Nov 3, 2021

CultNEWS101 Articles: 11/3/2021 (Brazil, Indigenous, Lev Tahor, Guatemala, Satanic Organization, Religious Freedom, Witchcraft)

Brazil, Indigenous, Lev Tahor, Guatemala, Satanic Organization, Religious Freedom, Witchcraft

Brazil's highest court has upheld a ban on missionaries entering reserves that are home to isolated and recently contacted Indigenous people during the pandemic.
The decision comes in response to a lawsuit filed by Indigenous organizations against a law passed in July 2020 that allowed missionaries to remain inside these reserves despite the pandemic, in violation of Brazil's official policy in place since 1987.
According to Indigenous organizations, it's crucial to reaffirm the non-contact policy under the administration of President Jair Bolsonaro that has pushed to "integrate" Indigenous people into society, and has been cozy with the evangelical movement.
Besides the risk of disease spread, the presence of missionaries in these reserves undermines traditional cultures and social cohesion, and compels these nomadic communities to settle down, making the land more vulnerable to invasions by illegal ranchers and loggers, activists say.
"A court in Guatemala has approved the extradition to the US of two senior leaders of the Lev Tahor ultra-Orthodox cult – brothers Yaakov Weingarten and Shmuel "Shmiel" Weingarten – where they face child exploitation offenses.

The Third Criminal Sentencing Court in Guatemala authorized the extradition of the two men on Thursday and Friday, after they were charged in April this year by the US attorney for the Southern District of New York for the kidnap of a 14-year old girl and for smuggling her across the US-Mexico border to reunite her with her adult husband.

According to media in Guatemala where the Lev Tahor cult is currently located, the court has verified that there are currently no legal proceedings against the Weingarten brothers and that the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry is therefore authorized to begin extradition proceedings.

It was reported the brothers intend to appeal the decision, with an attorney for the two describing the legal process against them as "persecution."

There have, however, been numerous charges and allegations against members of the cult for kidnapping, forced underage marriage, and various forms of child abuse.

Yaakov Weingarten was arrested in March this year during a police raid on the Lev Tahor compound, while Yoel and Shmuel Weingarten were arrested in a separate raid in April, all due to the charges against them in the Southern District of New York.

The extradition case against Yoel Weingarten has yet to be brought to court since the US authorities have reportedly not yet sent the relevant documents to their Guatemalan counterparts.

The cult has recently tried to move to Iran on several occasions to avoid its legal problems tied up in its child abuse and other criminal activities, but have been unsuccessful so far.

Relatives in Israel of children in the group have lobbied Israeli authorities to help prevent the group reaching Iran, where it would be harder to extract children from the cult."

"A local Satanic organization has convinced a school district in Delaware County that its dress code was discriminatory against Satanists.

Joseph Rose, the founder of a local organization called Satanic Delco, says fellow Satanists with children attending schools within the Rose Tree Media School District made him aware of the verbiage in the dress code banning any clothing or gear that are "satanic in nature."

"The idea that a public school would allow religious expression in school, but choose to single out and prohibit the expression of one specific religion obviously seemed like a problem for us," Rose said."

"On Halloween night, Charlene Dzielak will light candles and incense in front of an altar and invite her departed loved ones to join her in a "dumb supper," a feast eaten in silence out of reverence for the dead who can't speak.  

After a yearlong hiatus because of COVID-19, Dzielak is reuniting with her coven — or congregation of witches — in Old Bridge, New Jersey, to celebrate Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter. Pronounced "sow-in," Samhain, which is believed to have been the precursor to Halloween, literally means "summer's end" in Gaelic."


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