Lev Tahor, a radical ultra-Orthodox sect founded in Jerusalem in the late 1980s by Shlomo Helbrans, is known for its extreme religious practices and allegations of severe physical and psychological abuse. The group, which has moved across several countries, is now based in Guatemala, where two of its leaders, Yoel Goldman and Nissan Yehoshua Yehuda Malka, were recently arrested on charges of child abuse and human trafficking.
During the committee hearing, former sect members and family representatives stressed the urgency of securing the children’s relocation to Israel. Survivors described harsh living conditions, forced starvation and total isolation from the outside world. One former member, who managed to rescue his son from the sect in 2022, said he had long dreamed of being saved by the Israeli government.
Shas MK Yinon Azoulay, who raised the issue in parliament, emphasized that children as young as 13 within the sect were already parents. He criticized Israel’s refusal to send sect survivors back to Guatemala to assist in the rescue efforts. “The government delegation should have stayed until they returned with all the children on a plane to Israel,” he said.
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Guatemalan police during a raid on the Lev Tahor compound last year
(Photo: REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin)
Israeli officials acknowledged the complexity of the situation. A representative from the Prime Minister’s Office reported that 139 minors, mostly between the ages of two and nine, remain in Guatemalan protective facilities. The Foreign Ministry said that bureaucratic and legal challenges complicate their return but stressed that efforts are ongoing.
Officials also discussed the financial and logistical challenges of repatriation, with the Foreign Ministry estimating that bringing the children to Israel would require significant funding. Some of the minors may qualify for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return, potentially facilitating their relocation.
The committee concluded with a call for urgent governmental intervention to prevent the children from being moved again and disappearing into the sect’s global network.
