The last blow to the “Jewish Taliban” of Lev Tahor in Guatemala

In the middle of an inhospitable place in Guatemala a camp is erected with rudimentary wooden houses isolated from civilization. There they lived so far in subhuman conditions around 70 families of the Jewish ultra -orthodox sect Lev Tahor without any contact with public institutions or the local population. From this farm, located at kilometer 94.5 of Amatillo, Oratory, Santa Rosa, fled four minors in November 2024, who went to the Public Ministry to denounce the hell they lived in that place. They pointed out to be victims of abuse and forced marriages and an analysis of the National Institute of Forensic Sciences showed that one of them had suffered sexual assaults. A few days later a fifth complaint was added to possible “vexars” against minors.

This triggered an operation led by the Prosecutor Against Trafficking in Guatemala what He rescued 147 minors on December 20 for being victims of possible abuse As a violation, abuse, pregnancies and marriages forced in this sect based in the Central American country since 2013 and after fleeing from Canada. In addition, in the operation they found buried in a pit a box containing bones, possibly of a minor.

He Guatemala Government He separated on January 15 the children of their families to protect them in shelter homes by order of the childhood and adolescence court in the metropolitan area, which caused the rejection of families that in recent weeks have demonstrated daily for demand that they return their children and even tried to rescue them violently from the public shelter where they were warm.

Currently, there are two people imprisoned by these facts after being arrested on January 30 by the Interpol and the National Civil Police. This is the sect leader, Aaron Teller, and another member of this Josef Rosner group for forcing girls to marry members of this community. Both, of American nationality, will be brought to court this week.

Teller is accused of the crime of human trafficking in the forced marriage modality, since he is pointed out for authorizing religious weddings between girls and men of that sect. For his part, Rosner was in charge of celebrating the aforementioned forced marriages, so he is accused of the crimes of abuse against minors and human trafficking in the forced or servile marriage modality.

Both arrests occurred within the framework of three proceedings carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office, in order to find 11 children and adolescents who belong to the aforementioned sect and are missing.

Likewise, on January 24 he was arrested by Interpol agents in the historic center of Guatemala City Yoel Alter, originally from Israel and one of the leaders of the sect, in response to an extradition request by the Mexican authorities, which require it for human trafficking.

Specifically, since 2022, Mexico maintains a case open for people traffic and sexual abuse of minors against members of Lev Tahor, after that year a group of children was rescued in Tapachula (Chiapas) who lived under the custody of the members of the members of The sect.

On December 31, the Police also arrested another of the leaders of the Jonathan Emmanuel Cardona sect, of Salvadoran origin, against whom a red alert of Interpol had been activated, at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office against Trafficking in Persons. which accuses him of rape, abuse against minors and human trafficking in the forced pregnancy mode.

Judicial persecution in several countries

It is not the first time that the members of Lev Tahor have problems with justice for similar crimes. Since it was founded in 1988 in Israel For Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans, he has faced accusations of child abuse, kidnappings and negligence of minors, which has forced its members to constantly change location to avoid the action of justice.

After moving in the 90s to New York, Helbrans was arrested in that city in 1993 accused of having kidnapped a teenager who was studying with him. Specifically, the child’s parents accused the leader of the sect of trying to “wash the brain” his son, so a court sentenced him for kidnapping and remained two years in prison until obtaining probation in 1996.

In 2000, the rabbi was deported to Israel, although shortly after he transferred the entire community to Sainte-Agathe, a small town in the Canadian province of Quebec. Again, the members of Lev Tahor were denounced in 2013 by the social negligence services, due to the lack of education, health and hygiene of minors.

Given this new persecution, the sect decided to move to San Juan La Laguna, in Guatemala, a town mostly inhabited by Mayan indigenous people from where she was expelled in 2014 by the Council of Elders to consider that its members had not integrated into the municipality. The members of Lev Tahor relocated in Guatemala City. Prosecutors ended up racing the house where they lived within the framework of an investigation for possible cases of child abuse. To avoid justice again, they moved in 2016 to the town of El Amatillo, about 80 kilometers from Guatemala City, where they have remained so far.

After the death of its leader in 2017 in a river in Chiapas (Mexico), the sect was led by its son, Nachman Helbrans, who ended up in jail with three other members for a kidnapping case of two minors in 2018 that were taken by his mother to New York after escaping the community settled in Guatemala.

The definitive blow to Lev Tahor has occurred in Guatemalawhere the authorities denounced that “marriage unions” had occurred between girls from 12 years and boys from 13, while girls were also produced from girls, since there are cases of pregnancies in children under 14 years .

The Israeli press has come to cross out “Jewish Taliban” To the members of Lev Tahor, whose name in Hebrew means Pure heartand whose beliefs are based on an orthodox and fundamentalist current of Judaism. Women are obliged to go completely covered with black clothes from head to toe, while men wear a hat and do not shave the beard, while they are very strict with food kosher By refusing to eat most foods, except for some vegetables and fruits.