Rebbe. After all his father the Bilgroier Rav spent the last 8 years of his life with the Old Rebbe.

As in any case of succession there was talk of other CANDIDATES. But that’s all they were. People like the Naroler Rebbe were mentioned. But in fact until the young Rebbe’s marriage in 1966 there was no Rebbe in Belz. Were there serious candidates, they had a clear run of things. But there were not.

As in any Jewish game once the young Rebbe became Rebbe some older men opposed him. Later on his pro-Zionist more "modern" Hashkofa and policies alienated some of the more unrepentant anti Zionists in his community.

The current "anti Belzer Rebbe "Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach was the son of the Yaroslaver Rebbe (a brother of the Belzer rav Rav Aron) R. Yehoshua's father was a Mizrachi hardly Chassidic . His mother divorced his father and went to Israel as a Chalutzah ! For if he were he could have served as Rebbe after his uncle's death.

In 1966 the elderly Machnovker Rebbe AYH Twerski arrived in Israel from Moscow. He was R. Yehoshua's grand uncle. Being childless the Machnovker wished him to succeed him as the Machnovker. This was then only a title. In the interim Rabbi Yehoshua had studied in Skvera in the US and turned Chassidic. Once the Machnovker Rebbe died he did indeed become Machnovker Rebbe. At that time several rich opponents of the Belzer Rav also proclaimed him as leader of Belz. In fact most of the backers of the new Rebbe were Satmarer gvirim seeking to punish the Belzer Rav for his proto Zionism. The Belzer is one of the few serious leaders in the Chasidic movement. As I wrote elsewhere like everyone in leadership he too has a "dark" side.