Kikar Hashabbat, a haredi news site, reported the following story. Below is my translation, with a few notes. It started about 8 months ago, when a 19-year-old haredi woman disappeared from her parents' home. Two days later the parents located her by phone. The daughter explained that she was "strengthening herself" religiously, at a friend's home. When the daughter again failed to make contact, the parents reported her absence to the police. But because of the daughter's age the police refused to get involved. One of the askanim (haredi functionaries--often used as a derogatory term but I'm not sure of the author's perspective), who was in on the secret, told Kikar Hashabbat that at … [Read more...]
Hyper-Modest Abusive Mother of 12 Released
June 15, 2012 by 5 Comments
Bruria Keren, the mother of 12 who encouraged followers to cut the heels off their shoes, cover themselves from head to toe and refrain from speaking for set periods of time (taanit dibur), will be released from jail on Sunday. She served a four-year sentence for abusing her children, including one who is disabled. The Israeli press refers to her as Mother Taliban. According to this (Hebrew) report in Kikar Shabbat, Keren's grown daughter gave an interview to army radio station Galei Tzahal. The daughter has forgiven her mother, saying "Some of the children suffered more, some less, and each one sees it from his point of view. As a mother I can now see that most of it was not from bad … [Read more...]
More Details Emerge about Veiled Women’s Cult
November 27, 2011 by 18 Comments
Tamar Rotem discussed the recent opposition to the cult of the veiled women in the Haaretz Friday weekly Hashavua. Even Haaretz calls them "Taliban women" only in quotes. She reviews the incidents of the last few weeks leading to a condemnation of the cult by the Edah Haredit: A 16-year-old boy got married twice withing several months. The first wife had returned to her parents' home and refused to receive a get (writ of divorce). When she learned of the remarriage, she and the young man went to Rabbi Karelitz's rabbinic court in Bnei Brak for the divorce. At first the family maintained that the groom received a "heter me'ah rabbanim," a document signed by 100 rabbis allowing a man … [Read more...]
Yediot Gives Platform to Shal-Wearers
November 15, 2011 by 20 Comments
Today's Yediot Aharonit "24 Hours" magazine has an "exclusive" letter from a 42-year-old cult member. The anonymous author sent it to a neighbor, whose husband delivered it to Yediot with the author's knowledge. The letter may be original and unpublished, but plenty of similar material is widely available and used to recruit new members. The author of the letter wears a shal (a long cloak, meant to hide the outline of her upper body and hips). Unlike some of her "righteous" neighbors who cover their face whenever they go out, she only covers hers when she sees a man approaching. The letter does not discuss the unusual practices of the group that I discussed a while back, like … [Read more...]
Court to Rule on "Taliban" (Hyper-Modest) Sect
October 5, 2011 by 16 Comments
Haaretz reports this morning about a court case involving two young veiled girls from Beit Shemesh. The article contains many details about the group they belong to, which is known internally as "Lev Tahor" (pure heart). Maybe the press will finally stop calling them Taliban women. The two girls were sent by their parents to an outpost of the group near Montreal. The grandmother's brother filed a petition arguing that their welfare would be harmed because they would be married against their will. The Israeli court agreed to hear the petition. Canadian officials greeted the girls at the airport, and they were eventually escorted back to Israel by Canadian police. The article contains … [Read more...]
Veiled Women Called Apikorsim, Told to Wash Dishes
September 25, 2011 by 29 Comments
Rafi recently posted about a pashkevil (wall poster-reproduced and translated below) against the sect, or cult, of veiled women. The pashkevil is signed by the "War Council against the Cult of Cruel Women." Ynet published the picture above, taken in Jerusalem, of young girls in capes and veils. The author of the accompanying article wonders, like I did a while back, why it's acceptable to dress children in this clothing. While the recent poster decries the suffering of women or girls, I don't believe that is the main concern of the authors. In my post on the veiled women's cult in Beit Shemesh, I cited a report about the group's odd practices. For instance, the women don't bathe … [Read more...]
Interview with “Mother Taliban”
February 17, 2011 by 17 Comments
Channel 2's "360" program broadcast Yifat Erlich's prison interview with Bruria Keren. For some reason she called her Rabbanit M.—I don't know where the M comes from. Her husband isn't a rabbi, but it is common for female teachers to be known as Rabbanit. Of course the title adds to the drama. I've already reviewed the first broadcast, Erlich's "undercover" investigation of hyper-modesty. Below is a rough translation/summary of the program, with a few comments. You can find the video on Rafi's site. A prison official said that "Rabbanit M" arrived wearing 27 layers. She doesn't shower, she spends all her days with holy books, and doesn't communicate except by writing. When … [Read more...]
Video: Undercover Reporter Infiltrates “Taliban Women”
February 2, 2011 by 29 Comments
Channel Two's investigative program, 360, broadcast a report about what they called the —œTaliban women.— Yifat Erlich (of Megeirot fame—she's graduated from Makor Rishon newspaper to TV) went undercover to infiltrate the group and interview their leader, Malka Benizri. The report claims that Bruria Keren, who is not identified by name, was the original leader of the "Taliban women." While it's true that Keren had a following, her group met in Beit Shemesh. I'm sure there was overlap, and perhaps Keren was influenced by this group in Geulah. I don't think there's one" leader." Also, Keren always covered her face and none of the women shown at the Geulah meetings do. Benizri … [Read more...]
A View from Sweden: Covering as a Health Risk for Girls and Women
February 1, 2011 by 21 Comments
This comment came to me from Maria Gellert, a Swedish reader, in response to The Problem with Putting Veils on Little Girls. I also found this article from Scientific American outlining the issues surrounding autism and Vitamin D. If the theory that lack of Vitamin is related to a rise in autism among populations who cover, I want to emphasize that the issue is Vitamin D deficiency during the mother's pregnancy, not in childhood. Muslim girls in Sweden usually don't cover their faces. When it has happened, the social authorities ALWAYS intervene. What I wanted to point out was that when girls dress according to strict modesty, and cover everything except their hands (which are … [Read more...]
The Problem with Putting Veils on Little Girls
January 24, 2011 by 57 Comments
The pictures of the family from Beit Shemesh wearing veils has disturbed me for several weeks. We can debate about whether this is in the spirit of the Torah. Or whether it threatens Orthodox Judaism, Israel, or women everywhere. But the most pressing issue involves the young girls in these families. In the pictures, the faces of the girls are covered with a dark cloth. Perhaps the youngest child is four, perhaps older. In the best-case scenario, as described by the poster in the forum, the fabric used for the veils has small holes, invisible from afar, that allow the wearers to see out. Bus advertisements glued to windows also contain small holes that enable riders to see outside. But in … [Read more...]
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