A member of the Hasidic Lev Tahor cult was indicted today at the Jerusalem District Court for assaulting and abusing children mentally and physically in 2009-2011, when he served as the principal of a school belonging to the community in Canada.
Rabbi Elazar Rompler, 46, is accused of abusive behavior toward nine- and ten-year-old children.
In one case Rompler allegedly had a child stripped, tied up and beaten for several hours over suspicions he stole money from a charity money box. In another he is accused of instructing other teachers to hold a child down and beat him repeatedly for allegedly lying.
Lev Tahor, which has about 230 members, has frequently relocated to escape criminal accusations. In 2014 it relocated to Guatemala from Canada following allegations of mistreatment of its children including abuse and child marriages. In 2017 members are believed to have crossed the border to Mexico.
Rompler was arrested in December after arriving in Israel for unspecified reasons. He has since been under house arrest.
Eliezer Rompler, of the Lev Tahor cult, arrives at the Jerusalem District Court for a court hearing on May 26, 2020 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
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Tuesday, May 26, 2020
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