The unusual meeting with Trump: The struggle against the draft law reaches the White House

The struggle against the draft law reaches the White House: US President Donald Trump is expected to receive a delegation of Hasidic representatives on Thursday at the White House, led by the Satmar Rebbes. This is an unusual meeting, which the Hasidic court links to the struggle against the drafting of yeshiva students in Israel and the effort of Hasidic courts in the US to deepen their influence on the leadership of communities in Israel.

The meeting is scheduled to take place in the Oval Office at 19:30 Israel time, and alongside the two Teitelbaum brothers, who stand at the head of the two Satmar factions in Kiryas Joel and Williamsburg, other Rebbes and heads of yeshivas are expected to participate. This is an unusual composition: the White House is accustomed to hosting the heads of Jewish organizations, whose agenda includes the fight against antisemitism and support for Israel, whereas this time, leaders of the stream that rejects the very existence of the state are arriving in Washington.

Satmar is one of the largest Hasidic courts in the world, with its centers in Williamsburg and Kiryas Joel in New York State. It is the flag-bearer of the anti-Zionist Haredi stream, which rejects the very existence of the State of Israel, and the Rebbes who head it have a habit of sharply attacking Haredi parties in Israel as well for their cooperation with the state.

The educational institutions of the Hasidic court in Israel refuse to accept government budgets, for fear that dependence on state money will lead to its interference in the curriculum. During his last visit to Israel in November 2025, Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum distributed about 30 million dollars to institutions and families as part of "The Pure Shekel," a project of the Hasidic court intended to provide support to institutions that forgo state budgets.

In the Hasidic court, they say that the meeting is related to the struggle over the drafting of yeshiva students, and to the desire of the courts in the US to strengthen their status and influence on the leadership of communities in Israel. A photo of Rebbes in the Oval Office is intended to signal that they have diplomatic backing in Washington, and it is also supposed to assist in fundraising efforts in the US, money that is needed now more than ever to allow institutions in Israel to disconnect from state budgets.

In the Hasidic court, they say that the Rebbe did not plan to participate at all, and preferred that other rabbis represent the Haredi public. The reason is the timing: the month of Elul is the busiest period of the year for a Rebbe. According to those same sources, his position changed after several activists entered into a conversation with him lasting about two hours and presented him with the argument that his participation might benefit the entire Haredi public. The Skverer Rebbe also initially refused, and changed his mind only after a conversation that took place this past Friday afternoon.

This past Friday night, the Rebbe updated the yeshiva students in Kiryas Joel that he intends to travel. According to the American Haredi news site "Yeshiva World News," he told them that the invitation from the White House arrived the previous Sunday, and that at first he considered refusing due to the proximity to Rosh Hashanah. He further said that he intends to raise at the meeting the plight of "tens of thousands of Jews in the Land of Israel" due to the decree of drafting yeshiva students, and added: "We hope that we will be able to appeal to the president to assist in this situation."

Despite the Rebbe's words to the yeshiva students, the Hasidic court's activists are trying to keep the meeting secret and are careful not to reveal what is on the agenda. A source familiar with the details told "Ha-Yom" that the delegation is expected to focus precisely on the struggle against the demands for oversight and core studies in Haredi institutions in New York and on maintaining the independence of Haredi education, and that the participants are asking the federal administration for protection from the steps of New York State.

Another source told "Ha-Yom" that the idea for the meeting was born even earlier, as a sign of appreciation to the rabbis who helped Trump in the election campaign, but was postponed time after time until it was taken off the agenda, and now has resurfaced at the initiative of the President's office. According to him, the difficulty is not only in coordinating the date, but also in forming a unified position among the participants.

"This is a huge mistake. This rabbi has no right to be near the president," wrote Sid Rosenberg, host of a morning show on a conservative radio station that Trump is accustomed to being interviewed on.

The invitation, which according to reports in the US was initiated by the contact person for the Jewish community at the White House, Martin Marx, caused a storm in the American pro-Israel right. Influencer Laura Loomer, a right-wing activist and supporter of Israel with influence on the president, wrote on X that Marx is "putting the president before a political crisis," and added: "These are anti-Israel rabbis and supporters of [the Palestinian movement] who are being welcomed with open arms in the Oval Office." According to her, the Rebbe intends to ask Trump "to exert pressure on Netanyahu to end the drafting of yeshiva students."

In Satmar, they responded to Loomer's tweet. "The leadership of Kiryas Joel demonstrated strong support for President Trump in the last two presidential elections, and voted for him in overwhelming numbers, more than any other Jewish community in the country," was written in the response of the Hasidic court's headquarters on X, which called on Loomer to check the voting data in the community. In Satmar, they did not address the question of what the Rebbe intends to raise at the meeting, and did not deny that the draft issue might be raised.

In the White House, they did not publish an official announcement about the meeting, but a source in the administration stated that "The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships brings believing Americans to meet with the president," and that "ahead of the Rosh Hashanah holiday, President Trump looks forward to welcoming rabbis representing some of the largest Hasidic communities in the US." He added that Trump enjoys great support on the Hasidic street.