besalel: he said “lav dafka. he is a tinnik shenishba.” meaning, the the satmer rebbe, in this rabbis eyes, was no different in his level of observance than the hollywood unaffiliated jews
It’s interesting because I understand his remarks differently than you did. He meant that in this certain aspect he is a tinnok shenishba because he was not taught the proper shitta. So yes, he may be a mechallel shabbos, but doesn’t make him a non-practicing Jew. (They would say in similar cases, “Better to be a Shoggeg then to be a maizid”, when the person is like a tinok shenishba in certain aspect. Doesn’t mean the person isn’t religious.)