13 jan 2020
One of the bedrooms in the raided complex
The investigators believe the women of the alleged Haredi cult were sexually exploited and had their hands burned to learn 'what hell feels like'; the elderly cult leader also apparently abused the children held in the residential complex
Police forces on Monday raided a Jerusalem residential complex where dozens women and children were living in slave-like conditions, some for up to 10 years, in what is believed to be a Haredi cult. The leader of the alleged cult, a rabbi in his 60s, was arrested.
The complex apparently includes three buildings and is located in the capital’s Geula neighborhood.
Eight other women are suspected of cooperating with the rabbi and were also arrested at the location.
Police are also investigating whether the cult leader was abusing the women's children, aged 5 to 11, some of whom were taken for questioning by a child protection specialist. The complex apparently included a kindergarten.
It is suspected that the women were being sexually exploited. In addition, some of the women were allegedly forced to put their hands into a fire in order to learn what “hell feels like.”
Some 50 women are believed to have been part of the cult and at least 20 have already been questioned by the police.
The court extended the remand of the main suspect by one week.
The investigation into the alleged cult was first opened several years ago but was recently renewed after several women who escaped from it came forward with the allegations to the authorities.
Following the women’s testimonies, new evidence has emerged pointing to the existence of an ultra-Orthodox community, which operates under the auspices of a women's seminar.
There, the women lived with their children in crowded residential complexes, with the head of the seminar allegedly systematically abusing them.
It has also emerged the suspect was using various punishment techniques to cower the women and the money the victims would earn at their jobs, was being taken by the cult leader.
Police said that investigators accompanied by members of the State Prosecutor's Office, have over the past two months gathered evidence incriminating the head of the community.
He is suspected of controlling the lives of about 50 women who have been completely isolated from their families and any children they had who are under the age of five.
The investigators believe the women of the alleged Haredi cult were sexually exploited and had their hands burned to learn 'what hell feels like'; the elderly cult leader also apparently abused the children held in the residential complex
Police forces on Monday raided a Jerusalem residential complex where dozens women and children were living in slave-like conditions, some for up to 10 years, in what is believed to be a Haredi cult. The leader of the alleged cult, a rabbi in his 60s, was arrested.
The complex apparently includes three buildings and is located in the capital’s Geula neighborhood.
Eight other women are suspected of cooperating with the rabbi and were also arrested at the location.
Police are also investigating whether the cult leader was abusing the women's children, aged 5 to 11, some of whom were taken for questioning by a child protection specialist. The complex apparently included a kindergarten.
It is suspected that the women were being sexually exploited. In addition, some of the women were allegedly forced to put their hands into a fire in order to learn what “hell feels like.”
Some 50 women are believed to have been part of the cult and at least 20 have already been questioned by the police.
The court extended the remand of the main suspect by one week.
The investigation into the alleged cult was first opened several years ago but was recently renewed after several women who escaped from it came forward with the allegations to the authorities.
Following the women’s testimonies, new evidence has emerged pointing to the existence of an ultra-Orthodox community, which operates under the auspices of a women's seminar.
There, the women lived with their children in crowded residential complexes, with the head of the seminar allegedly systematically abusing them.
It has also emerged the suspect was using various punishment techniques to cower the women and the money the victims would earn at their jobs, was being taken by the cult leader.
Police said that investigators accompanied by members of the State Prosecutor's Office, have over the past two months gathered evidence incriminating the head of the community.
He is suspected of controlling the lives of about 50 women who have been completely isolated from their families and any children they had who are under the age of five.
9 jan 2020
Shas Rabbi Shalom Cohen with Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Liberman, who immigrated to Israel from the Soviet Union
Letter from the party's spiritual leader calls on Yitzhak Yosef to keep expressing his position against 'destroyers of the religion' without fear of criticism, despite massive backlash from across the political spectrum
The spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Rabbi Shalom Cohen, published a letter on Thursday backing Shepardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef as he came under fire earlier this week after labeling immigrants from the former Soviet Union as "religion-hating gentiles."
The letter was published in Shas's Haderech weekly magazine and called on Yosef to keep expressing his position against "the destroyers of the religion" without fear of criticism.
"I heard with great sorrow what they did to his honor for sharing his pain over the immigration of non-Jews to the Land of Israel," Cohen wrote.
"I know that there are G-d-fearing Jews among the [post-Soviet] aliyah and his remarks weren't targeted at them, but at those many non-Jews who immigrate to the Holy Land," the letter said.
"Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed. Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel, like the people of Israel were ordered in yesteryear to guard the fortification of the walls of the religion."
It is incumbent upon the chief rabbi to stand at the gate and proudly and fiercely warn of the destroyers of the religion who rise to smite the Torah of Israel."
Yosef launched his vituperative attack at a rabbinical conference held in Jerusalem last week, where he criticized the Law of Return, which makes anyone with a Jewish grandparent eligible for Israeli citizenship. More than one million people from the former Soviet Union have immigrated to Israel since its collapse in 1989.
Yosef has refused to apologize for the attack on the country's Russian-speaking Jewish community, despite immense political and public uproar.
Letter from the party's spiritual leader calls on Yitzhak Yosef to keep expressing his position against 'destroyers of the religion' without fear of criticism, despite massive backlash from across the political spectrum
The spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Rabbi Shalom Cohen, published a letter on Thursday backing Shepardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef as he came under fire earlier this week after labeling immigrants from the former Soviet Union as "religion-hating gentiles."
The letter was published in Shas's Haderech weekly magazine and called on Yosef to keep expressing his position against "the destroyers of the religion" without fear of criticism.
"I heard with great sorrow what they did to his honor for sharing his pain over the immigration of non-Jews to the Land of Israel," Cohen wrote.
"I know that there are G-d-fearing Jews among the [post-Soviet] aliyah and his remarks weren't targeted at them, but at those many non-Jews who immigrate to the Holy Land," the letter said.
"Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed. Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel, like the people of Israel were ordered in yesteryear to guard the fortification of the walls of the religion."
It is incumbent upon the chief rabbi to stand at the gate and proudly and fiercely warn of the destroyers of the religion who rise to smite the Torah of Israel."
Yosef launched his vituperative attack at a rabbinical conference held in Jerusalem last week, where he criticized the Law of Return, which makes anyone with a Jewish grandparent eligible for Israeli citizenship. More than one million people from the former Soviet Union have immigrated to Israel since its collapse in 1989.
Yosef has refused to apologize for the attack on the country's Russian-speaking Jewish community, despite immense political and public uproar.
7 jan 2020
Yitzhak Yosef clarifies comments, saying he didn't mean all Israelis from former USSR, but 'minority of non-Jewish immigrants,' but refuses to walk back original statement despite backlash from across political spectrum
Israel's Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef on Tuesday refused to apologize for an attack on the country's Russian-speaking Jewish community, despite political and public uproar.
"There are many, many gentiles here, some are communists, hostile to religion, haters, of religion," Yosef says in a video made Monday. "They're not even Jewish, they're gentiles."
He doubled down on the comments on Tuesday, declaring in a new video: "I said it clearly and I'll say it again."
He did, however, attempt to qualify his remarks.
"Along with the blessed immigration of Jews from the former USSR, who gave their lives for the protection of Judaism – there is a minority of immigrants who are not Jewish according to halacha, who migrated here on the back of the 'grandson clause' in the Law of Return," he said, referring to the law that allows anyone with a Jewish grandparent to gain Israeli nationality.
"Anyone who lets these gentiles come here works out of superfluous considerations, and chiefly acts in a dishonest manner towards them," he added.
He also again criticized the Law of Return, stating that an amendment to the law was a chief priority.
In the original video obtained by Ynet, Yosef was heard describing the post-Soviet Jewish community as "complete gentiles," whom he said were brought to Israel to influence the social balance in the nation.
The rabbi's statements garnered furious criticism from lawmakers across the political spectrum.
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, who himself immigrated from Ukraine 1987, called the immigration from former USSR an "integral part of Israeli society."
"We fulfilled our dream of returning to Zion and it's impossible to imagine the State of Israel without the Soviet immigration's major contributions," he said.
"Even during the election campaign, there is no room for such invalid discourse of hatred and division."
Moldovan-born Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Liberman, whose party was founded to cater to the Russian-speaking community, branded Yosef's statements as "racist and bluntly anti-Semitic."
Former head of the left-wing Meretz party, Democratic Union MK Tamar Zandberg, called for Yosef to be investigated by police for inciteful comments.
Israel's Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef on Tuesday refused to apologize for an attack on the country's Russian-speaking Jewish community, despite political and public uproar.
"There are many, many gentiles here, some are communists, hostile to religion, haters, of religion," Yosef says in a video made Monday. "They're not even Jewish, they're gentiles."
He doubled down on the comments on Tuesday, declaring in a new video: "I said it clearly and I'll say it again."
He did, however, attempt to qualify his remarks.
"Along with the blessed immigration of Jews from the former USSR, who gave their lives for the protection of Judaism – there is a minority of immigrants who are not Jewish according to halacha, who migrated here on the back of the 'grandson clause' in the Law of Return," he said, referring to the law that allows anyone with a Jewish grandparent to gain Israeli nationality.
"Anyone who lets these gentiles come here works out of superfluous considerations, and chiefly acts in a dishonest manner towards them," he added.
He also again criticized the Law of Return, stating that an amendment to the law was a chief priority.
In the original video obtained by Ynet, Yosef was heard describing the post-Soviet Jewish community as "complete gentiles," whom he said were brought to Israel to influence the social balance in the nation.
The rabbi's statements garnered furious criticism from lawmakers across the political spectrum.
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, who himself immigrated from Ukraine 1987, called the immigration from former USSR an "integral part of Israeli society."
"We fulfilled our dream of returning to Zion and it's impossible to imagine the State of Israel without the Soviet immigration's major contributions," he said.
"Even during the election campaign, there is no room for such invalid discourse of hatred and division."
Moldovan-born Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Liberman, whose party was founded to cater to the Russian-speaking community, branded Yosef's statements as "racist and bluntly anti-Semitic."
Former head of the left-wing Meretz party, Democratic Union MK Tamar Zandberg, called for Yosef to be investigated by police for inciteful comments.
Yitzhak Yosef
Liberman, Edelstein, both immigrants from former Soviet states, and Netanyahu blast Yitzhak Yosef for referring to Russian-speaking immigrants as 'communists' who are 'hostile to religion'; Litzman backs divisive comments
Israel's chief rabbi came under fire on Monday after footage emerged showing him labeling immigrants from the former Soviet Union as "religion hating gentiles."
Yitzhak Yosef launched his vituperative attack at a rabbinical conference held in Jerusalem last week, where he criticized the Law of Return, which makes millions of non-Jewish - according to halacha - descendants of full-blooded Jews, eligible for Israeli citizenship.
"Tens or hundreds of thousands of gentiles came to the country because of the law determining who's Jewish," said Rabbi Yosef. "There are many, many gentiles here, some are communists, hostile to religion, haters of religion. They're not even Jewish, they're gentiles."
The Sephardic rabbi went on to accuse the members of the Russian-speaking community of voting for political parties that "incite against the ultra-Orthodox and the religion."
Yosef also accused the state of deliberately inviting immigrants from the former Soviet Union to the country in an effort to weaken the political power of the ultra-Orthodox public. "They brought them here as leverage against the ultra-Orthodox," the chief rabbi said. "They brought these complete gentiles to weaken the ultra-Orthodox vote during elections. Unfortunately, we see the fruits of their incitement."
Yosef spoke in front of rabbis before their departure to Jewish communities in the Diaspora and advised them not to engage in conversion abroad because of the complexity and halachic sensitivity of the issue.
He then attacked other rabbis who, in his view, are too lenient in requirements for conversion to Judaism, and called to question the faith of those who converted in state rabbinical courts, which are supervised by Yosef himself.
One of the rabbis criticized by Yosef in his speech is a former MK from the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Rabbi Haim Amsalem, who condemned the chief rabbi's statements.
"It's a tragedy that at the top of the rabbinical pyramid in Israel sits a rabbi who does not know his place. All he does is slander and hurt anyone who comes to his mind under the pretext of sacredness," Amsalem said. "He thinks that he'll buy his place among the rabbinical elite by smearing and fighting against lenient conversion which brings people together, but his words show time and time again his lack of understanding in conversion rules."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also denounced Yosef's statements and called the aliyah from the post-Soviet states a "huge blessing to the State of Israel and the Jewish people."
"This is an outrageous statement that has no place in the discourse," said Netanyahu. "My government will continue to facilitate immigration and integration into the country of our brothers and sisters from the former Soviet Union."
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, who himself immigrated from Ukraine 1987, also condemned Yosef's statements and called the immigration from former USSR an "integral part of Israeli society."
"We fulfilled our dream of returning to Zion and it's impossible to imagine the State of Israel without the Soviet immigration's major contributions," he said. "Even during the election campaign there is no room for such invalid discourse of hatred and division."
Another lawmaker among the rabbi's critics was Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Liberman, who immigrated from Moldova and whose party caters mainly to Israel's Russian-speaking community. He branded Yosef's statements as "racist and bluntly anti-Semitic."
"This must not be tolerated," said Liberman. "We demand [Yosef's] immediate suspension from office and we will campaign to elect a chief rabbi from the religious Zionism, who will know how to contain and embrace - and not separate and divide.
"Just a few days ago, Israel's chief rabbi mocked the secular public, advising them to go to Ashdod [a city with a large Russian-speaking community-ed] and eat pork and today he is inciting against the Russian-speaking public, who work, serve in the army in regular service and as reserves, pay taxes and contribute to the well-being of the state."
Liberman then called on leaders of other parties to strongly condemn Yosef's statements in order to prevent "a critical blow to the delicate fabric of Israeli society."
Liberman, Edelstein, both immigrants from former Soviet states, and Netanyahu blast Yitzhak Yosef for referring to Russian-speaking immigrants as 'communists' who are 'hostile to religion'; Litzman backs divisive comments
Israel's chief rabbi came under fire on Monday after footage emerged showing him labeling immigrants from the former Soviet Union as "religion hating gentiles."
Yitzhak Yosef launched his vituperative attack at a rabbinical conference held in Jerusalem last week, where he criticized the Law of Return, which makes millions of non-Jewish - according to halacha - descendants of full-blooded Jews, eligible for Israeli citizenship.
"Tens or hundreds of thousands of gentiles came to the country because of the law determining who's Jewish," said Rabbi Yosef. "There are many, many gentiles here, some are communists, hostile to religion, haters of religion. They're not even Jewish, they're gentiles."
The Sephardic rabbi went on to accuse the members of the Russian-speaking community of voting for political parties that "incite against the ultra-Orthodox and the religion."
Yosef also accused the state of deliberately inviting immigrants from the former Soviet Union to the country in an effort to weaken the political power of the ultra-Orthodox public. "They brought them here as leverage against the ultra-Orthodox," the chief rabbi said. "They brought these complete gentiles to weaken the ultra-Orthodox vote during elections. Unfortunately, we see the fruits of their incitement."
Yosef spoke in front of rabbis before their departure to Jewish communities in the Diaspora and advised them not to engage in conversion abroad because of the complexity and halachic sensitivity of the issue.
He then attacked other rabbis who, in his view, are too lenient in requirements for conversion to Judaism, and called to question the faith of those who converted in state rabbinical courts, which are supervised by Yosef himself.
One of the rabbis criticized by Yosef in his speech is a former MK from the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Rabbi Haim Amsalem, who condemned the chief rabbi's statements.
"It's a tragedy that at the top of the rabbinical pyramid in Israel sits a rabbi who does not know his place. All he does is slander and hurt anyone who comes to his mind under the pretext of sacredness," Amsalem said. "He thinks that he'll buy his place among the rabbinical elite by smearing and fighting against lenient conversion which brings people together, but his words show time and time again his lack of understanding in conversion rules."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also denounced Yosef's statements and called the aliyah from the post-Soviet states a "huge blessing to the State of Israel and the Jewish people."
"This is an outrageous statement that has no place in the discourse," said Netanyahu. "My government will continue to facilitate immigration and integration into the country of our brothers and sisters from the former Soviet Union."
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, who himself immigrated from Ukraine 1987, also condemned Yosef's statements and called the immigration from former USSR an "integral part of Israeli society."
"We fulfilled our dream of returning to Zion and it's impossible to imagine the State of Israel without the Soviet immigration's major contributions," he said. "Even during the election campaign there is no room for such invalid discourse of hatred and division."
Another lawmaker among the rabbi's critics was Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Liberman, who immigrated from Moldova and whose party caters mainly to Israel's Russian-speaking community. He branded Yosef's statements as "racist and bluntly anti-Semitic."
"This must not be tolerated," said Liberman. "We demand [Yosef's] immediate suspension from office and we will campaign to elect a chief rabbi from the religious Zionism, who will know how to contain and embrace - and not separate and divide.
"Just a few days ago, Israel's chief rabbi mocked the secular public, advising them to go to Ashdod [a city with a large Russian-speaking community-ed] and eat pork and today he is inciting against the Russian-speaking public, who work, serve in the army in regular service and as reserves, pay taxes and contribute to the well-being of the state."
Liberman then called on leaders of other parties to strongly condemn Yosef's statements in order to prevent "a critical blow to the delicate fabric of Israeli society."
Yaakov Litzman
Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, however, defended the rabbi and tongue-lashed at Liberman instead. "We fully support Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef in the face of the political attacks against him," said Litzman.
"The last person who can preach to others about incitement is Avigdor Liberman - a person who can't stop stoking the flames between different sectors in society and acts maliciously, without any public responsibility in order to divide and damage the delicate fabric of the various sectors in Israel."
Litzman has been heavily criticized for his alleged involvement in allowing a former Melbourne principal evade sexual abuse charges.
The Israel Police has recommended that Litzman be charged with fraud and breach of trust for suspicions that, as deputy health minister, he pressured ministry employees to skew Leifer's psychiatric evaluations to say that she was not fit to stand trial.
Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, however, defended the rabbi and tongue-lashed at Liberman instead. "We fully support Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef in the face of the political attacks against him," said Litzman.
"The last person who can preach to others about incitement is Avigdor Liberman - a person who can't stop stoking the flames between different sectors in society and acts maliciously, without any public responsibility in order to divide and damage the delicate fabric of the various sectors in Israel."
Litzman has been heavily criticized for his alleged involvement in allowing a former Melbourne principal evade sexual abuse charges.
The Israel Police has recommended that Litzman be charged with fraud and breach of trust for suspicions that, as deputy health minister, he pressured ministry employees to skew Leifer's psychiatric evaluations to say that she was not fit to stand trial.
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