Children removed from Jewish sect Lev Tahor's jungle compound in Mexico

[Eugene]

Source: BBC

Children removed from Jewish sect's jungle compound in Mexico

By Raffi Berg
BBC News

27 September 2022

Children and older teenagers have been removed from the jungle compound of a Jewish sect in Mexico following a raid by police, the BBC has learned.

It took place against the Lev Tahor group, which was investigated on suspicion of trafficking minors.

The children and teenagers are being flown to Israel where they have extended families.

Lev Tahor (Hebrew for Pure Heart) is known for extremist practices and imposing a strict regime on members.

It advocates child marriage, inflicts harsh punishments for even minor transgressions and requires women and girls as young as three years old to completely cover up with robes. The stricture has earned the group the nickname the Jewish Taliban because of seeming similarities with the dress code enforced by the Sunni Muslim extremist group which controls Afghanistan.

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Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-62372365

[Judi Lynn]

1. Jewish Sect in Mexico Escape From Detention After Police Raid

By Reuters
|
Sept. 29, 2022, at 3:58 p.m.

By Jose Torres

HUIXTLA, Mexico (Reuters) - A group of about 20 members of a fundamentalist Jewish sect escaped from a Mexican detention center in the southern state of Chiapas on Wednesday night, according to a Reuters reporter who filmed the incident.

The group were being held by Mexico's National System for Integral Family Development, or DIF, following a raid by Mexican police on Friday that targeted Lev Tahor - a strict Jewish sect that practices arranged marriages and full-body coverings for girls as young as three.

The sect is estimated to consist of about 200 to 300 people and rejects the state of Israel.
Neither the DIF nor the office of Mexico's Attorney General's office responded to requests to comment on the case.

On Tuesday, Israel's foreign ministry issued a statement about the raid, saying it "took place after Mexican police gathered incriminating evidence against several members of the cult on suspicion of drug trafficking, rape and more."

More:
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-09-29/jewish-sect-in-mexico-escape-from-detention-after-police-raid