Lev Tahor

Lev Tahor (Hebrew: לֵב טָהוֹר, lit. 'pure heart') is an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect often characterized as a cult founded in Israel by Shlomo Helbrans in 1988. It consists of about 200–300 members. According to many, it engages in child sexual abuse, pedophilia and rape. The group follows a fundamentalist form of Jewish practice and adheres to atypical interpretations of Jewish law, including practices such as lengthy prayer sessions, arranged marriages between teenagers, and head-to-toe black coverings for girls and women beginning at the age of three. The group has faced accusations of kidnapping, sexual abuse, and child abuse, and some of its members have been charged and convicted of related offenses. Lev Tahor is considered a fringe, extreme and condemned cult by many Orthodox Jewish groups. The group has moved frequently, being located in Israel from 1988 to 1990, the United States from 1990 to 2000, Israel again from 2000 to 2003, Canada from 2003 to 2013, Guatemala in 2013 (after fleeing Canada), Mexico since around 2017, and in late 2021 - early 2022 they moved between several Eastern European and Balkan countries: in February 2022 they were present in North Macedonia after a short stay in Sarajevo in Bosnia. In early 2022, members of the sect were deported from Bosnia and Herzegovina following local scrutiny over the group's history of alleged child abuse. The group was earlier deported from Romania, Turkey, Albania and Moldova. In late 2025, Colombian authorities rescued a number of minors from Lev Tahor members who had arrived in the country a month prior. They often move in an attempt to flee government child welfare agencies.