‘Hostages’ in Guatemala: The Fight for 140 Children
Guatemalan courts are struggling to free 140 children from the extremist Jewish sect Lev Tahor, despite evidence of abuse. Israeli relatives of the children are demanding global intervention to save them.
In a quiet courtroom in Guatemala, the fate of 140 Jewish children—described by their relatives as “hostages”—hangs in the balance. Rescued from the radical Jewish sect Lev Tahor in a dramatic police operation in December 2024, these minors are now at the center of a legal battle that, according to their families, risks returning them to the very environment of abuse they were pulled from.
These are Israeli children. Jewish children. The cult came to Guatemala to escape justice.
“These are not Guatemalan children. These are Israeli children. Jewish children. The cult came to Guatemala to escape justice,” Orit Cohen said in an interview with The Media Line. Her brother, sister-in-law, and four nephews joined Lev Tahor fifteen years ago.
Lev Tahor, founded in Israel in the 1980s by Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans, is an extremist ultra-Orthodox sect known for its Taliban-style dress code, rejection of secular education and medicine, and enforcement of early child marriages. Over the past two decades, the sect has migrated from Israel to Canada, the US, Mexico, and now Guatemala, usually in flight from legal scrutiny. International authorities have accused the group of child trafficking, abuse, and psychological captivity.
Among the children rescued and placed in protective custody by Guatemala’s child welfare agency are Cohen’s nieces and nephews. Cohen has made it her mission to ensure the minors are not returned to what she calls a “system of captivity.” “These children were fed only cucumbers, tomatoes, and matzah. They were forbidden to receive a hug,” she said. “Some were handed over to cult leaders who raped them.”
Instead of recognizing the operation against Lev Tahor as a collective rescue from institutional abuse, Guatemalan courts have broken the case into over 100 separate custody trials. Each one requires family members to prove, individually, the unfitness of a parent—even when that parent is part of an internationally condemned sect. “But the children are not really with their parents,” Cohen said. “They belong to the cult. It’s a network of rotating control, where any child can be abused by any adult in the group.”
She warned that this fragmented approach is enabling Lev Tahor to manipulate the legal system. “They’ve filed false accusations—sexual abuse, violence—against anyone trying to rescue these kids. I’ve seen relatives driven away in fear. We’re treated like criminals while the real abusers are protected,” she said.
“These children are not criminals,” she said. “They are victims. They are hostages—emotionally, legally, physically. And every day they remain there, their lives are in danger.”
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The emotional and legal toll on the families is immense. Cohen has traveled to Guatemala multiple times, spending approximately $45,000 on each visit to cover flights, legal representation, accommodations, and other urgent expenses. “I came to court in pain, limping. The judge accused me of lying and dismissed my petition,” she recounted, explaining that she postponed critical surgery in order to remain present in the proceedings.
The judge wrote explicitly that these children are kidnapped. She said their condition is catastrophic—the worst case she has seen in 23 years on the bench.
The Guatemalan system has recognized the severity of the situation. “The judge wrote explicitly that these children are kidnapped,” Cohen revealed. “She said their condition is catastrophic—the worst case she has seen in 23 years on the bench.”
A wide range of ages are involved—from newborns just weeks old to teenage mothers. “There are girls here who gave birth at 14, after being married off at 12. That’s what this cult does—it raises children to become mothers while they’re still children themselves.”
Of the 140 children held in custody, an estimated 40 are American citizens, but foreign citizenship has not guaranteed their release. “Their families have been in Guatemala for four months, begging to bring them home,” Cohen said. “These are well-established, responsible families. But the children remain in state custody as if they were criminals.”
Cohen’s family members are Israeli citizens, but Guatemala has refused to hand the children over to Israel.
“We’re dealing with an absurd situation in which 140 kidnapped children are being kept from their families, and the state that should be protecting them is blocked from doing so,” Cohen said.
She noted that the Jewish Agency for Israel, the paragovernmental organization that promotes Jewish immigration to Israel, has recently become involved. “They’re sitting with us and trying to help, finally,” she said. “But the truth is, the whole Jewish world should be rising up and saying: these are our children, not Guatemala’s. They belong to the people of Israel.”
Bringing the children rescued from the Lev Tahor cult in Guatemala to Israel is quite literally a matter of saving lives. These are dozens of minors who either hold Israeli citizenship or are eligible for it.
Speaking with The Media Line, MK Gilad Kariv, chair of the Knesset’s Immigration and Absorption Committee, called the matter one of national urgency: “Bringing the children rescued from the Lev Tahor cult in Guatemala to Israel is quite literally a matter of saving lives,” he said. “These are dozens of minors who either hold Israeli citizenship or are eligible for it.”
“There are Israeli families ready to receive them, and in several cases, official guardianship orders have already been issued,” he said. “I welcome the recent progress we’ve seen as a result of our committee’s involvement in recent months, but this process must continue. This is not a private matter concerning 10 Israeli families. It is a national issue that demands leadership from the Israeli government.”
The outcome of the trials will depend on whether the Guatemalan judiciary can move beyond technicalities and recognize the true nature of Lev Tahor, Cohen said. “We are not asking for special treatment,” she said. “We are asking for justice. And justice starts by recognizing that Lev Tahor is not a family. It is a cult. And these 140 children are not in custody—they are still being held hostage.”
