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(JTA) — Members of Lev Tahor, the Hasidic group that is often described as a cult and has been chased across continents in the wake of a child abduction scandal, were sighted in a remote town in Bosnia and Herzegovina last month and in North Macedonia this month, as they bounce around the Balkans in a continual attempt to avoid scrutiny.


The group reportedly moved on from Bosnia in early February, but not before causing a media storm in the small country.


Lev Tahor members were sighted in Hadžići, a town about 12 miles west of Sarajevo. In the largely Muslim town of about 20,000, the group stood out due to their traditional dress. They later relocated to a predominantly Bosnian-Serb neighborhood of Sarajevo known as Ilidža. There they stayed in a building owned by a member of the national assembly of Republika Srpska, the ethnic Serb enclave within Bosnia and Herzegovina.



North Macedonia’s police said it had dispatched patrols to keep an eye on the premises of an undisclosed hotel in Skopje where the group of 38 members of a little-known ultra-conservative Jewish sect called Lev Tahor was admitted on Tuesday.


Patrols were being sent “for their own safety”, police told BIRN, confirming that they had also escorted them from Kumanovo, saying the group has the phone number of the police if they feel threatened.


“We remind once more that these persons respect the laws of North Macedonia, have a legal right to stay here and are here temporarily. The group does not pose any danger, so we appeal once more for tolerance and solidarity towards them,” police noted.



NEW YORK (VINnews/Zvi Hershcovich) — A “Meshulach” going door to door raising money from Balebatim has possibly been identified as a prominent member of the Lev Tahor cult.


Uriel Goldman, who is a member of the Lev Tahor “Hanhala” and serves as their spokesperson, was allegedly recognized by a Crown Heights woman who had recently watched a documentary on the cult that included numerous disturbing statements made by Goldman on a Zoom call. While her sighting is unconfirmed, she felt alarmed enough to warn her followers on Instagram – and she contacted Crown Heights Shomrim.


Mr. Goldman has been confirmed to be living in Boro Park over the past few months in an effort to raise funds for the cult. Funds that enable the leadership to hold onto power and continue to hurt those that the donations are supposedly trying to help. This information came to light in recent months by testimony from members that have been able to escape the cult.


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