Israeli Court To Rule On Legality Of Haredi Cult

In a precedent-setting move, an Israeli court is expected to decide next week whether it is legal to belong to the extreme ultra-Orthodox group Lev Tahor, known as "the Taliban sect." A decision reached this week by a family court in Rishon Letzion indicates that a ruling on Lev Tahor's legality is imminent.

The two "Taliban" sisters in Ben Gurion airport earlier this week

Court to rule on legality of Israeli ultra-Orthodox 'Taliban sect'
Decision follows what appears to be the conclusion of an international family drama involving two sisters from Beit Shemesh who belong to the Taliban sect.
By Oz Rosenberg • Ha’aretz

In a precedent-setting move, an Israeli court is expected to decide next week whether it is legal to belong to the extreme ultra-Orthodox group Lev Tahor, known as "the Taliban sect." A decision reached this week by a family court in Rishon Letzion indicates that a ruling on Lev Tahor's legality is imminent.

The decision follows what appears to be the conclusion of an international family drama involving two sisters from Beit Shemesh who belong to the Taliban sect. The two were forcibly returned to Israel on Sunday under an order issued by the court. The sisters, 13 and 15, were en route to a Lev Tahor village located on the outskirts of Montreal, Canada.

The brother of the sister's grandmother petitioned for the writ; the great-uncle was concerned that the girls might be harmed living in the Canadian community.

The Lev Tahor community is a cult, he contended; should the girls enter it, they would be stripped of all their property, he wrote, and they would be compelled to wed male members of the cult, which is an accepted practice among all young women in the group.

The Israeli court upheld the petition, finding that "there is some defect in the parents' perception of ways of life."

Judge Rivka Makayes ruled that the writ will remain in effect until next week, at which time a family court in Jerusalem will hold a hearing to decide whether the pious lifestyle upheld by the parents is marred by such a defect.

The Jerusalem court's ruling will have implications for all members of the Taliban sect in Israel. Should the court find that it is illegal to belong to the community, social welfare agencies will be able to take immediate steps to remove children from the control of parents who are affiliated with Lev Tahor.

Bringing the Beit Shemesh sisters back to Israel was an international operation, involving the foreign ministry and Interpol. The goal of the operation was to stop the pair from entering the ultra-Orthodox community in Canada.

The community was established about a decade ago, and today has about 45 families, some of them newly Orthodox Israeli families. Women are clothed from head to foot in black garb.

The leader of the Lev Tahor community calls himself Shlomo Elbarnes. From Jerusalem's Kiryat Yovel neighborhood, this charismatic figure began forming extremist Orthodox groups in the United States some 20 years ago. His followers are said to heed his authority entirely.

Elbarnes brought his followers to Canada after U.S. authorities expelled him due to charges that he coercively asserted control over a 13-year-old minor. Elbarnes settled with his group outside of Montreal, where they are said to be fervently religious, holding prayer services that last nearly the entire day.

Rituals of the Lev Tahor community reportedly involve lashing anyone considered a "sinner," and sending 14-year-old girls to the wedding canopy.

At dawn last Wednesday, the parents of the Beit Shemesh girls put their daughters on a flight to Montreal, intending for them to join the Lev Tahor group after the Rosh Hashanah holiday.

"We checked the place thoroughly, and it seemed suitable,' said L., the mother of the girls, who spoke on Monday at Ben-Gurion International Airport.

But when the girls reached the airport in Canada, two Canadian officials detained them and said they would not be able to enter the country.

"We reached the airport in Canada," the older of the two young women said. "We saw people from Lev Tahor waiting to take us to their community, but suddenly policemen came and took us aside."

"We tried to resist. We screamed and cried," the girls said Monday after they were brought back to Israel. Due to the Rosh Hashanah holiday, they were not immediately flown back to Israel. They were temporarily placed under the care of a family in a Canadian orphanage. Sunday morning, they were put on a return flight to Israel, where they remained under the watchful eyes of Canadian police representatives.

When they reached Ben-Gurion International Airport, the two were taken by authorities to meet with a social worker from Beit Shemesh. The social worker phoned their parents, who had no knowledge of their daughters' return to Israel. The social worker informed the parents that the girls were being held at the airport.

According to the parents, the social workers stated that their daughters would only be permitted to return to them if the parents signed a form attesting that they would not try again to send the pair to the Lev Tahor community in Canada.

The girls were released after the parents' attorney reached the airport.

The lawyer, Yair Nehorai, stated that "the behavior of the various authorities in this affair seems problematic."

The Beit Shemesh municipality responded that "concerns about the welfare and security of these girls is what motivated decisions reached in this matter. All the decisions were reached in full coordination with the Social Affairs Ministry and in accordance with obligatory procedures."

Comments

[Dr. Dave]

How can you tell there is actually someone under all that cloth?

They look like a couple piles of shmattas

[netflix]

has anyone seen what these women actually look like under the cloths?

maybe we're actually better off this way. just want to make sure we're not shooting ourselves in the foot.

[Askan]

They are miserably disgusting, and make our religion more disgusting! They are worse then Arabs! There is no mekor for this! They will rot in hell more then the Taliban!

Unless they stop. Court, please rule against this.

Thank you, the "charaidim" of Jerusalem.

[OMG]

I have issues with a ruling to disallow some idiots to dress in this stupid outfit. I do not want to see state sponsored dress codes. Additionally, down the road, the charediem might control the government levers, and they will force you to adhere to their dress code.

[Adam Neira]

It is tricky to rule on dress, but the French and Australians have banned full face burkhas in public, so the government of Israel has a right to impose some conditions.

[ultra haredi lite]

The issue if I understand it correctly, and why the courts are taking this up, is whether this type of lifestyle is considered abusive.

[Barry]

This is not an issue of dress.

These are not women but are children.

The court is only concerned about the likelihood of emotional and sexual abuse by a foreign based cult.

The fact that the parents approve or are not concerned about the possibility of abuse is irrelevant to the courts decision.

Children are not the property of their parents or rabbis. They cannot do what they want with them.

[Darth_Zeidah]

"It is tricky to rule on dress, but the French and Australians have banned full face burkhas in public, so the government of Israel has a right to impose some conditions."

Perhaps Mr Adam Neira would do well to remember that old adage "two wrongs do not necessarily make a right".

[Darth_Zeidah]

"It is tricky to rule on dress, but the French and Australians have banned full face burkhas in public, so the government of Israel has a right to impose some conditions."

Perhaps Mr Adam Neira would do well to remember that old adage "two wrongs do not necessarily make a right".

[seymour]

Posted by: OMG | October 04, 2011 at 11:54 PM

I think there is much more than just the dress it is the whole life style

[Bfeirush in Fartscroll]

You can be sure there is one motivation behind this Lev Tahor bullshit and it has nothing to do with serving the Lord. It's all one big set up so this guy can bust his nut in underage cooch. Amazing how some guys let their little heads do all the thinking.

[jancsipista]

theese woman need pshychaitric help no one in their right mind can dress like that its 100 per cent insanity.

[SkepticalYid]

Personally I think they should be allowed to dress this way. It serves as a perfect illustration of the extremist trends in Haredism. They probably offer the same weak argument that all extremists offer... you're just angry because we're the only ones doing it right.

[Alter Kocker]

Here I thought that the Haredim were already a cult. Who'da thunk it! An even more extreme cult within an extreme cult. Now that's Torah True Judaism folks.

Declare all of them insane and ship'em some place where they can be peculiar without drawing shame unto the rest of us.

[Guest]

The community was established about a decade ago, and today has about 45 families, some of them newly Orthodox Israeli families. Women are clothed from head to foot in black garb.

What is it with these BT's? Whether they join Breslov, Chabad, or Lev Tahor, BT's are so extreme and nuts.

[Bas Melech]

Dress is the least important issue of the cult and the article. The bigger issues are:

1- "Rituals of the Lev Tahor community reportedly involve lashing anyone considered a "sinner," and

2- "sending 14-year-old girls to the wedding canopy."

What is the legal age of marriage in Canada? Maybe these girls were getting married there. Where do 14 yr old in Israel go to get married? 14 is not legal age in Israel.

['Yechiel']

Children are not the property of their parents or rabbis. They cannot do what they want with them.

Posted by: Barry | October 05, 2011 at 03:54 AM

Correct; they are not the property of any government agency either.

I am all for the government protecting the vulnerable but time and again they overextend their arms...

As far as Lev Tahor goes, they are Fr••ks and mainly extreme BTs.
Erez Helbrans should have been locked up a decade ago.

[OMG]

Posted by: seymour | October 05, 2011 at 06:40 AM

Could be, but then I would like to see the government spell out precisely what the legal issues are, and not hide behind the dress.

[Schneur]

Hre is an instance that details the complete failure of Ultra charedi rabbis to control their own community. helbrans was an Israeli BT who became a folower of the satamr ideology in regards Israel. Then he became a rebbe without yichus , knowledge or anything. BUT the Satmar liked the fact he was a proponnent of their ideology and supportd him and financed him. In the US and Canad he started "kidnaping cahredi yuths to his cause including grandchildren of the late Kashoier rav R. rafael Blum regarded as a sort of gold standard of Kannaim. Then Blum declared war on helbrans and so on.
In any normal civilization Helbrans woudl ahve been questioned from the get go and certainly not supported . In the Natioanl Religious world Ben Arzi a figure with some similarities to H was in fact denouncecd by the Mizrachi rabbinate and Israel.
But in the world of Satamr anyone who supports their shittah is automatically a big zaddik !!!

[jancsipista]

Scheur-automatically a big zaddik !!! aha you mean without the za he is just a dik.

[Dovit]

At least the Taliban allow eyeholes. I see no eyeholes or breathing holes in these tents! Surely that can't be right? Does the guy with them lead them around??

[JRKmommy]

The legal age of consent in Canada is 16, however it was 14 until the law was changed by the Conservative government in 2008. Physical punishment of a child by anyone other than parents, or with an object, is considered assault.

http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/dept-min/clp/faq.html

Where exactly is this cult? Do Quebec authorities know about it?

[David]

It is tricky to rule on dress, but the French and Australians have banned full face burkhas in public, so the government of Israel has a right to impose some conditions.

Posted by: Adam Neira | October 05, 2011 at 12:00 AM

Australia did not ban full face burkhas in public. The law was changed in one state (NSW) to require that the face covering be removed upon the request of police for identification purposes when required (e.g. traffic offences).

[effie]

How do the parents benefit by sending their girls to a foreign country to be married off? What's the deal here?

[Litvish]

I would amend the article as follows:

"Torah-true Judaism" is a cult. Should the girls enter it, they would be stripped of all their property, and they would be compelled to wed male members of the cult, which is an accepted practice among all young women in the group."

This is at least if not more true than the version you printed.

Look at the photo.

On the left a bunch of who knows what covered in black garments. On the right a true cultist with a garment straight out of Dracula central casting, a head with a full beard, peyos and a convenient negel vasser bowl for a head covering.

Which is more the cultist?

Actually, if the women are to be condemned then reason would demand equal treatment for the real threats to society, the antediluvian throwbacks of "Torah-true Judaism".

[Putafinger init]

Is this community located near the Tosh community?