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Jewish Reels

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New York · August 31, 1965

Greeting the Satmar Rebbe on the Queen Mary, 1965

Published

Satmar chassidim stand at the water in New York as the Queen Mary comes in, waiting for the Satmar Rebbe, Reb Yoel Teitelbaum. Police stand in front of them.

New York, August 31, 1965. About 39 seconds.

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Facing the water

The name Queen Mary is up on the ship as she comes in.

Photograph taken from the deck of the Queen Mary, looking down on a crowd waiting under the pier shed
From the deck of the Queen Mary, looking down on the crowd under the pier shed. The print is lettered “Photographed on board R.M.S. Queen Mary” (Royal Mail Ship). Moreshet Auction 77, lot 99, September 15, 2024.

The paper the next morning

On September 1, 1965, Tel Aviv’s daily newspaper She’arim (issue 4306) datelined the report New York, August 31. The Satmar Rebbe, Reb Yoel Teitelbaum, had visited Britain and Israel. Several hundred followers came to receive him as he left the ship.

The marked She’arim report, September 1, 1965: The Satmar Rebbe returned to New York
Tel Aviv’s daily newspaper She’arim, September 1, 1965, front page. The marked report is “The Satmar Rebbe returned to New York.”

The Rebbe they came for

Reb Yoel Teitelbaum rebuilt the Satmar kehillah in America after the Holocaust. Williamsburg is its center. Anthony Camerano photographed him at the pier that day for the Associated Press.

The Satmar Rebbe, Reb Yoel Teitelbaum, at the Queen Mary pier on August 31, 1965, hand over his face, with men in black hats under the pier roof
Anthony Camerano, Associated Press, August 31, 1965. Wider view. Photo ID 397272074081.
A closer Associated Press photograph of the Satmar Rebbe, Reb Yoel Teitelbaum, and the men with him at the pier, August 31, 1965
A closer exposure from another spot. Photo ID 558446652969.

The Associated Press titles both pictures “Grand Rabbi Returns From Overseas.” The captions say 11 weeks in Europe and Israel, and more than 100 followers at the pier. The photograph from the deck shows the crowd under the pier shed. That group alone is really more than 100. The people standing in the streets are a further crowd. She’arim says several hundred.

Pier 90

Cunard Pier 90
West 50th Street, Hudson River, Manhattan
40.76766, -73.99888

Satellite view of Pier 90, the Cunard pier the Queen Mary used in New York, at West 50th Street on the Hudson.

The film and what followed

The Satmar Rebbe, Reb Yoel Teitelbaum, remained their Rebbe until his petirah in 1979. In 1967 the Queen Mary left sea service and was preserved in Long Beach, California.

Timeline

1887
Reb Yoel Teitelbaum born.
August 31, 1965
The Queen Mary arrives in New York. Anthony Camerano photographs the Satmar Rebbe, Reb Yoel Teitelbaum, at the pier.
September 1, 1965
Tel Aviv’s daily newspaper She’arim prints the report of the August 31 return.
1967
The Queen Mary leaves sea service. The ship is preserved in Long Beach, California.
1979
The Satmar Rebbe, Reb Yoel Teitelbaum, is niftar.