MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Colombia: 17 children rescued from Lev Tahor sect

Lev Tahor's founder, Shlomo Hellbrans, served two years in a US prison before being deported to Israel

Colombian immigration authorities have taken 17 minors into protective custody after they were rescued from the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect Lev Tahor during a hotel inspection in the northwestern city of Yarumal, Antioquia, it was reported on Monday. The group has faced global accusations of child abuse, kidnapping, and human trafficking.

The operation over the weekend was led by Migración Colombia alongside military forces. Five of the children were flagged by Interpol with “yellow notices,” global alerts issued for missing or abducted persons. The minors reportedly hold US and Guatemalan passports.

Migración Colombia Director Gloria Esperanza Arriero told The Associated Press on Monday that the 9 adult sect members captured had arrived in Colombia in late October.

The group was staying at a hotel in Yarumal while actively searching for a rural property to establish a new compound in the South American country. Authorities believe the group was “seeking a country where they would not face restrictions to continue with alleged irregular activities.”

”The positive thing in all of this is that we got to the children before they had a compound. Because in that case, we would have required a search warrant,“ Arriero said while noting that the adults would ”likely“ be deported, absent any arrest warrant against them.

The children are under professional care at a Migraciones facility in Medellín.

Lev Tahor, ”pure heart“ in Hebrew, was founded in 1988 by Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans and has repeatedly relocated across the globe to avoid legal intervention over allegations of abuse, neglect, and forced marriage. The sect was recently the target of major police actions elsewhere in the region.

Last year, Guatemalan Police raided a Lev Tahor compound following reports of sexual abuse, taking at least 160 minors and 40 women into protective custody. Mexican authorities also raided a compound near the Guatemalan border in 2022.

In 2021, two leaders of the group were convicted in New York for kidnapping and child sexual exploitation crimes. Helbrans was convicted of kidnapping in the United States in 1994 after being accused of abducting a 13 year old boy under the guise of religious instruction. He served two years in a US prison before being deported to Israel.

Colombian Jewish community leader Marcos Peckel praised the rapid operation, hoping the ”sect does not establish itself in Colombia.“ He also noted that Lev Tahor was ”contrary to Jewish law and traditions.”

The organization is known for its extreme practices, including highly restrictive diets, limited technology use, and women wearing black garments that cover them from head to toe. It is strongly anti-Zionist, fearing that the Jewish faith will be replaced by secular nationalism.