Hundreds of members of Lev Tahor, an extremist ultra-Orthodox sect, are attempting to travel to Iran for asylum, Israel Hayom has learned over the weekend.
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The radical anti-Zionist group, currently based in Guatemala, is believed to include around 280 followers. As many in its members hold Israeli and American citizenships, their relatives fear that were they to arrive in Iran, not only will they be in danger, the issue could trigger a severe diplomatic crisis.
Relatives of group members have reportedly contacted Israel's Foreign and Justice ministries and asked them to urgently contact their Guatemalan counterparts to prevent the families from leaving the country.
According to media reports, Jerusalem and Washington both are working to prevent Lev Tahor members from moving to Iran, citing concerns that the could be used as a bargaining chip by Tehran.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it was "using a variety of channels" in an effort to resolve the situation, i24News reported, adding that Guatemalan authorities have detained a number of members of the group who are also American citizens.
— PHOTOS: A family who is part of the Lev Tahor cult was stopped at the Guatemala airport while on their way to Iran. Their plan was to fly from Kurdistan and from there to Iran. They told police officers that they were being "persecuted" & therefore sought asylum in Iran. pic.twitter.com/8aCYZWSxaa
— Belaaz News (@TheBelaaz) October 6, 2021
Lev Tahor disciples first applied for political asylum in Iran in 2018, shortly after the cult's leaders swore allegiance to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The group, founded in the 1980s by Shlomo Helbrans, a Haredi anti-Zionist rebbe, adheres to its own, ultraconservative interpretations of the Halacha, including practices such as black head-to-toe coverings for females beginning at age three, extremely lengthy prayer sessions, and arranged marriages between teenagers.
Lev Tahor members move frequently, with the majority of its members most recently fleeing the Guatemalan town of San Juan La Laguna in August 2014, prior to which they had fled government child welfare agencies in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, Canada.
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Lev Tahor claims it live within the boundaries of traditional Jewish law and asserts that their lifestyle is not new or unusual, but it has been accused by critics – including former followers, the estranged families of group members, religious scholars, and law enforcement officials in various states – of child abuse, brainwashing, drug use and forced marriages of teenage girls to men as many as 20 years their senior – practices that have earned it the title of a cult.
The group has been referred to as "Jewish Taliban" by the Israeli, Jewish, and international press.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
