A STORM has erupted in Israel over the attempt by two young Israeli girls to join an ultra-orthodox Jewish sect in Canada. Lev Tahor is so extreme that any member who sins faces a lashing and women must remain fully covered.

The unnamed sisters, aged 13 and 15, were sent by their parents last week to join the community in Quebec. But they were stopped at Montreal’s Trudeau airport after the girls’ great-uncle petitioned an Israeli court for their return.

His claim that Lev Tahor would abuse and enslave them was upheld by the court and after diplomatic efforts from the Foreign Ministry and Interpol, the girls were detained on their arrival in Canada…

Lev Tahor was established a decade ago and today consists of around 45 families. It is said to be among the most extreme religious groups in Canada. “Rituals of the Lev Tahor community reportedly involve lashing anyone considered a ‘sinner,’ and sending 14-year-old girls to the wedding canopy”, Haaretz reports.
The sect is known for keeping women members completely covered in black robes, a custom that has earned Lev Tahor the epithet ‘The Jewish Taliban’…