Israeli Orthodox "Taliban sect" in court

[mirele]

Oh.My. These guys make the FLDS and our Quiverfullers look like flaming liberals.

 

 

 

Quote

Court to rule on legality of Israeli ultra-Orthodox 'Taliban sect'

 

Decision follows what appears to be the conclusion of an international family drama involving two sisters from Beit Shemesh who belong to the Taliban sect.

 

By Oz Rosenberg

 

 

In a precedent-setting move, an Israeli court is expected to decide next week whether it is legal to belong to the extreme ultra-Orthodox group Lev Tahor, known as "the Taliban sect." A decision reached this week by a family court in Rishon Letzion indicates that a ruling on Lev Tahor's legality is imminent.

 

The decision follows what appears to be the conclusion of an international family drama involving two sisters from Beit Shemesh who belong to the Taliban sect. The two were forcibly returned to Israel on Sunday under an order issued by the court. The sisters, 13 and 15, were en route to a Lev Tahor village located on the outskirts of Montreal, Canada.

 

The brother of the sister's grandmother petitioned for the writ; the great-uncle was concerned that the girls might be harmed living in the Canadian community.

 

The Lev Tahor community is a cult, he contended; should the girls enter it, they would be stripped of all their property, he wrote, and they would be compelled to wed male members of the cult, which is an accepted practice among all young women in the group.

 

The Israeli court upheld the petition, finding that "there is some defect in the parents' perception of ways of life."

 

Judge Rivka Makayes ruled that the writ will remain in effect until next week, at which time a family court in Jerusalem will hold a hearing to decide whether the pious lifestyle upheld by the parents is marred by such a defect.

 

The Jerusalem court's ruling will have implications for all members of the Taliban sect in Israel. Should the court find that it is illegal to belong to the community, social welfare agencies will be able to take immediate steps to remove children from the control of parents who are affiliated with Lev Tahor.

 

Bringing the Beit Shemesh sisters back to Israel was an international operation, involving the foreign ministry and Interpol. The goal of the operation was to stop the pair from entering the ultra-Orthodox community in Canada.

 

The community was established about a decade ago, and today has about 45 families, some of them newly Orthodox Israeli families. Women are clothed from head to foot in black garb.

 

more here: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/ne ... t-1.388187

 

 

This is a picture of the girls.

 

I should note that here in the USA any discussion of the legality of a particular religion is pretty much out of the question.

[Swamptribe]

Read the full article. It seems this cult actually tried to set up in the US first, and fled to Canada.

[Mompom]

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/23/nyreg ... -ager.html

Here's a case involving the founder of that group. I'm pretty sure you can be even a cult member in America, but you can't do anything that's illegal. That's why America is such a breeding ground for cults. But, like it or not, we have religious freedom. Again, though that freedom ends when you do things that are illegal. If the government wanted to though they could chip away at a harmful cult in other ways though, maybe revoking their 501C3 status or never granting it, invading privacy to insist upon child welfare, insisting on proper zoning for gatherings or meetings, or enforcing noise ordinances.

So maybe their "establishment" in the US was thwarted by the fact that he took in a young boy without his parents consent and essentially kidnapping him?

[Guest Anonymous]

I think we've seen cults can be pretty easily established in both countries (us and canada - the flds spans both, for instance), and here in Canada it seems religious freedom keeps them alive...

Edited to add = in the wake of the flds trafficking girls, looks like the border/immigration officials are finally taking things seriously

[maybeizfundie]

Wow. Learn something new every day. That is one sect of Judaism that I never knew existed.

[ChickeyMonkey]

maybe revoking their 501C3 status or never granting it

Personally, I don't think any religious institution/church/synagog/etc. should be tax-exempt. I think they should all have to pay taxes. Maybe those leaders who are causing problems could be brought up on tax evasion charges. You can't convince me that a lot of these mega churches don't have shady money dealings going on. Who's that one preacher who says he needs a private plane so that he can "spread the word" mo' better? Yeah. I believe him. :roll:

[FaustianSlip]

There's a great book about a guy who grew up secular whose brother went to Israel, found religion and rapidly went from being a mainstream Orthodox guy to trying to join the Lev Tohor sect (and bring his wife and kids with him- the wife told him to go jump in a lake). I think it's called Chosen By God: a Brother's Story, by... Josh Hammer, I think his name is? Anyway, it's a fascinating read and discusses this group a bit.

They're loopy, but in all honesty, I think the difference between these guys and a good chunk of the Meah Shearim crowd is only a case of gradiations of fundamentalism.

[hoipolloi]

The world would be a much better place if we could take the fundie Christians, taliban Jews, and Muslim fanatics, and lock all of them up together forever.

Then the rest of us could live our lives as we see fit.

ETA: OK, and maybe throw the leaders of the Church of Scientology and a few other particularly wack cults in there before the door is closed & locked.

[mirele]

There's a great book about a guy who grew up secular whose brother went to Israel, found religion and rapidly went from being a mainstream Orthodox guy to trying to join the Lev Tohor sect (and bring his wife and kids with him- the wife told him to go jump in a lake). I think it's called Chosen By God: a Brother's Story, by... Josh Hammer, I think his name is? Anyway, it's a fascinating read and discusses this group a bit.

They're loopy, but in all honesty, I think the difference between these guys and a good chunk of the Meah Shearim crowd is only a case of gradiations of fundamentalism.

Possibly. I think the shock also comes from the fact that the women are Jews wearing what looks like Islamic garb. (There was another very tiny group, actually in Israel, that the authorities broke up recently due to child abuse allegations that also freaked people out because the women wore what looked like burqas but were Jews.)