Brothers who escaped the Lev Tahor extremist cult as teens rescue their family, reunite in Israel
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About a week ago, the Levy family — a mother, stepfather, and nine children — landed in Israel after years inside the extremist ultra-Orthodox cult “Lev Tahor” (“Pure Heart”) in Guatemala. Behind their rescue stood two of the children, Mendy and Yoel Levy, who had escaped the cult at the ages of just 15 and 16. For seven years, they devoted their lives to exposing the abuse, brainwashing and cruelty of its leaders.
Their father, Yehoshua Levy, died shortly before their escape, allegedly denied critical medical care by order of cult leader Nachman Helbrans, now serving a U.S. prison sentence for child kidnapping and abuse. “He was taken to the hospital only when it was too late,” the brothers recalled. He was buried in a forest near the shacks where members were confined.
Eight months ago, Guatemalan authorities raided the compound, removed all children and teenagers, and placed them in state care. Yoel flew there and painstakingly persuaded children to testify about the horrors they endured: no dental care, no vaccinations, a diet of only fruits and vegetables that left them frail and malnourished.
nvestigators confirmed reports of forced marriages among 13- and 14-year-olds, some of whom became parents themselves. At least nine infants died in the past five years due to malnutrition and the inability of young parents to care for them. Search dogs uncovered fresh infant graves — grim evidence of neglect and abuse.
Cult members repeatedly tried to storm the welfare facilities and smuggle the children to neighboring countries with weaker enforcement. Leaders launched a propaganda campaign portraying themselves as a persecuted religious community, but an inadvertent admission about child marriages only fueled further investigations.
Authorities eventually offered families a choice: leave the cult and reclaim your children — if you could prove you had somewhere to go. Slowly, families departed to Canada, the U.S. and Israel, coordinated with local authorities. Israel’s Welfare Ministry and Jewish Agency assisted the returnees.
Another powerful testimony came from Aryeh Spinner, who has lived in Israel for 20 years. He joined Lev Tahor with his mother and brother at age 14, when it was still operating in Canada. Unlike many, he defied then-leader Shlomo Helbrans, escaped and reached Israel. He became one of the first to publicly expose the cult’s crimes, leading to its eventual expulsion from Canada. In 2012, he appeared on TV’s “True Faces,” confronting his younger brother — married off at just 13. “I saw in his eyes he didn’t belong there,” Aryeh said. “I knew he’d escape one day.”
Since then, Aryeh waged an unrelenting campaign: interviews, lectures, social media advocacy. In 2016, he participated in a precedent-setting trial that formally recognized Lev Tahor as a dangerous cult in Israel. Six years ago, after Yoel escaped, the two discovered they were in fact step-uncle and nephew. They forged a close bond and began planning how to rescue the rest of their family.
The breakthrough came seven months ago after the Guatemalan raid. Aryeh’s estranged brother — Yoel’s stepfather — contacted him for the first time in 13 years. “It was a shocking, emotional call,” Aryeh recalled. “Suddenly I realized he had left the cult. His children were in welfare custody, and there was a real chance to save them.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/r1b18h4ygx.
