February 3, 2022
BOSNIA (VINnews) — In a chilling new interview, two longtime members of the Lev Tahor cult described their experiences and defended cult leaders, who are known child abusers and kidnappers, a clear sign of the extreme brainwashing they have undergone. One of the women whose husband is currently detained on charges of child abduction in the U.S., vehemently defended his actions and proclaimed his innocence.
As reported in B’Chadrei Charedim, Esther and Chaya Sarah Weingarten, currently in Sarajevo, Bosnia, were interviewed on local television, discussing the cult’s highly bizarre culture, including how they raise children, and the horrific accusations against their cult
Esther, a lifelong member, says that she does not want to know about any other way of life. She added that the group did well in Canada, until welfare services knocked on the door, concerned about her children.
“They came again and again, trying to get us to send our children to public schools. But we know this is not the way we want to raise them. It is not written that way in our holy book, to learn things such as that man comes from an animal, a monkey. I will not let my children learn such things,” said Esther.
When asked if it was possible to escape the Lev Tahor community, she replied yes, although she concedes that many former members and friends claim that they were not able to leave voluntarily, rather they were forced to flee the evil group, to save their lives. One who has accused the cult of dangerous behavior after he escaped, is a cousin of Esther.
Chaya Sarah is originally Belgian, and joined Lev Tahor at age 24. Her husband, Mordechai Yoel, is currently in America awaiting trial on a child abduction charge. She defended him, saying it “was an internal family conflict, a series of circumstances and misunderstandings.”
She added, “He is still awaiting trial, he has been there for two and a half years, for no justifiable reason, he did not commit any crime, he only helped save the child from his mother and her friends who abused him.”
Now they say, they are persecuted wherever they go. They claim to have had the worst experience in Kurdistan, where cult members were interrogated for days. “We tried to contact the Red Cross, human rights organizations, but they took our phones, left us trapped with very little food, enough to survive, without beds, showers, change of clothes. When they released us, the children already had foot fungus for the first time in their lives.”
“One Shabbos afternoon we were dragged to the airport, our children were taken from our arms, and today the children live in fear, they talk about it, my daughter was injured in the arm because she clung to me,” added Chaya.
They refused to reveal their next planned destination because they are constantly persecuted, in their words, “because they are different.”
Nachman Heilbruns, Meir Rosner, Yaakov, Shmuel, and Yoel Weingarten, were arrested for conspiracy to kidnap children from their parents and abuse them. Several years ago, the gang of kidnappers allegedly walked through Brooklyn planning abductions, before they were caught by authorities.
