Leader of extremist haredi Orthodox sect Lev Tahor arrested in Guatemala
A young woman and member of the Lev Tahor community in the Canadian city of Chatham, Ontario, Nov. 29, 2013. (Rick Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
(JTA) — A leader of an extremist haredi Orthodox Jewish group was arrested Sunday in Guatemala.
Guatemalan authorities arrested Yaakov Weinstein of Lev Tahor on the first day of Passover, the Orthodox news site Yeshiva World News reported. According to the Israeli news site Kikar Hashabbat, Weinstein was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping children.
The late Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans founded Lev Tahor in the 1980s in Jerusalem, with the small group eventually taking root in Canada and then Guatemala. Some have deemed the sect a cult. It’s been referred to as the “Jewish Taliban,” as women and girls older than 3 are required to dress in long black robes covering their entire body, leaving only their faces exposed. The men spend much of the day in prayer and studying only specific Torah portions.
Sect leaders have faced a long list of kidnapping charges over the years. In 2019, four members were indicted for kidnapping two children whose mother had escaped with them, wanting to return the children to Lev Tahor. The group had fled Canada to Guatemala in 2014 after coming under intense scrutiny by Canadian authorities for alleged child abuse and marrying off children.
The maskless shoppers brazenly went to Tesco in the protestCredit: twitter
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The group of 30 have been slammed as 'selfish'Credit: twitter
Footage of the group was filmed at the Tesco store in Princes Road, Chelmsford, on Saturday after the protest was advertised on social media.
An image posted on Twitter invited participants to "join us for a spot of maskless shopping."
The 'event' was described as "a perfect way to peacefully protest while buying your weekly groceries."
And in a video posted online, dozens of maskless shoppers were seen entering Tescos, marching to a tune with the words "don't believe the propaganda on TV."
The bizarre song in the background sung lyrics about "indoctrination camps", "vaccine scam" and "technocratic sham."
On the way out, at least 34 people clutched their shopping bags following their protest, a woman could be heard shouting "come on warriors."
Residents do not deserve to be let down now by a small, selfish group
Chelmsford City Council
The council and police are now working to find out how this maskless protest was able to happen.
NHS Million, a grassroots campaign run by NHS staff to highlight gratitude of the health service, said: "This is a slap in the face to all NHS staff who have worked themselves into the ground and risked their own lives to keep people save.
"Organising a maskless shopping trip is not big, not clever but it is illegal."
Customers are required by law to wear masks inside all shops, unless they are exempt for medical reasons.
And social distancing must be enforced unless you are from the same household or bubble.
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Dozens of people flouted Covid restrictions and brazenly went about their shopping tripCredit: twitter
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An image posted on Twitter invited participants to 'join us for a spot of maskless shopping'
A spokesman for Chelmsford City Council said: "Chelmsford City Council is extremely disappointed to see that a small number of people chose to shop without masks in a city centre supermarket on Saturday.
"Although lockdown restrictions eased slightly this week, it is extremely important that we all continue to stick to the rules in order to keep moving forward and avoid more people becoming ill or dying from Covid-19.
"This action risked the health of many others: both those who were in the shop at the time and others with whom those people have come into contact since.
"The incident was dealt with at the time by police and we are working with them and with the supermarket to review how this happened.
"Chelmsford has patiently borne restrictions over the past year and residents do not deserve to be let down now by a small, selfish group."
A Tesco spokesperson said: "Since the start of the pandemic, we have focused on ensuring everyone can get the food they need in a safe environment.
"To protect our customers and colleagues, we won't let anyone into our stores who is not wearing a face covering, unless they are exempt in line with Government guidance.
MASK MAYHEM
"We are also asking our customers to shop alone, unless they're a carer or with children.
"To support our colleagues, we will have additional security in stores to help manage this."
In a statement about the protest, Essex Police said: “We were called to Tesco in Princes Road, Chelmsford, just after 12.30pm on Saturday 27 March, following a report of a large group of around 20-30 people entering the store together and not wearing masks.
“When asked by staff to wear masks, they refused.
“They left the store several minutes later and, when our officers arrived on scene, the group were in the car park.
“We engaged with them and encouraged them to leave the area. Enforcement is a last resort for our officers, but one man was issued with a fixed penalty notice and a ticket for driving whilst using a mobile phone.
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“No further concerns were raised and the group left the area.
“We would encourage anyone who has information about Covid breaches to continue to report them to us and we will respond to keep people safe.
“We’d like to thank the majority of Essex residents, who have been working hard to keep themselves and others safe throughout the pandemic.”
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Police were called out to the protest at Tesco's store in Princes Road, ChelmsfordCredit: Google
