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Lev Tahor
Members of an Orthodox Jewish community put a label from the 'International Rescue Committee for Jewish Families of the Lev Tahor Settlement' on the window of a bus in Guatemala city on September 25, 2016. (AFP PHOTO / JOHAN ORDONEZ)
September 22, 2019, 3:53 pm
Leaders of fringe ultra-Orthodox cult Lev Tahor requested asylum in Iran
Sect members swore allegiance to Khamenei last year, according to documents filed in US court ahead of kidnap, child abuse trial
By TOI staff and Agencies
Lev Tahor girls walking in Chatham, Ontario, in December 2013 (screen capture: YouTube)
August 7, 2019, 9:26 am
4 members of Hasidic cult indicted for plot to kidnap 2 kids from their mother
Lev Tahor adherents accused of conspiring to abduct grandchildren of sect’s founder after their mother fled the extremist group
By Agencies and TOI staff
Lev Tahor girls walking in Chatham, Ontario, in December 2013 (screen capture: YouTube)
July 31, 2019, 5:25 pm
Heads of extreme religious sect Lev Tahor indicted in NY for kidnapping attempt
5 senior members of fringe Jewish group charged for conspiring to kidnap two children from their mother and return them to secretive community
By JTA
Yante Teller (left) and Chaim Teller. (New York State Police)
December 30, 2018, 3:37 am
Children kidnapped by Hasidic cult found safe in Mexico, leaders charged
Nachman Helbrans, leader of Lev Tahor sect, arrested and deported to US along with others on charges of taking children of his sister who broke away from cult
By AP
Members of an Orthodox Jewish community put a label from the 'International Rescue Committee for Jewish Families of the Lev Tahor Settlement' on the window of a bus in Guatemala city on September 25, 2016. (AFP PHOTO / JOHAN ORDONEZ)
December 28, 2018, 5:19 am
Brooklyn man charged in kidnapping of kids who escaped Hasidic cult
Aron Rosner accused of helping members of Lev Tahor nab kids and take them out of US; whereabouts of children still unknown
By AP
Members of an Orthodox Jewish community put a label from the 'International Rescue Committee for Jewish Families of the Lev Tahor Settlement' on the window of a bus in Guatemala city on September 25, 2016. (AFP PHOTO / JOHAN ORDONEZ)
December 21, 2018, 4:40 am
Five leaders of ultra-Orthodox Lev Tahor sect arrested in Mexico
Joint operation between Interpol and FBI comes as police in New York are still searching for two children of mother who fled cult
By Marcy Oster
Lev Tahor girls walking in Chatham, Ontario, in December 2013 (screen capture: YouTube)
December 13, 2018, 3:02 am
Jewish religious cult Lev Tahor is suspected of kidnapping kids who broke away
A 14-year-old girl and her 12-year-old brother were last seen getting into a car in the Catskills region of upstate New York
By JTA and TOI staff
Two women and four minors are seen at a police station after being detained in a raid on an underage wedding in the ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem, on November 29, 2018. (Israel Police)
November 30, 2018, 1:15 pm
Police prevent underage ultra-Orthodox wedding in Jerusalem; bride-to-be is 13
Authorities say girl had been reported missing by her father 2 months ago, may have been hidden by her mother; 6 detained in raid, including 4 minors
By TOI staff
An illustrative photo of young ultra orthodox girls wearing clothing similar to girls in the Lev Tahor cult, walking in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood. (Photo credit: Yaakov Naumi/Flash90)
July 7, 2018, 2:20 pm
A year since leader’s death, ultra-Orthodox ‘cult’ hibernates in Central America
As elusive as they are radically devout, Lev Tahor, which fled from North to Central America following accusations of child abuse, lays low after chief rabbi drowns in river
By Maya Kroth
Lev Tahor girls walking in Chatham, Ontario, in December 2013 (screen capture: YouTube)
July 9, 2017, 4:20 am
Leader of Lev Tahor cult drowns in Mexico — report
Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans, 55, said found dead in river after ritual immersion
By TOI staff
A child member of the ultra-Orthodox 'Lev Tahor' Jewish sect, looks on at the building where the group was staying in Guatemala City on September 2, 2014. (photo credit: AFP/Johan ORDONEZ)
April 25, 2017, 7:03 pm
Israeli court rules Central American ultra-Orthodox sect is a ‘dangerous cult’
Verdict calls on state to take action in order to return children held illegally by Lev Tahor group
By Jacob Magid
Members of an Orthodox Jewish community put a label from the 'International Rescue Committee for Jewish Families of the Lev Tahor Settlement' on the window of a bus in Guatemala city on September 25, 2016. (AFP PHOTO / JOHAN ORDONEZ)
April 5, 2017, 2:15 am
Former Guatemala mayor jailed for expelling Jewish group
Rodolfo Perez claimed Lev Tahor members disrespected local traditions, particularly concerning the dead
By AFP
Members of an Orthodox Jewish community put a label from the 'International Rescue Committee for Jewish Families of the Lev Tahor Settlement' on the window of a bus in Guatemala city on September 25, 2016. (AFP PHOTO / JOHAN ORDONEZ)
September 25, 2016, 11:23 pm
Lev Tahor sect in Guatemala resettles, claiming harassment
500-strong group moving to a village in east of country after raids linked to child abuse allegations
By AFP
Members of the Lev Tahor sect leave Guatemalan city San Juan La Laguna after being forced out in August 2014. (Screenshot/YouTube)
September 14, 2016, 11:35 am
Guatemalan authorities raid secretive compound of Jewish cult
Lev Tahor members in small tourist town suspected of child abuse; Israeli Foreign Ministry following developments closely
By Sue Surkes
Members of the Lev Tahor sect leave Guatemalan city San Juan La Laguna after being forced out in August 2014. (Screenshot/YouTube)
June 20, 2016, 1:41 am
Guatemalan ex-mayor charged in expulsion of Jewish sect
Official indicted for abuse of authority, discrimination after 230 members of Lev Tahor forced out of village in 2014
By JTA
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