Rabbi Shteinman, 104, hospitalized

Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman, the 104-year old leader of the Ashkenazi non-hassidic haredi (ultra-Orthodox) world, was again admitted to the hospital on Sunday with a fever and complaints of weakness. Shteinman was taken to the Mayanei Hayeshua hospital in Bnei Brak and admitted to the intensive care department fully conscious and stable.

The rabbi, who has been hospitalized on several occasions this year, will remain in the hospital for ongoing treatment and observation. Shteinman’s renewed ill health comes against the background of severe unrest in the “Lithuanian” non-hassidic haredi community, between the mainstream group led by Shteinman and the Jerusalem Faction, led by 86-year old Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach. The rift began in 2012 when Shteinman inherited the mantle of leadership from the previous leader, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, who died that year at the age of 102. His death created a leadership struggle between Shteinman and Auerbach and their two respective camps that was ultimately won by the former. Unusually, Auerbach and his coterie never accepted the new situation. They rejected Shteinman’s authority, starting their own institutions, including a newspaper and a political party and staked out a more radical agenda, especially regarding haredi enlistment to the IDF. Riots and demonstrations in recent weeks by the Jerusalem Faction have borne witness to that increasing radicalization by the group.

• Jeremy Sharon