Indictment Issued Against Lev Tahor Leader For Severe Physical Abuse Of Minors

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — An indictment for abuse of minors was issued Tuesday by the Jerusalem District Court against the leader of the Lev Tahor sect, Eliezer Rumpler, on charges of child abuse while he was residing in Canada, according to B’Chadrei Charedim.

The indictment describes the sect as an “extremist Chareidi sect numbering tens of families which wanders around the world in an attempt to hide from the authorities.”

The accused allegedly suspected one of his pupils of stealing from a Tzedakah box. As a punishment for his actions the accused and others took off his clothes, lay him on a table and ordered one of the pupils to ensure that he didn’t move. The accused and another teacher started to hit the pupil with a belt and stick for a number of hours. All the while the pupil was crying screaming and begging them to stop. As a result of the numerous beatings with a stick, the pupil couldn’t stand on his feet and had to be carried home by two people.”

In another instance when Rumpler suspected a pupil of lying the staff and pupils were assembled and told that there was a liar amongst them who must confess but nobody answered. A certain pupil had his upper clothes taken off and he was placed on a table and two of the teachers started to hit him on his back and other places for an hour with the accused as the headmaster and all the pupils watching the whole time.”

A person who escaped from the sect described how Rumpler “starved people and forbade them to eat almost anything. He also prohibited use of medicines without his signature.”

Rumpler was arrested half a year ago when he returned to Israel on suspicion of being an active partner in the sect and operating a reign of terror, threats and physical punishments.