MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Authorities in Guatemala rescued 160 children and teenagers from the fundamentalist Jewish Lev Tahor community in southeastern Guatemala on Friday after allegations of child abuse, including rape, prosecutors said.
Why is it important
The rescue operation in the agricultural municipality of Oratorio, 78 kilometers (48.47 miles) southeast of Guatemala City, highlights ongoing concerns about the controversial practices of the Lev Tahor sect, which has faced similar allegations in the past.
Main quote
“Based on the statements of the complainants, the evidence obtained and the medical examinations, it was possible to prove the existence of forms of human trafficking against these minors, such as forced marriage, abuse and related crimes,” said Nancy Baez, a human rights coordinator. The prosecutor in Guatemala's Anti-Human Trafficking Prosecutor's Office said in a press conference.
Context
The Lev Tahor sect, founded in 1988 in Israel, practices an ultra-Orthodox form of Judaism with interpretations of Jewish law that include long prayer sessions and arranged marriages.
Lev Tahor (“Pure Heart” in Hebrew) has faced numerous allegations of kidnapping, child marriage and physical abuse since its founding in the 1980s.
This community settled in Mexico and Guatemala between 2014 and 2017. In 2022, a Mexican police operation in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas on the Guatemalan border rescued a group of children and teenagers from the Lev Tahor camp, whose members were arrested on suspicion of doing so. Participation in violations against minors.
The Jewish community in Guatemala said in a statement that the sect was alien to its organization and expressed its support for the Guatemalan authorities in conducting the necessary investigations “to protect the lives and safety of minors and other vulnerable groups who may be at risk.”
She called on “the government and the diplomatic corps of countries whose nationalities are members of the Tahur League to unite efforts to protect those whose rights may be violated.”
What's next
The palace is now under government protection and investigations are still ongoing.
