‘So Moses said to the people of Israel, ‘Arm your men to go to war against the Midianites so that they may carry out the Lord’s vengeance on them. And they fought against Midian, as Moses commanded, and killed every man. The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and wealth as plunder. They burned all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps. They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals, and brought the captives, spoils and plunder to Moses. ‘Why have you allowed all the women to live?’ Moses angrily asked them. Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every little girl who has never slept with a man.’ Book of Numbers, 31
Authorities in Guatemala rescued as many as 160 children from a Jewish sect following allegations of abuse and human trafficking.
Police raided the premises of the sect called Lev Tahor in Oratorio city, 78km southeast of the capital Guatemala City, on Friday after receiving complaints of widespread abuse of children, including rape, human trafficking and forced marriage, prosecutors said.
They took at least 160 minors and 40 women into protective custody.
The operation in the Santa Rosa region involved around 480 police personnel, soldiers, prosecutors, and psychologists who also seized electronic devices and searched for evidence of child pornography.
Regional prosecutor Dimas Jiménez y Jiménez said they were preparing charges of human trafficking, mistreatment of minors, and rape.
‘We suspect these crimes were committed by a member of the community,’ he said.
Nancy Lorena Paiz García, a prosecutor in the Office Against Human Trafficking, said that police found bodies suspected to be of minors buried on the premises.
The operation was set in motion by the escape from the Jewish sect of four non-Guatemalan children in November who alerted authorities to the abuses.
‘Based on the statements of the complainants, the evidence obtained and the medical examinations, it was possible to establish that there are forms of human trafficking against these minors, like forced marriages, abuse, and related crimes,’ Ms Garcia said.
Lev Tahor, ‘Pure Heart’ in Hebrew, was founded in Israel in 1988 and practices a strict interpretation of Jewish law. It has drawn international scrutiny over the years for alleged sexual abuses, kidnapping, child marriage, and physical violence.
The sect shifted its base to Mexico and Guatemala between 2014 and 2017 after facing mounting legal pressure elsewhere.
In 2022, Mexican authorities rescued children from a Lev Tahor camp near the Guatemalan border and detained its members suspected of abusing minors.
The operation in Oratorio adds to the sect’s troubled history.
Prosecutors allege that minors in the sect were subjected to forced marriages and systematic abuse, often under the guise of religious doctrine.
Guatemalan authorities said they would continue their investigation into the sect’s activities and potential human rights violations.
Instead of news about the horrors of this sect of religious Jews in Guatemala, we in NY are told about a Guatemalan immigrant who set an old lady on fire in the subway. The timing of these incidents makes me think media coverup and counter condemnation.