Israeli lawmakers urge government to rescue children from Lev Tahor cult
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The Knesset Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs convened on Monday to discuss the fate of children rescued from the extremist sect in Guatemala, urging the Israeli government to take immediate action.Of the 160 minors removed from the sect’s compound in December, approximately 100 are eligible for Israeli citizenship, while the rest are American and Canadian nationals. Testimonies indicate the children face serious risks, including long-term trauma from abuse. They are currently housed in Guatemalan shelters and require rehabilitation.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.Relatives of children still in the sect accused Israeli authorities of inaction, warning that Guatemala would not hold the minors indefinitely. “The Guatemalan police did Israel’s hardest work. Now, the government must complete the mission and bring them home,” said one family member.
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