10 Lev Tahor Families Have Returned To Israel

 The Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Committee on Sunday held another follow-up discussion on the government’s involvement in rescuing children from the Lev Tahor cult in Guatemala.

In recent months, Israel has been working with authorities in Guatemala to dismantle the sect. Many families from the sect have left for the United States and Canada. Today, it has become clear that many have also arrived in Israel.

During the discussion, information was presented indicating that there are approximately 10 Lev Tahor families with approximately 20 children under the age of 18 who have returned to Israel. All the children who have returned to Israel are in the care of at least one of their biological parents.

There is one family that is not cooperating with the government but is in contact with the municipal authorities in its city of residence.

Dr. Tamar Rozmarin Ze’ev from the Prime Minister’s Office said in the discussion, “We are working with all government bodies on two levels: efforts to return the minors and support for those who are already in Israel and their families. An agreement will be signed between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the agency for returning the children from the cult to Israel. The Ministry of Welfare is responsible for overseeing the absorption of survivors in Israel.”

Ilan Avitan, the director of the Child Victims of the Lev Tahor Sect Department at the Ministry of Welfare, said: “We have made very good progress. We have a working group with representatives from all relevant ministries. Every issue we deal with requires appropriate preparation. As of today, we have closed the loop and are in contact with all representatives of the families in Israel. There is one family that is not very cooperative with us, but they are in contact with the local authority where they reside. We are honing in on the smallest details of each family’s needs to find the appropriate framework for every survivor who comes to Israel.”

Tira Galinoyar from the Ministry of Education said, “We are familiar with all the children who have arrived in Israel. We do not yet know the nature of the harm to each child. We are in contact with the educational psychological services in every municipality and are preparing to absorb all the children into the various educational institutions in September, with the start of the school year. We ask to integrate the children into recognized and organized educational institutions, but some families asked to integrate the returning children into Chareidi educational institutions that we do not have full supervision over.”

Dr. Yuval Rava from the Ministry of Health said, “The families have a distrust of the establishment. We have built a supportive framework for the families. We are in contact with the Kupot Cholim and are transferring relevant information to them about the returning children. We are in contact with four hospitals that are ready, if necessary, for acute admission. In the meantime, the children are receiving supportive health treatments such as dental treatments, but the families still refuse to provide the children with psychological treatment.”

Orit Cohen Amir, a representative of the families, said in the discussion, “The Israeli government has not yet issued organized documents to those families who are still in Guatemala. The assistance that the state will provide to them as soon as they arrive in Israel needs to be marketed to the children and families in Guatemala. There are struggles by groups to bring them to other countries,” she warned.

Odia Rubin Ben Zaken from the Ministry of National Security added, “There was an unprecedented extradition process of one of the cult leaders while the skies were closed during Operation Rising Lion. It is important to give credit to the Israel Police who made the efforts to bring about this important extradition to the State of Israel.”