’When You’re on the Path of Truth, You Don’t Care What Others Say’

In the second part of Haaretz’s investigation into the Lev Tahor Hasidic cult in Canada, Shay Fogelman speaks to the group’s leader, Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans, about his prison time in America and the community’s attitude to underage marriage, to a young man who managed to leave the religious extremists and to a mother who defend their hard-line way of life.

Continue reading (subscription required): https://www.haaretz.com/2012-03-16/ty-article/when-youre-on-the-path-of-truth-you-dont-care-what-others-say/0000017f-dc69-d3ff-a7ff-fde9eca20000

Lev Tahor: Pure as the Driven Snow, or Hearts of Darkness?

Haaretz spent five days with the controversial 'Lev Tahor' Haredi community in Canada to uncover the truth about the sect and its charismatic head, Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans. Part one of a two-part series.

Continue reading (subscription required): https://www.haaretz.com/2012-03-09/ty-article/pure-as-the-driven-snow/0000017f-dbc7-d3ff-a7ff-fbe74a1b0001

Court to Rule on Legality of Israeli ultra-Orthodox 'Taliban Sect'

In a precedent-setting move, an Israeli court is expected to decide next week whether it is legal to belong to the extreme ultra-Orthodox group Lev Tahor, known as "the Taliban sect." A decision reached this week by a family court in Rishon Letzion indicates that a ruling on Lev Tahor's legality is imminent.

The decision follows what appears to be the conclusion of an international family drama involving two sisters from Beit Shemesh who belong to the Taliban sect. The two were forcibly returned to Israel on Sunday under an order issued by the court. The sisters, 13 and 15, were en route to a Lev Tahor village located on the outskirts of Montreal, Canada.

Continue reading: https://www.haaretz.com/2011-10-05/ty-article/court-to-rule-on-legality-of-israeli-ultra-orthodox-taliban-sect/0000017f-db31-db5a-a57f-db7b07ea0001