Lev Tahor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Goel Ratzon, a polygamist cult leader, seen at the district court room in Tel Aviv on October 28, 2014. (Motti Kimchi/POOL)

February 22, 2016, 5:09 pm

MKs bid to tackle ‘harmful cults’ that ensnare 20,000 Israelis. But it’s not so simple

From polygamous sexual predators to the ‘Jewish Taliban,’ sects draw in large numbers of susceptible adherents. Will new legislation break the spell? Or does it go too far, threatening religious freedom?

By Marissa Newman