The sign at the entrance to the Kiryas Joel community, prior to its becoming the independent town of Palm Tree, warns visitors not to offend the sensibilities of the residents by exposing bare arms and legs.
By Carolyn Yeager
REMEMBER KIRYAS JOEL? I WROTE about it last November. It has the distinction of being the first Jewish town in the United States. This Hasidic community of over 20,000 Yiddish speakers had been a thorn in the side of the city of Monroe, NY – so much so that the voters in Monroe finally approved a measure to allow the Satmar sect to secede and become the state's first new town in 35 years. The town of Palm Tree (English translation of Teitelbaum, the surname of the rabbi who first settled in the area with a few Jews in the mid-1970's ) will come into official existence in 2020 with 214 acres of Monroe land and its own school system.
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