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Israeli Family's attempt to join extremist cult fails


Ralar

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An ultra-Orthodox Israeli family that crossed the border into Jordan Wednesday night was returned Thursday afternoon to Israel, where its members were promptly detained for questioning by the Eilat police.

 

The family was on its way to Canada, where the parents, with their six children, planned to join fellow members of an extremist cult based in a small town in Quebec. The cult, Lev Tahor (Pure Heart) numbers around 250 people, including 100 children. It is led by Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans, a 50-year-old Israeli, who according to reports uses extreme violence and mind-control methods to manipulate his followers.

 

http://www.timesofisrael.com/jordan-hands-back-border-hopping-family/

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I'm glad that they were returned to Israel--if only for the safety of the children. It does make me wonder what the family is like--what would possess the parents (okay, probably the father) to make the decision to sneak off to Canada to join the cult? It reminds me of the one photographer family that joined the WBC--it makes it a little bit easier to control your family to be in a cult.

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Glad the kids are safe. This has been an ongoing issue: the ultra-orthodox crowd scream bloody murder whenever they feel persecuted or that their rights are violated. However, there are several dangerous pseudo-religious cults that put on a religious facade, because no one dares question or stop a Jewish person practicing, you know, Judaism. There's an ingrained respect to anyone who is titled "Rabbi", so it takes some guts to stand up to cults and say it like it is.

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Glad the kids are safe. This has been an ongoing issue: the ultra-orthodox crowd scream bloody murder whenever they feel persecuted or that their rights are violated. However, there are several dangerous pseudo-religious cults that put on a religious facade, because no one dares question or stop a Jewish person practicing, you know, Judaism. There's an ingrained respect to anyone who is titled "Rabbi", so it takes some guts to stand up to cults and say it like it is.

While that's often the case, this cult (Lev Tahor) seems to inspire rage in the Haredi groups. Part of the issue is that the cult isn't connected to any of the established groups, so there is no deference to a respected rabbi or tradition. Part of the issue is that this group is so extreme, and there have been some real concerns about child abuse, so people want to distance themselves and say "hey, THOSE guy are crazy, but WE'RE normal". That was very much the view of the imamother ladies - some of them will throw hissy fits over the idea that someone may accidentally expose a knee or collarbone, but they were all adamant that this group was a dangerous cult.

Article by Jonathan Rosenblum, who is basically a PR guy for the ultra-Orthodox:

http://www.jewishmediaresources.com/120 ... f-normalcy

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