Shock in Satmar: Hasidic couple who converted revealed as imposters

A member of the Satmar hasidic community in New York, who converted to Judaism together with his wife, recently became irreligious - and the community is now saying that he was an imposter from the beginning.

The individual, known as Yechiel Yisroel Bloyd (Bartimaeus Black), joined the community approximately five years ago.

At the time, he claimed that he had undergone conversion through well-respected rabbis, who he named. Over the years, he became part of the hasidic community in Williamsburg, and became officially part of the Satmar community.

"He baked matzahs on the day before Pesach (Passover), in the best bakery, he gave speeches in synagogues, we gave him everything he needed in order to raise a family, hasidim would go around colleting charity for him," the Satmar community described.

According to sources in the Satmar hasidic community, on Thursday it became known that throughout the past five years, the couple had led a completely secular life - which shows that they had been imposters from the very beginning.

After he was no longer religious, Bloyd announced that he intended to publish a book about his life in the Satmar community. The community, however, claims that this was his intention from the beginning: To infiltrate the community, become part of it, and publish the "findings" of his "research."

Bloyd, however, denied this claim, saying that he converted according to Jewish law and even named, again, the rabbis who converted him, and said that the lifestyle of the Satmar community was no longer appropriate for him.