Law enforcement has initiated an inquiry into several claims of organized ritualistic sexual abuse following distressing accounts provided by survivors to legislators at the end of last month.
The hearing on July 27 featured statements from individuals who claim to have been abused as children, now grown adults, focusing on incidents that took place within the ultra-Orthodox and national-religious groups in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Haifa, Safed, and other locations.
Witnesses shared stories of severe sexual abuse they endured as children, typically involving groups of individuals, with elements of ritualistic and religious language and symbols. The incidents occurred in schools, synagogues, private residences, warehouses, cemeteries, and forests, according to their claims.
The statement deeply affected members of the Knesset Committee for the Status of Women and Gender Equality and the Special Committee on Youth Issues, with some becoming visibly emotional, even shedding tears.
Several women claimed that religious and community leaders were involved in the abuse. Yael Ariel stated that she had heard reports from multiple women who alleged that “doctors, educators, police officers, and both former and current Knesset members” were part of it.
Individuals who shared their stories asked to remain unidentified in order to freely discuss the horrifying treatments they endured.
At about 15 years old, I was restrained on a torture bed in a basement near Tel Aviv,” said a woman, describing an event where her abusers—some of whom were family members—killed a snake, combined its blood with hers, and consumed it while sexually assaulting her and referring to her as a ‘holy vessel.’
they restrained me in every conceivable manner, employing whips and electric shocks, and violated me,” another survivor shared, stating that she was just five years old when she endured “unendurable mistreatment,” including from religious figures and teachers who claimed she was “defective” and required “correction.
Another individual who has come forward claimed that her father and others subjected her to abuse and trafficking during her childhood within “sadistic networks that involved rituals,” with allegations mentioning prominent individuals, including politicians.
Some victims mentioned that numerous events were recorded using cameras or mobile devices.
It’s difficult to describe what occurs there,” she stated. “There are kids, cameras, blood, and demise.
Little understood by cops
A central topic of the two hearings, as well as a previous meeting in June regarding the same issue, was the claimed inability to safeguard children. Those making accusations stated that officials, including teachers, social workers, and law enforcement, were informed about crimes taking place but did nothing.
Prosecutors have been criticized for dismissing cases as unworthy of their attention, and in certain cases, community leaders are reportedly involved in the abuse.
“The police were informed about this a year ago and stated they would look into it, but they did not,” said Orit Sulitzeanu, the executive director of the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel. She has been assisting victims of organized ritual sexual abuse for more than a year to reveal their allegations.
“There are numerous issues within the Israel Police. Complaints are frequently not addressed. Cases are often closed swiftly. Because of this, victims believe there’s no reason to approach the police,” she stated.
In reply to a query from The Times of Israel, the police stated: “Each complaint received by the police is thoroughly and professionally reviewed, and investigators conduct further examinations as needed to explore potential links between similar cases, based on the findings that arise during the investigation.”
They stated that “the issue” is being looked into, but refused to offer any additional information.
A law enforcement official at the hearing on July 27 mentioned that the department is examining past cases that have been closed for more than ten years.
A lot of the organized ritual sexual abuse remains unclear, including the extent of the supposed occurrence. Opponents argue that law enforcement does not have a proper grasp of the issue as a whole.
When we inquired with the police about the number of complaints received concerning this issue, they informed us they were unaware,” said a Knesset official who has direct knowledge. “The police representative openly acknowledged they had no idea how to recognize or differentiate cases of ritual sexual abuse from other instances.
There is proof that ritual sexual abuse is being conducted in a structured and coordinated manner, meaning it cannot be addressed by law enforcement on an individual basis, according to a Knesset source.
This is more than a collection of separate incidents of sexual assault,” they stated. “It should be addressed as organized crime. Similar to the mafia or other criminal organizations, it’s essential to link the pieces together.
Although organizations like Interpol have significant experience in recognizing the patterns of organized ritual sexual abuse, this is less known in Israel, according to the source.
After the initial hearing in June, police informed legislators that they initiated an investigation into the incidents through Lahav 105, the cybercrime and child exploitation unit, which several MKs have stated is inadequate.
A unique meeting between the Prosecutor’s Office and the police regarding ritual abuse is necessary,” said National Unity MK Pnina Tamano-Shata, who leads the Committee for the Status of Women and Gender Equality, during the hearing. “Lahav 105 is not the appropriate entity to handle such cases.
“If the ritualistic aspect is not recognized, it is destined to fail,” stated MK Naama Lazimi, who leads the Special Committee on Youth Issues. She urged thorough investigations into the criminal activities, exploitation, and human trafficking components of the alleged misconduct.
Tamano-Shata stated to The Times of Israel that she had asked the Israel Police to convene with the State Prosecutor’s Office and other pertinent organizations “to grasp the extent of the issue, identify where it occurs, and subsequently develop some sort of action plan — even a preliminary one.”
Tamano-Shata also informed the state prosecutor’s representative that new laws should be enacted concerning cults.
It’s evident to me that in Israel, cults are not handled as they should be,” she stated. “Numerous ritual abuses take place within cults; children are abused and subsequently taken out of the country.
Both Tamano-Shata and Lazimi highlighted the irony of addressing sexual abuse at a moment when Likud member of the Knesset Hanoch Milwidsky had recently been assigned to lead the influential Knesset Finance Committee, even though he was facing a police investigation related to rape.
Milwidsky closely follows Michael Laitman, who faces allegations of rape and leads the Bnei Baruch kabbalistic group, which has been criticized by former members for instances of sexual misconduct.
We have heard accounts of organized ritual abuse and are seeking explanations — often strongly — because we are guided by a sense of duty and objective,” stated Tamano-Shata. “I wrote a letter to the Knesset speaker indicating that MK Hanoch Milwidsky, who is currently facing significant investigations and serious accusations — although the principle of innocence until proven guilty remains — should not be assigned to such an influential role while being probed for serious violations, including sexual misconduct and extortion.
It’s impossible for this location to overlook such a significant issue,” Lazimi stated regarding Milwidsky’s appointment during the hearing. “The head of the Finance Committee cannot be a suspect in such severe cases.
A second legislator, Avraham Bezalel, has recently stepped down from the Knesset, according to a Haaretz report that referred to “allegations of improper behavior.”
The national broadcaster Kan stated that a young Haredi individual claimed Bezalel had injured him.
Another situation continues to be hidden from public view. In April, claims of sexual misconduct were leveled against a government official by the official’s daughter. The case is subject to one of the broadest silence orders in recent history, with the media prohibited from identifying the individuals involved or disclosing information about the investigation, even though the accusations were shared on social media and specifics of the case are available on the minister’s Wikipedia page.
Sulitzeanu pointed out that accusations are frequently directed at individuals in authority who have the ability to suppress opposing statements through their power.
“These involve collective attacks with several offenders, including rabbis. In certain instances, the parents were aware. In many situations, child trafficking is also involved,” she stated.
Tamano-Shata mentioned that women who participated in the initial hearing on the topic in June were hesitant to provide testimony once more or submit formal complaints.
“We have requested the police to safeguard women who come forward, as they are scared. Without a formal complaint, there is no method to address it,” she stated.
Code of silence
Even though all individuals who provided testimony during the hearings were many years removed from the reported abuse, they voiced concerns that such actions were still occurring.
In 2019, Rotem Aloni, a legal advocate for survivors of sexual assault, received reports from multiple families describing alarming instances of their children experiencing “highly structured” sexual abuse, typically involving groups rather than individual offenders, and frequently linked to religious ceremonies and sacred imagery.
“They came from various regions of the country and hadn’t known one another, yet shared remarkably similar experiences,” Aloni stated.
Similar to the reported offenses discussed during the Knesset hearings, the mistreatment Aloni learned about was mainly found within the ultra-Orthodox population and frequently occurred in educational settings or through mechanisms designed to safeguard children, like school bus services.
She claimed there was a broad conspiracy involving school employees, drivers, or other individuals within the system. “The schools were entirely taken over,” she stated.
Sulitzeanu mentioned that ultra-Orthodox communities appeared especially vulnerable to hiding such severe abuse, with the extensive power given to rabbis and community figures often misused, and the close-knit relationships leading to a strong culture of silence and suspicion toward outsiders.
When there is a perpetrator within their group, they tend to suppress the victim and refuse to acknowledge the situation,” Sulitzeanu stated. “It only takes one malicious individual who, pretending to be a rabbi, earns people’s trust.
Aloni pointed out that claims of such abuse would necessitate an isolated community capable of creating a group of individuals who would collaborate and remain silent.
I believe everyone was aware of what was happening, or at least had some doubts,” Aloni said. “There were simple measures that could have minimized the danger to children, but they weren’t implemented.
Aloni ended up advocating for roughly 20 victims in the case she assembled in 2019, but claims she was aware of “hundreds” of additional victims at that time.
Every case she submitted was dismissed by the state prosecutor by 2022, due to insufficient evidence.
Although, in many instances, the events were captured on video or recorded, linking the evidence police could find to specific children and incidents proved to be a significant difficulty, particularly because the only witnesses were frequently children who were too frightened to speak.
Think about how much effort went into making these children remain silent,” she stated. “They intimidated them, terrified them. In addition, it’s extremely challenging for anyone—especially a young child—to discuss such trauma with a stranger.
The large amount of claimed victims recounting comparable events, even though they didn’t know one another and came from various regions of the country, should have prompted a unified investigation, but neither the police nor the prosecutors treated the cases with due seriousness, Aloni stated.
She remembered an event where officers visited a home mentioned by several victims, but departed when no one responded.
“I instructed them to obtain a warrant, but they took no action,” Aloni stated.
The attorney primarily blames the state’s lack of action on a mix of negligence, slow-moving bureaucracy, overwhelmed investigators, and prosecutors who considered the claims as exaggerated parental concern.
A representative from the state prosecutor’s office confirmed that they received the request from the Times of Israel for information regarding the specific cases but was unable to confirm or release the details.
I believe they didn’t buy it,” Aloni stated. “They assumed the parents fabricated it and were overreacting. But 10, 20 cases—doesn’t that warrant at least some investigation?
The post Disturbing accounts aim to break the veil of silence surrounding allegations of ritual sexual abuse appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Don’t miss key Israel news – sign up for the free Times of Israel Daily Edition
