The Jewish-American Saga of Gitty Grunwald and Her Daughter

I do not like that Satmar man
I do not like his Satmar clan

I do not like how he treats his wife
I do not agree with how he lives his life

I do not like that Satmar clan
No, I do not like them Sam-I-an

Hat tip: Most all of you

My opinion on the Satmar is that they are morons making Judsaism mornoic with their institutional bigotry, their triumphalism, and their backwards and benighted takes on life, science, history, Chumash and halacha.

I'm siding with the woman in the story you'll reach via the link above. Yes, she stole the girl first, but it seems beyond dispute that the her daughter will be happier outside of the Satmar enclave. See, the little girl is tainted. Her mother is OTD. She's played with Barbie dolls, and seen women wearing pants. For the not-so-good people of Kiryas Joel this makes her damaged goods. You might as well slap a scarlet T for treif on her forehead.

What lies ahead for this little girl, if she remains in KJ, is a life of soul-breaking misery. She's the olderst daughter, and in the land of the Satmar oldest daughters are junior mommies, chasing after dozens of siblings. And because she'll be the eldest daughter in a blended family, she's have no real mother to protect her. It'll be like Cinderella, but instead of a handsome prince, she'll be "rescued" probably at age 17 (though 15 isn't impossible) by a man she'll likely meet in her wedding bed. Anyone deserves better, but unlike her Satmar sisters this girl has a chance at something better because her brave mother saved herself and escaped the shtetl. She should be allowed to save her daughter, too.