Relative of rescued Lev Tahor member discusses groups' psychological abuse

Oded Twik emotionally described the most meaningful moments in the process of rescuing family members from the Lev Tahor cult in Guatemala.

By MAARIV, JERUSALEM POST STAFF DECEMBER 24, 2024 22:47

A Lev Tahor members demands the release of members of the community after prosecutors say Guatemalan authorities rescued several children and teenagers from the Jewish community following allegations of child abuse, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, December 21, 2024. (photo credit: REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin)

"We must fight with all our strength and never give up," says Oded Twik, author of the book The Cult, who previously rescued his sister and her children from Lev Tahor in Canada.

Over the past weekend, a large-scale rescue operation was conducted at the Lev Tahor cult compound in Guatemala following testimonies from children and teenagers, non-residents of Guatemala, who escaped the compound last month. The children reported abuse and human trafficking.

During the operation, approximately 160 children and 40 women were rescued, with the children who were dressed in the cult's distinctive clothing. Buried bodies were also discovered at the site. The rescued individuals were transferred to a welfare facility in Guatemala City.

"These people are brainwashed, miserable; they've been through a holocaust," Twik said. In 2011, Twik decided to visit his sister in Canada, whom he had not seen for seven years. Upon returning to Israel, he first heard rumors about the group being an extreme cult that abused its members. "I gave it my all," he shared. "There were nights I would sit up all night talking, making calls abroad. All night, and in the morning, I would continue working and talking here too."

In May 2015, when members of the cult moved into an office building in Guatemala City, Twik undertook a daring rescue operation. "In a covert and armed operation, I took my sister and her four children and moved them to a motel. Within a few hours, we were already on a flight to Argentina."

Members of the Lev Tahor Jewish community stand outside the facilities of the Guatemala Attorney General's Office after Guatemalan authorities rescued several children and adolescents from the Jewish community following allegations of child abuse, in Guatemala December 20, 2024. (credit: Josue Decavele/ REUTERS)

"In my case, I accompanied my sister 12 hours a day," Twik recounts. "We didn’t have a budget for psychologists, but even today, years later, they still need psychological treatment. It doesn’t fade or go away. Some children are less affected, and some are more, but it leaves a mark."

Twik called for government involvement in cases of "new families"—families who have fallen victim in recent years: "Families who used to work for many officials, paid social security, did everything as they should, but ended up entangled with such criminals, with offenders, in a dangerous cult. Yes, they were brainwashed; yes, they made a mistake with their children. But they can be saved, they can be rehabilitated—they are wonderful people."

"This was a story that cost me significant resources," Twik shares, "especially an immense amount of time. I had to neglect my own family here. It was truly painful, but I did it for a good cause. I didn’t do it for my sister; I did it for her children, whom I saw there, and I couldn’t stop crying out of pain."

Twik emotionally described the most meaningful moment in the rescue process.

"The victory was when those children, who had been brainwashed to think I was some kind of monster, realized I was the good one, not the bad one, and gave me gifts. Those are the most perfect moments in this story—just realizing how worthwhile the effort was, that they respect you in a way that’s indescribable."

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History of criminal investigations and charges

Lev Tahor was established by the late Shlomo Helbrans in the 1980s, eventually settling in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts in Quebec, Canada, before fleeing for Ontario's Chatham-Kent in November 2013 amid authorities amid allegations of child neglect.

Senior Lev Tahor leaders Nachman Helbrans and Mayer Rosner were charged with child kidnapping by US authorities in December 2018 before being sentenced to 12 years in prison in March 2022 for child sexual exploitation.

Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans of Lev Tahor (credit: Courtesy)

Further, in March 2024, additional leadership, namely the Weingarten brothers, Yoil, Yakov, and Shmiel, were convicted for international parental kidnapping, child exploitation, and conspiracy to defraud the US for their role in the December 2018 kidnapping.