Search Results

Mexican authorities have arrested several members of the Jewish sect Lev Tahor in Mexico. Children and teenagers have also been liberated, BBC reported. LEV TAHOR Lev Tahor is an extremist, religious group that is located in the Mexican jungle, near the border with Guatemala. The group has been banned from Israel. The police had been eyeing this group for a long time because of suspicion of human trafficking in minors. During the raid, a group of children and teenagers were taken for fear that the members would otherwise kill them to prevent them from falling into the hands of others. The children and teenagers have been taken to Israel where they are reunited with relatives. Continue reading at https://www-linda-nl.translate.goog/nieuws/buitenland/groep-kinderen-tieners-bevrijd-mexico-joodse-sekte-lev-tahor/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp Read this article in Dutch: https://www.linda.nl/nieuws/buitenland/groep-kinderen-tieners-bevrijd-mexico-joodse-sekte-lev-tahor/

Mordechay Malka grew up in Lev Tahor. At age 15, he was assigned to marry, cult newcomer, Chaya Sara Weingarten - who was 24 years-old as the time. Thirteen years later, on September 9, 2022, he was sentenced to 57 months in prison for playing a leading role in an elaborate kidnap and subsequent kidnap attempts in 2018. On December 6, 2018 Mordechay Malka rented a vehicle. Working with numerous co-conspirators that included cult leader Nachman Helbrans (currently serving 12 years for his role in the abduction), they rented a motel room and purchased disguises. The Malkas smuggled drop phones to the 14-year-old girl and her 12-year-old brother. Two days later, at around 3:00 in the morning, the children snuck out the house and into a waiting vehicle that drove them to Scranton airport, where Nachman Helbrans was waiting. Using passports belonging to Nachman’s children, they spent the day flying through several airports, eventually entering Mexico. It took three weeks and over a hundred officers from law enforcement agencies in three countries to eventually track down the children in Mexico and reunite them with their mother. It was later discovered that Mordechay Malka was playing a "double agent" (as Mr. Helbrans related) pretending to help the FBI while secretly meeting up with co-conspirators to aid in them hiding from authorities. In 2019 and 2021, Lev Tahor cult made two more attempts to kidnap the children. During the Jury trial, in which Mr. Malka attempted to represent himself, the jury found him guilty on all charges, including conspiracy for kidnapping, international kidnapping, and attempted kidnapping. During sentencing Mr. Malka said that his wife and children are currently living in New York as they seek a different path in life. His lawyer also requested that, should be be sentenced to prison time, that he not be together with other Lev Tahor leaders. But it is unclear whether he and his family actually exited the cult or if he only hinted to the fact in order to lessen his sentence. Mordechay Malka is due to begin a three year supervised release from prison in early to mid 2024.

9/09/2022 | New York - "This was a horrific, horrendous, crime that was committed," stated Judge Nelson Roman during the Friday sentencing of Mordechay Malka. This was the third sentence handed down this week by Judge Roman relating to an elaborate kidnapping conspiracy that started in 2018 by members Lev Tahor - a Jewish cult that was camped in Guatemala until recently. During Friday sentencing, Mordechay Malka read a prepared speech in which he apologized profusely for his role in the crime. But the judge dismissed his remarks - pointing out his "lack of remorse" during the extent of the trial - handing him a 57 month prison sentence and three years of supervised release. On Wednesday, September 7th, 2022, Judge Roman sentenced Matityau Moshe Malka and Jacob Rosner for their respective roles in the kidnapping. Jacob Rosner had also previously pled guilty for his involvement in the brazen 2018 kidnapping of a 12-year-old boy and his 14-year-old sister, who were taken from New York to Mexico where the girl reunited with her 20-year-old husband. During the sentencing Mr. Rosner spoke passionately to the judge about his remorse and his awakening to the cult's toxic reality. The judge replied with a heartfelt speech about faith and the need for self reflection. Proceeding this, he let Mr. Rosner free on account of his time already served. Matityau Moshe Malka had been found guilty for his role in a subsequent attempted kidnapping of the same children at a later date. In contrast to his co-conspirator, the judge gave Mr. Malka, a 66-months sentence after he gave a discombobulated speech before the court. The speech included a plea that his sentence should be the same length as his “Rebbe” - Nachman Helbrans. Current cult leader, Nachman Helbrans, and a leader of Lev Tahor administration Mayer Rosner, Aron Rosner’s brother, have already been convicted and sentenced to 12 years behind bars. During the trial, testimony brought to light some of the inner-workings of the cult and significant details of the kidnapping conspiracy. On July 7, 2017 Lev Tahor cult founder and leader Shlomo Helbrans died under suspicious circumstances in a remote Mexican river. His son, Nachman, took control of the cult and added stifling new restrictions as he secured his new power. His erratic behavior caused the death of his sister two weeks after their fathers death. Nachman’s younger sister, Sara Helbrans-Teller, mother of the kidnapped children, testified during the trial that several weeks after her father and sister’s death, Nachman informed her that her 12-year-old daughter was to be engaged with a 19-year-old man. When Sara protested, Nachman publicly excommunicated her for a year, removed her 6 children from her home, and proceeded with the marriage of her daughter. Fearing for her life and the life of her children, Sara managed to escape from the cult compound near Oratorio, Guatemala along with several of her children in October, 2018. After her escape, she made her way to the home of friends in New York where she obtained orders of custody and protection. On December 6, 2018 Mordechay Malka (Matityau’s cousin - who will be sentenced by the same judge on Friday, Sept. 9, at 3:00pm) rented a vehicle. Working with numerous co-conspirators that included his cousin Matityau Malka and cult leader Nachman Helbrans (currently serving 12 years for his role in the abduction), they rented a motel room and purchased disguises. The Malkas smuggled drop phones to the 14-year-old girl and her 12-year-old brother (at a later attempted kidnapping, Matityau Malka gave the girl a drop phone and sedatives.) Two days later, at around 3:00 in the morning, the children snuck out the house and into a waiting vehicle that drove them to Scranton airport, where Nachman Helbrans was waiting. Using passports belonging to Nachman’s children, they spent the day flying through several airports, eventually entering Mexico. Incredibly, they not only broke numerous federal laws - but as it was a Saturday, the Jewish day of rest, their behavior went against basic Jewish Halacha (law), a code the cult claims to adhere to more strictly than any other Jewish sect. It took three weeks and over a hundred officers from law enforcement agencies in three countries to eventually track down the children in Mexico and reunite them with their mother. In 2019 and 2021, Lev Tahor cult made two more attempts to kidnap the children. During the trial, the court heard from numerous witnesses including the husband of the 14-year-old girl, officials from several agencies, and a former member of the cult who had participated in the plotting and carrying out of the abduction, and who detailed the atmosphere of fear and punishments inside the cult. Evidence produced included recorded phone conversations, photographs, video footage, and documents. The upcoming trial of note is for Mordechay Malka's brother-in-laws, the Weingarten brothers, who are senior Lev Tahor leaders. The brothers were nabbed, during two separate raids, while hiding in Guatemala. Two of the three brothers were recently extradited to the United States to face trial. The raids to catch the Weingartens triggered the entire Lev Tahor community - living in one secluded Guatemala tent city - to abandon their tents and scatter around the globe. They also changed their traditional Chasidic garb for a more unique look - to prevent assimilation into other Chasidic sects while on the run. “I feel bad though,” admitted Lev Tahor survivor Mendy Levy, who escaped the cult a few years ago. “Because Mordechai Malka was not really a bad guy. He was just forced to do what he did by the Weingartens, Nachman Helbrans, and Mayer Rosner." IMAGES ASSOCIATED WITH PRESS RELEASE SHORT PROFILES: MATITYAU MOSHE MALKA JACOB ROSNER MORDECHAY MALKA — About Lev Tahor Survivors Lev Tahor Survivors was created and is run by a group of dedicated individuals focused on the rescue and support of the current victims and survivors of the Lev Tahor Cult, and has a fourfold purpose: Stop the abuse Hold abusers accountable Dismantle a harmful cult, and Assist those who need help leaving. We ourselves are NOT survivors but seek to represent and support survivors. We wanted to create a site with honest and truthful information about the Lev Tahor cult for the benefit of the public. We strive to be a dynamic resource of information about the Lev Tahor cult, to provide tools which enable convenient access to that information, and to help current victims and survivors process their past in order to move on and create their future. We tirelessly put together as much information as we could garner to arm the general public with the knowledge they would need in order to recognize this group as a cult. We do this and expect nothing in return except for the satisfaction of knowing that we have performed a useful service for the innocent and unsuspecting men, women, and children that face daily abuse. Lev Tahor Survivors info@levtahorsurvivors.com 845-262-4066 Levtahorsurvivors.com — RELATED: Department of Justice Press Release after Trial Verdict https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/lev-tahor-operatives-convicted-trial-kidnapping-offenses __ Detailed written reports and analysis from the Malka trial Day 1: https://www.levtahorsurvivors.com/post/lev-tahor-malka-trial-day-1-synopsis Day 2: https://www.levtahorsurvivors.com/post/lev-tahor-cult-leader-took-3-flights-on-shabbat-malka-trial-day-2-report — Documentaries related to the above story https://youtu.be/fMLBIwiEv3I https://youtu.be/m95BTIEpvOc

In November 2013, about 250 members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect Lev Tahor fled the Laurentians town of Ste-Agathe-des-Monts to avoid a hearing in youth court. The group was facing allegations of child abuse and neglect from Quebec’s youth-protection department — such as corporal punishment in school, underage marriage, sexual abuse of minors and squalid living conditions. Listen to the podcast episode below to hear from Gazette reporter Jason Magder as he reflects on what it was like to cover Lev Tahor as the story was breaking. Continue reading at https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/true-crime-byline-reporting-on-lev-tahor-with-jason-madger

London’s strictly-Orthodox Jewish community were this week being warned that members of an extreme Jewish sect are currently in the British capital to raise funds. The photographic claims, which have not yet been verified by Jewish News, are being widely circulated online by a campaign group set up to help survivors of the Lev Tahor sect, whose leaders are currently in jail in the United States after being convicted of child kidnapping. Hundreds of members of the anti-Zionist sect have been disbursed around the world in recent years, the group having settled – or sought to settle – in countries such as Guatemala, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Mexico, and Iran. Those who have managed to escape have told of child sexual abuse, physical abuse, and a custom of arranged marriage for Jewish girls as young as 14, who are typically dressed head-to-toe in dark clothing from the age of three. Continue reading at https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/warning-over-extreme-jewish-sect-fundraising-in-london/

During his recent visit in Morocco, Uriel Goldman, one of the leaders of Lev Tahor, an extremist Jewish group, claims to have received the blessing of Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto, one of the key players in the Israeli-Morocco rapprochement, to settle in the kingdom, we learn from the Israeli press. They recall that the group was founded by Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans in Jerusalem in the 1980s, adding that it is "an embattled ultra-Orthodox cult." Rabbi Pinto declined to make a statement on the matter, while a representative of Morocco's Jewish community said he had no knowledge of the cult and Pinto was not connected to the wider Jewish community. Continue reading at https://mobile-ledesk-ma.translate.goog/encontinu/la-secte-lev-tahor-assure-etre-la-bienvenue-au-maroc/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp Read this article in French: https://mobile.ledesk.ma/encontinu/la-secte-lev-tahor-assure-etre-la-bienvenue-au-maroc/

Beleaguered ultra-Orthodox cult Lev Tahor is seeking to move to Morocco, and recently received the blessing of a prominent Moroccan-Israeli rabbi with an international celebrity following, as the extremist group seeks footing after fleeing other countries and having its leadership imprisoned, an activist opposed to the group said. Uriel Goldman, one of Lev Tahor’s leaders, met recently with Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto in Morocco to win his favor to support the move, according to Lev Tahor Survivors, an organization supporting defectors who fled the group. A representative of the Morocco’s small Jewish community said he had no knowledge of the cult and said Pinto was not connected to the wider community. Continue reading at https://www.timesofisrael.com/leadership-behind-bars-lev-tahor-cult-now-seeking-to-move-to-morocco-opponents-say/

After years of wandering the world and many of its leaders being sent to prison, the Lev Tahor cult has essentially disbanded, three cult members told Kikar H’Shabbat. According to the report, cult members are scatted in a number of countries around the world in recent months. A small number of members are still in Guatemala and are trying desperately to rehabilitate the cult. Some cult members returned to Israel and have been seen on the streets of Jerusalem in recent days. This past Friday, some cult members were also spotted in London buying food for Shabbos. Continue reading at https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/2104759/has-the-lev-tahor-cult-disbanded.html

More than a spokesperson: he is suspected of being the driving force behind the cult. NAME Uriel Yosef Goldman (a.k.a. Feish Uriel Yosef Goldman) OFFICIAL ROLE Lev Tahor spokesperson. ALSO SERVES AS Fundraiser, suspected strategist and fixer CURRENT STATUS Helping Lev Tahor's jailed leaders fight legal battles and working to find a safe haven for the cult in countries like Iran. NOTEWORTHY RELATIONSHIPS Brother: Michael Yehuda Goldman (Lev Tahor teacher suspected of molestation and child abuse) Son: Yisroel Yehuda Efraim Goldman (suspected to be involved in a kidnapping attempt) BRIEF HISTORY Uriel Goldman and his brother Michael Yehuda joined Lev Tahor when they were still in Israel. A former member of Bnei Akiva, Uriel’s intelligence, persuasiveness, and communication skills turned him into one of the cult’s leading fundraisers, their formal spokesperson, and an advisor to cult founder Shlomo Helbrans and the Hanhala (“administration”). He holds Israeli, American, and Argentinian citizenship. As evidenced from numerous documentaries on Lev Tahor, Goldman is very active in backstage management. He is present in almost all formal media interviews, and can often be spotted behind the scenes, sometimes even communicating with those who have less experience speaking in front of cameras. He is also Lev Tahor’s chief correspondent with politicians and supporters, with leadership of various Chassidic communities, and both the English and Yiddish media. As Lev Tahor’s top fundraiser, Goldman is skilful at adapting, adjusting, manipulating, and finding creative methods for the cult to raise millions of dollars through various business dealings and "creative" solicitation campaigns. In the early years of the cult, Goldman claims to have urged Shlomo Helbrans to leave Israel before a possible government crackdown. After arrival in the United States and establishing a Lev Tahor Yeshiva, a parent brought a 12-year-old boy for Bar Mitzvah lessons and Shlomo Helbrans decided to remove/kidnap him from his family. Goldman was the one who paid the young teen’s travel expenses and a $5000 payment so Fhima could testify on Helbrans’ behalf during the kidnapping trial. Goldman was also caught on camera commanding inferiors to hide computers and other potential evidence. In 2018, several weeks after Lev Tahor kidnapped two children, Goldman was detained by Mexican authorities together with several other members of Lev Tahor. He was flown to the United States and later released. Goldman still travels for fundraising purposes and to try and establish connections with governments and religious Jewish leadership across the globe. He is an integral part of Lev Tahor’s operations and organization. KNOWN FOR After being released from a United States prison, cult founder Shlomo Helbrans was deported to Israel, where he would likely be investigated. Helbrans was granted political asylum in Canada based on Goldman’s sworn testimony that he had been sent by the Israeli government to infiltrate Lev Tahor. However, Goldman later admitted, in leaked audio from a phone call, that he had lied to Canadian authorities. SUSPECTED OR ACCUSED OF Lying to Canadian government authorities, money laundering, charity fraud, fundraising for Lev Tahor under the name of other organizations IF YOU SEE HIM Notify us so we can inform the public. You can send tips to us by email or on our website. Call us: +1718-751-0803. Whatsapp: +1845-262-4066.

Matityau Moshe Malka is currently awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of a scheme to kidnap a 14-year-old girl and her 12-year-old brother from their mother. In July 2017, Lev Tahor leader Shlomo Helbrans died under suspicious circumstances while immersing in a river near San Jeronimo, Mexico. His son Nachman formally took charge of the cult and shortly thereafter allegedly orchestrated the killing of his sister Miriam, urging her to prove her trust in him and eat a sesame dip, to which she was deathly allergic. Two of Nachman's siblings (Nosson and Nechama) had already fled the cult. Only Yoel Heinich & Sara remained. Sara had married Aaron Arye Teller, dean of Lev Tahor's yeshiva, many years earlier. Nachman's leadership began with a severe tightening of restrictions, according to reports from those who managed to escape the cult and testimony from Sara Teller. More food items were banned, and the age for marriage was dropped to 12. When Sara was notified that her 13-year-old daughter was to be married to a 19-year-old, she protested. Hanhala responded by punishing Sara, forcing her to work as a maid and removing several children from her home. The marriage of her 13-year-old daughter went ahead. Reports from those who fled the cult also suggest that Aaron Arye may have been temporarily expelled to a home outside of their rural Guatemalan compound. In October 2018, after forcibly working as a maid for over a year, Sara escaped the cult. She found refuge with friends in Guatemala City, former members of Lev Tahor trying to rebuild their lives, and after rescuing several of her other children, she made her way to the United States. A short while later, Aron Arye Teller took the then-14-year-old girl and her 12-year-old brother to Mexico together with another Lev Tahor woman who posed as his wife and the mother of his children in order to get new passports. The two children were taken from Aron Arye and sent to the United States. Around one month later, a Brooklyn court granted Sara sole custody of all her children. Aron Arye, who had refused to participate in the court proceedings, was prohibited from communicating with the children. In December 2018, two months after Sara's escape, Matityau's cousin Mordechay Malka participated in the kidnapping of the two children, an elaborate scheme that involved drop phones, using aliases and fake travel documents, disguises and an encryption app. The kidnapping also took place on Shabbat and involved numerous cult members driving vehicles and flying across America, breaking Jewish religious laws. It took three weeks for an international team of agents to locate and rescue the children from a San Miguel Tlaixpan, Mexico. They were returned to their mother in New York. That's when Matityau was activated to organize a second kidnap attempt. Believed to be on the lower rungs of Lev Tahor's "hanhala" (administration), the 30-year-old acted as the operative on the ground, handing the 14-year-old several cell phones. On June 2, 2022, Matityau was convicted of one count of conspiring to commit international parental kidnapping, to unlawfully use a means of identification, and to enter by false pretenses the secure area of an airport, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. He was also convicted of one count of attempted international parental kidnapping, which carries a maximum sentenced of three years of prison. On September 7, 2022 Mr. Malka was sentenced in a New York court. The judge gave Mr. Malka, a 66-months sentence after he gave a discombobulated speech before the court. The speech included a plea that his sentence should be the same length as his “Rebbe” - Nachman Helbrans.

"He is the ambassador of Lev Tahor to the United States." - unnamed source to the New York Post. ​ Jacob Rosner is the brother of Lev Tahor administration member Mayer Rosner. Arrested in December 2018, he was accused of financing a Lev Tahor operation to kidnap two children who had escaped from the cult together with their mother. ​ According to federal prosecutors, Rosner sent money to the kidnappers every few days, loaned them his van, and advised a cooperating witness to "lie to law enforcement." ​ In January 2019, Rosner was released on $10 million bail and ordered to home detention with GPS monitoring at his residence in Brooklyn, New York. On September 7, 2022, Mr. Rosner was sentenced in a New York court. During the sentencing Mr. Rosner spoke passionately to the judge about his remorse and his awakening to the cult's toxic reality. The judge replied with a heartfelt speech about faith and the need for self reflection. Proceeding this, he let Mr. Rosner free on account of his time already served.

For many months, the Guatemalan compound of the Lev Tahor cult has been lying abandoned. Ever since members of the sect containing several hundred people, including men, women and children, fled the country, the compound has been left empty, with nary a soul in sight. Over the last few months, as the sect has been migrating across Europe in an attempt to find a country that will allow them to settle, only three members of Lev Tahor have stayed behind in their Guatemalan compound. In a small home at the end of the complex is a room in which the three members sit. Continue reading in its original Hebrew: https://www.kikar.co.il/420629.html Google translated version: https://www-kikar-co-il.translate.goog/420629.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp