Lev tahor cult

Leader of ultra-Orthodox Lev Tahor sect extradited to Mexico, charged with human trafficking

Yoel Alter, who is suspected of holding a senior rank in the cult, was arrested for charges of organized crime and human trafficking in Guatemala in January at the request of Mexican authorities

|ByELI LEON
Lev Tahor member Yoel Alter, 35, is escorted by Guatemalan police officers after being arrested at court in Guatemala City on January 24, 2025.
Minors rescued in Colombia from the Lev Tahor sect.

Colombian authorities, Interpol rescue 17 minors from ultra-Orthodox Lev Tahor sect

Five of the minors had an Interpol Yellow Notice, used in cases of missing persons and human trafficking. The Lev Tahor victims were nationals from the United States, Canada, and Guatemala.

|ByTOBIAS HOLCMAN
Members of the Lev Tahor Jewish cult attend a protest in Guatemala City, January 30, 2025.

Israel's Knesset considers rescue, rehabilitation of children from Jewish cult Lev Tahor

The committee discussed the support framework provided to cult survivors arriving in Israel. 

|ByAVIHAI CHIIM, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Members of the Lev Tahor Jewish community stand outside the facilities of the Guatemala Attorney General's Office after Guatemalan authorities rescued several children and adolescents from the Jewish community following allegations of child abuse, in Guatemala December 20, 2024.

Police find infant, four US minors' remnants in Lev Tahor raid - KAN

"The safety of US citizens is our top priority," the US Embassy in Guatemala tweeted, thanking the local government for its assistance.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

‘Hostages’ in Guatemala: The Fight for 140 Children

Guatemalan courts are struggling to free 140 children from the extremist Jewish sect Lev Tahor, despite evidence of abuse, with Israeli relatives urging global intervention.

APRIL 11, 2025ByGABRIEL COLODRO/THE MEDIA LINE
Ultra orthodox Jewish community under investigation for child abuse in Guatemala

Lev Tahor cult leader arrested in El Salvador, to be extradited to Israel

Rumpler is wanted on charges of serious child abuse and attempted to leave Guatemala on a fake passport after previously being placed under a travel ban, according to reports in Israeli media.

JANUARY 14, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Eliezer Rumpler, from the Lev Tahor Haredi Jewish sect arrives to the Jerusalem District Court for a court hearing on June 28, 2020.

INTERPOL issues Red Notice for Lev Tahor fugitive accused of rape, human trafficking

Guatemala has issued an arrest warrant against Castillo, who has been declared a fugitive.

DECEMBER 29, 2024ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
INTERPOL wanted page for Jonathan Emmanuel Cardona Castillo.

Relative of rescued Lev Tahor member discusses group's psychological abuse - interview

Oded Twik emotionally described the most meaningful moments in the process of rescuing family members from the Lev Tahor cult in Guatemala.

DECEMBER 24, 2024ByMAYA COHEN, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A Lev Tahor members demands the release of members of the community after prosecutors say Guatemalan authorities rescued several children and teenagers from the Jewish community following allegations of child abuse, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, December 21, 2024.

Guatemalan authorities rescue 160 children from Jewish Lev Tahor cult

Guatemalan authorities determined that the Lev Tahor cult engaged in human trafficking against minors.

DECEMBER 21, 2024ByREUTERS
Members of the Lev Tahor Jewish community stand outside the facilities of the Guatemala Attorney General's Office after Guatemalan authorities rescued several children and adolescents from the Jewish community following allegations of child abuse, in Guatemala December 20, 2024.

Last three defendants in Lev Tahor cult abduction case sentenced to over ten years in in prison

Lev Tahor is a secretive group and little is known about its inner workings, and adheres to extreme interpretation of Jewish law that shields members from the outside world.

JULY 11, 2024ByLUKE TRESS/JTA
A young woman and member of the Lev Tahor community in the Canadian city of Chatham, Ontario, Nov. 29, 2013.

Final three defendants in Lev Tahor cult abduction case convicted

All nine suspects in the case have been convicted, including Lev Tahor’s leader, Nachman Helbrans.

MARCH 29, 2024ByLUKE TRESS/JTA
Members of the fundamentalist Jewish sect Lev Tahor, whose members are suspected of a string of serious crimes, walk along a road after escaping from a detention center where they were being held following a raid, in Huixtla, Chiapas state, Mexico September 28, 2022.

Voices from the Arab press: Religious extremism and sexual assault

A weekly selection of opinions and analyses from the Arab media around the world.

NOVEMBER 11, 2022ByMEDIA LINE
LEV TAHOR sect members escape detention in Huixtla, Mexico, Sept. 29. Twenty members had been detained on drug trafficking and rape accustations.

Lev Tahor cult members escape detention - was the raid for nothing?

Approximately 20 Lev Tahor members were arrested in a raid in Mexico last week.

OCTOBER 1, 2022ByMAARIV ONLINE
Members of the fundamentalist Jewish sect Lev Tahor, whose members are suspected of a string of serious crimes, escape from a detention center where they were being held following a raid, in Huixtla, Chiapas state, Mexico September 28, 2022.

Lev Tahor escape detention in Mexico after police raid

A group of about 20 members of a Lev Tahor cult escaped from a Mexican detention center in the southern state of Chiapas on Wednesday night

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022ByREUTERS
Members of a Jewish community stand on a street in the village of San Juan La Laguna August 24, 2014

Former Mossad agent describes involvement in Lev Tahor raid

Danny Limor, a former Mossad agent cannot believe the Lev Tahor members consider themselves Jewish.

SEPTEMBER 28, 2022By103FM VIA MAARIV ONLINE
Members of a Jewish community walk near a motor taxi in the village of San Juan La Laguna August 24, 2014.