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cults

Rabbi Yosef Shoveli speaks in a sermon, uploaded on October 16, 2018. (YouTube screenshot/Arutz Hatorah)
May 7, 2026, 11:40 am
Meron rabbi arrested after cult watchdog warned of sex abuse in strictly run group
Accusers say Rabbi Yosef Shoveli, 54, passed off sexual abuse as ‘spiritual’ acts; in group he leads, personal decisions are tightly controlled and members do chores without pay
By Michael Horovitz and ToI Staff
Illustrative image. (Bonciutoma/Istock by Getty Images)
August 25, 2025, 12:47 pm
Horrifying testimonies seek to lift shroud of silence around ritual sex abuse claims
Survivors tell Knesset lawmakers of organized assaults on children by those claiming mantle of religion, alleging longstanding phenomenon made worse by official indifference
By Ariela Karmel
A member of the Lev Tahor Jewish cult protests as Guatemalan police members surround a minibus transferring rescued children to the Alida Espana de Arana special education school in Guatemala City on December 22, 2024 (Johan ORDÓÑEZ / AFP)
December 23, 2024, 10:16 am
Lev Tahor members bust into Guatemala shelter to recapture kids rescued in raid
Relatives of children from extreme ultra-Orthodox group that’s accused of abuse break into Guatemala City shelter, grabbing kids; authorities manage to recover some minors
By AFP
Illustrative -- Lev Tahor women and girls in Canada (Screen grab/YouTube)
July 11, 2024, 6:35 am
Last defendants in Lev Tahor abduction case sentenced to over 10 years in US prison
NY court hands down sentences to three brothers who were convicted for child exploitation and kidnapping on behalf of extremist Jewish cult
By Luke Tress
Members of the extreme ultra-Orthodox Lev Tahor sect assisting a woman as they escape from a detention shelter in Huixtla, Chiapas state, Mexico, on September 29, 2022. (Benjamin Alfaro/AFP)
March 29, 2024, 8:16 am
3 defendants in Lev Tahor cult abduction case convicted in NY of 2018 kidnapping
Brothers Yoil Weingarten, Yakov Weingarten and Shmiel Weingarten, of extremist sect, found guilty for their role in abducting two children from their mother’s home in the Catskills
By Luke Tress
Supporters and followers of Rabbi Eliezer Berland protest outside the Nitzan Prison in Ramle, on October 27, 2021 (Roy Alima/Flash90)
October 14, 2022, 12:47 pm
Jerusalem lets convicted cult leader use municipal parking lot for Sukkot events
Municipality defends allowing sex offender Rabbi Eliezer Berland and his followers to build sukkah on city-owned land, as vacationing staff aren’t parking there over holidays
By Ash Obel
Members of the extreme ultra-Orthodox Lev Tahor sect assisting a woman as they escape from a detention shelter in Huixtla, Chiapas state, Mexico, on September 29, 2022. (Benjamin Alfaro/AFP)
September 29, 2022, 8:55 pm
Lev Tahor members break out of Mexican shelter, escape in waiting vehicle
Group of around 20 extremist cult members overpower private guards and flee government migrant facility; reportedly enter waiting truck and head toward Guatemalan border
By AP and ToI Staff
Lev Tahor girls walking in Chatham, Ontario, in December 2013. (Screen Capture/YouTube)
September 29, 2022, 1:59 am
Children in Lev Tahor face ‘daily suffering,’ former cult member says after raid
‘The children are abused daily, starved and married at a very young age,’ Yoel Levy recalls; top cop says children also forced to have kids immediately after marriage
By ToI Staff
Members of the Lev Tahor sect prepare to depart from La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City on a journey to Iraqi Kurdistan in October 2021. (Courtesy)
September 28, 2022, 10:55 am
Kids said separated from adult Lev Tahor members in Mexico raid over fears of harm
Israeli source tells of concerns that cult members would try to prevent removal of children from compound as ex-Mossad agent who was present says group dealt ‘a very strong blow’
By ToI Staff
Members of Lev Tahor prepare to depart their compound in eastern Sarajevo, February 3, 2022. (Courtesy/Davorin Sekulic/Klix.ba)
September 27, 2022, 1:33 pm
Mexican authorities raid Lev Tahor cult compound, detain 26 members
Some members face serious sex charges and could get up to 20 years in prison if found guilty by a Mexican court; 3-year-old boy returned to father in Israel who previously escaped
By Tobias Siegal
Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto, center, blesses Lev Tahor member Uriel Goldman, right, in Morocco, in a still from an undated video made available to The Times of Israel. (screen capture: Lev Tahor Survivors)
July 14, 2022, 1:45 am
Leadership behind bars, Lev Tahor cult now seeking to move to Morocco, opponents say
Extremist Jewish group seen getting blessing from controversial celebrity rabbi Pinto for latest cross-border flight; activist says most in group being held against their will
By Luke Tress
Daniel Ambash, a cult leader who in 2013 was convicted of raping and abusing his wives and children. (Screen capture: YouTube)
June 10, 2022, 12:25 pm
Leader of polygamous Jerusalem cult found dead in prison cell
Prisons service to examine death of Daniel Ambash, who was serving 26 years for what has been described as one of the most shocking abuse cases in Israel’s history
By ToI Staff
File: A member of the Jewish Lev Tahor cult in Bosnia and Herzegovina in television footage broadcast by the N1 BiH news outlet on January 28, 2022. (Screenshot/ YouTube)
February 22, 2022, 2:11 am
Bouncing around the Balkans, Lev Tahor cultists struggle to evade attention
Dozens of members of the extremist Jewish sect are sequestered in a North Macedonian hotel after locals threatened them; they reportedly arrived via Romania, Bosnia and Montenegro
By David I. Klein
Members of Lev Tahor prepare to depart their compound in eastern Sarajevo, February 3, 2022. (Courtesy/Davorin Sekulic/Klix.ba)
February 5, 2022, 1:46 am
37 members of extremist cult Lev Tahor leave Bosnia, destination unknown
Government assures ‘anxious citizens’ that group has gone; uncertain where it will now seek refuge; so-called ‘Jewish Taliban’ follow extreme and in some cases outlawed practices
By Yaakov Schwartz
Israel Amir interviewed by Channel 12's Uvda in a report that aired on December 30, 2021. (Screenshot/Channel 12)
January 1, 2022, 10:00 pm
Man who escaped anti-Zionist Jewish cult returned to Guatemala in search of his son
As Lev Tahor leadership sought to transport group to Iran, Israel Amir and team of ex-Shin Bet agents traveled across globe to search for 2-year-old boy
By ToI Staff
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