Lev Tahor cult member fled Israel to Guatemala despite stay of exit order

"The community has been declared an abusive cult by the court, in light of the fact that within the community it is customary to punish minors and adults in a severe and cruel way."

The Jerusalem Post/December 1, 2020

By Matan Vasserman

The leader of the Lev Tahor cult, Eliezer Rumpler, against whom a serious indictment was filed for child abuse, has managed to escape from Israel to Guatemala in recent days, despite the fact that there is a stay of exit order against him due to the serious charges against him. Rumpler had a hearing scheduled for Tuesday at the Jerusalem District Court.

The indictment states that "the Lev Tahor community is an extremist ultra-Orthodox community that numbers dozens of families, and which was wandered around the world with the aim of avoiding state authorities."

"The community has been declared an abusive cult by the court, in light of the fact that within the community it is customary to punish minors and adults in a severe and cruel way," added the indictment.

According to the indictment, in the first case of abuse, Rumpler suspected one of his students of stealing money from charity funds. As punishment for the student's actions, "the defendant and others stripped him of his clothes so that he was left with only underwear. He was then laid on a table that was in the place, and the defendant ordered one of the teachers to tie his legs to the table so that he would not move."

Afterwards, "the defendant, and another teacher, started beating the student with a belt and using a stick, for several hours, all while the student was crying, shouting for help and asking them to stop." As a result of the many blows he received, the student was unable to stand on his feet "and he needed to be carried by two others who took him home."

In another abuse case, similar to the first case, Ruffler suspected a student who lied about needing glasses. "Following this, the defendant and the other teachers convened the students of the community school and told them that there was a student among them who lied and he had to confess to it, but none of the children answered," the indictment states. "Afterwards, complainant S. was stripped of his clothes so that he was left with only pants and a shirt, and laid down on a table that was in place. Then two of the teachers started whipping the complainant in the back and bottom for about an hour, all while the defendant the school principal and the other teachers watched the act."

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