Canadian Authorities to Seek Custody of 127 'Jewish Taliban' Children

Canadian child protective services intend to seek the removal of all 127 children from the fringe ultra-Orthodox Lev Tahor group, often referred to as the "Jewish Taliban," several local media outlets reported Thursday.

A Canadian court earlier this month ordered the fringe sect to turn over as many as 13 of its children to authorities. But those children, along with several adult members of the community, fled the country to the Caribbean and Central America to avoid a court hearing that was scheduled for Wednesday, Global News Online reported.

Continue reading: https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2014-03-07/ty-article/canada-seeking-custody-of-jewish-taliban-kids/0000017f-f7d3-d044-adff-f7fbb0e30000

Photo credit: Shaul Boyer, Haaretz

Quebec officials want to prevent remaining Lev Tahor children from leaving Canada

Quebec officials are looking to take steps to prevent 127 children from within the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect, Lev Tahor from leaving Canada.

Denis Barabay with the Quebec youth protection agency is trying to spearhead the initiative after 12 Lev Tahor children and their parents fled the country. Barabay fears the remaining community members in Chatham-Kent will leave soon, too.

Continue reading: https://windsor.ctvnews.ca/quebec-officials-want-to-prevent-remaining-lev-tahor-children-from-leaving-canada-1.1719687

Documentary: Lev Tahor leader lied in refugee application to Canada

The leader of the fringe haredi Orthodox sect Lev Tahor may have used false evidence to gain refugee status in Canada, a Canadian documentary reported.

Ottawa’s granting of refugee status to Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans was based in part on testimony paid for by the sect, a boy involved at the hearing told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. program “the fifth estate.”

The documentary, which aired Friday, alleged that Shai Fima, the boy who was at the center of Helbrans’ 1996 kidnapping conviction in the United States, was paid $5,000 to appear on videotape at Helbrans’ hearing denying that he was kidnapped and saying the rabbi was being unfairly persecuted.

Continue reading: https://www.jta.org/2014/03/02/global/report-lev-tahor-leader-lied-in-refugee-application-to-canada