Tuesday, June 30FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE
Court Bars “Cult” Rabbi From Teaching Women
NOVANEWS
By: TUT
ed note (Tony)…Remember, the Rabbinate see it as their duty to condition the minds of the young, to become good Jews. That is how the mental illness known as Judaism continues to this day.
Jerusalem – Three weeks after being arrested on a litany of charges related to his alleged cult run out of a Jerusalem women’s seminary, a Jerusalem District Magistrate’s Court judge on Thursday barred Aaron Ramati from teaching women for 70 days, pending an imminent indictment.
Ramati, an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who heads the Be’er Miriam seminary with his wife, was arrested earlier this month for multiple alleged crimes after concerned parents filed complaints to police over their concern that their daughters’ were lured into a cult doubling as a seminary.
A subsequent joint investigation determined that Ramati allegedly committed financial fraud, gas theft, and numerous social welfare and health violations. His wife and six students have since been detained for questioning, although none were arrested, police said.
According to the judge’s ruling, Ramati is prohibited from “managing, directly or indirectly, Be’er Miriam seminary, or any other educational institution, including as a teacher, acting as a supervisory rabbi or spiritual counselor, for 70 days, or until an indictment is filed.”
Ramati’s attorney, Itamar Ben Gvir, who contended that his client is innocent and did not derive any profits from the seminary, demanded that he be allowed to continue running the seminary as the investigation continues.
“Education is his guiding principle,” Ben Gvir said in court. “He taught out of love for the Jewish people, not as a livelihood.”
The judge denied the request, but agreed to allow Ramati to instruct male students outside the seminary.
While Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said he could not discuss sensitive details regarding the case, he noted that the ongoing investigation against the seminary has been intensive and far-reaching, bringing together multiple emergency agencies.
“The police were aided by representatives from all the emergency agencies, including municipal officials, the gas authority, income tax investigation representatives and the ministries of Health, Justice and [Welfare and] Social [Services],” he said.
Among the investigation’s findings include members of the gas authority determining that the school illegally pirated its gas line, creating a safety hazard for tenants of the school as well neighboring residents.
Police launched the investigation last month after receiving an initial complaint that five young women were actively recruited to work for free for Ramati and his wife and told to sever ties with their families and friends.
An Army Radio report said the couple had enlisted the women to live and study there. They were put to work at a series of menial jobs and forced to hand over their earnings to fund the seminary.
Only one of the women has since left the school, the report said.
After hearing the testimonies of several of the girls’ parents, MK Aliza Lavie (Yesh Atid), who chairs the Knesset Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women and Gender Equality, issued a statement that there were justified concerns for the young women’s safety.
Although Lavie did not state that they were being held against their will, she said the parents had informed her that the girls were living in unsanitary conditions.
Last month, the MK said imminent action would be taken in coordination with the municipality’s Child Welfare Services to determine whether the girls were indeed in danger.
