“Lev Tahor” translated from Hebrew means “pure heart”. In all innocence, as the name of this ultra-orthodox Jewish sect promises, the members should lead a godly life. But wherever they appeared in the past three decades, serious allegations quickly followed, ranging from brainwashing to child abuse and kidnapping. The group, originally from Israel, with an estimated 250 members, therefore often changed its bases, moving from the USA to Canada to Guatemala. Now she is apparently planning a new move: to Iran. Of all things.
The plans to settle with the Israeli archenemy are the latest volte in a sect saga that has made headlines for many years. Lev Tahor was founded in the eighties by a young rabbi named Shlomo Helbrans. He himself came from a secular Jerusalem family and, in addition to a pious way of life, preached Jewish anti-Zionism, according to which the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 meant a sin before God.
Rabbi Helbrans moved with a group of early followers from Jerusalem to Williamsburg, a stronghold of devout Jews in New York, in the 1990s. The rules at Lev Tahor are even stricter than they are in the ultra-Orthodox world: the prayers are louder and last longer, the guidelines for kosher food are stricter, and the role of women is defined even more narrowly. From an early age they have to wrap themselves in black robes from head to toe, which earned the sect the nickname “Jewish Taliban”. The girls are often married in their teenage years to often much older men.
Lev Tahor wants to help Iran counter “Zionist domination”
The sect could not stay longer anywhere, and soon investigations were carried out everywhere. The founder Rabbi Helbrans was imprisoned in the United States for two years because of the kidnapping of a 13-year-old whom he wanted to raise to the right faith. When he died in 2017 – he reportedly drowned in a ritual bath in a river in Mexico – the Israeli government tried, under pressure from relatives, to lure the cult members back. In addition to free joining, the homecoming program offered also included further financial support, help with finding accommodation and work, as well as psychological support.
The vacuum at Lev Tahor was quickly filled, however, the new leadership also included a son of the founder – and a new goal was set very quickly: the settlement of the Jewish sect in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Documents published in the United States in the course of legal proceedings indicate that Lev Tahor made an official application for asylum in Tehran in 2018. Accordingly, “loyalty and submission to the Supreme Leader and the government” was assured. At the same time “cooperation and help” was offered “to counter the Zionist dominance and to liberate the Holy Land and the Jewish nation in a peaceful way”.
After some waiting time, the project is now apparently to be put into practice. According to Israeli media reports, dozens of Lev Tahor families have been spotted at the airport in Guatemala, where the sect has resided since 2014. The first destination should be the city of Erbil in northern Iraq, where some leadership members have already arrived. From there, the route could lead across the border to Iran.
Members of sect members from the USA and Israel are now sounding the alarm. They warn that the Lev Tahor members in Iran could become the plaything of politics and, in the worst case, hostages.