A well-known American family living in the French Hill neighborhood of Jerusalem have been revealed as Christian missionaries, B’Chadrei Chareidim reported on Sunday morning.
The father of the family served as a Sofer Stam, writing mezuzos, and identified as a Kohen, even serving as the Kohen for firstborn babies.
The children of the family were enrolled in neighborhood chadarim and Bais Yaakov schools. In fact, apparently, people first became suspicious of the family when one of the children began speaking about Christianity in school.
Following a thorough investigation by askanim it’s been revealed that the family made aliyah to Israel from the US with forged documents. The family first settled in the Nachlaot neighborhood in Jerusalem but after someone there uncovered their story, they relocated to French Hill.
They settled into the Chareidi community there but their goal of missionizing fell to the wayside after the mother became seriously ill with cancer. Of course, the community rose to the occasion, providing substantial assistance to the family, raising tzedaka for them and helping them in many other ways. The mother eventually passed away and one tzedaka fund to assist the family raised over $30,000 and another one raised over NIS 52,000.
After the father was confronted by the askanim, he admitted that his goal was to integrate into the Chareidi community and spread Christianity.
“They kept it secret until now because they didn’t want the father to run away again to another neighborhood,” Yoni Kaiman, a French Hill resident, told B’Chadrei. “They wanted to first work toward revoking his citizenship.”
“But the father began to cover his steps and stopped sending his daughters to Bais Yaakov so we decided to publicize it in the neighborhood so that everyone will know the real story and he won’t run away to another neighborhood.”
“When he was asked, he admitted that he was a missionary. We now have other askanim involved in order to take steps against the family.”
On Sunday morning, the father began to delete posts from his gentile Facebook profile.
“The investigators found that contrary to what the wife said before she passed away, that she was a child of Holocaust survivors, she was born to Christian parents and they have the documents to prove it,” Meir Eisenshtat, another French Hill resident, told B’Chadrei.
“Fortunately, we discovered the fraud now so we froze the donations that the Kupas Tzedaka collected to support the family. We’re in total shock.”
סיפור מטורף. האיש הזה מסתובב בינינו בשכונת הגבעה הצרפתית. ילדיו לומדים במוסדות חרדים, מציג את עצמו כסופר סת"ם, כתב ספרי תורה ומזוזות ואף הזדהה ככהן ופדה ילדים. אשתו מתה לא מזמן מסרטן, הקהילה פתחה מגבית עבורו. לאחר תחקיר מעמיק של מספר עסקנים התברר: האיש ומשפחתו אינם יהודיים pic.twitter.com/wHG06LCYP4
— אבי רבינא Avi Ravina (@AviRabina) April 25, 2021
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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40 Responses
Filthy goyisha animals. Deport them.
Why us the picture blurred?
There’s a special place in גיהנום for those people and I hope they get there soon
Why blur their faces and hide their names? Not helpful at all.
It’s not lashon hora to post their names! They aren’t Jewish! This is as Le’toeles as your going to get and it doesn’t even need to be!
Who ever sent him there, you can be sure sent many others like him.
Why aren’t their names publicized? I think people would want to know their names for many reasons. And they’re not even Jewish. No Lashon Harah problems. Unlike some other times when names get published…
ימח שמו
Why cut off financial aid? He is still a Human Being that has a family?
How shocking!! I hope they are deported asap, or at least imprisoned!!!
Rasha
Has חברא קדישא removed deceased wife’s remains from Jewish cemetery?, and if not, what are they waiting for? & I would suggest they act with alacrity before supreme court orders them to leave her body in Frum Jewish cemetery.
This is what happens when you vote for Democrats.
I’m not understanding why you are blurring this person’s face and keeping him and his family anonymous. By his own admission, he is a “meisis” and neither he nor his wife are even Jews. It’s a mitzvah l’farseim this family so nobody else is nichshol by interacting with them.
Really impressive that these people can pull this off. Not only did they trick people into thinking they’re are Jewish and frum but he even was a Tolmid Chochom that peopleasked to afficiate at weddings… most real Jews can’t fake that. Impressive. No real harm was done at the end bh. I can
@Ader
The reason is, they are cruel people that destroyed many peoples lives. Do you agree that a terrorist that kills innocent people should also have a fund set up for them? Of course not. Well these people are also terrorist, maybe not in a physical way, but definitely in a spiritual way.
They should be shunned and imprisoned, & let the pope set up a fund for them
Ader: no need to feel sorry for them. They are wicked people and should not receive a penny from yiddishe gelt. May they lose all their money and their health! And may they disappear from this planet! They have caused untold damage. No, I have no pity for them!
Quayboardwarrior ? What does this have to do with that?
This person is evil trying to force his belifes on others while being a fraud. Disgusting , y’mach shemo
I do not get it, TYW does print names and pictures of people who may in fact be innocent.
Yet here, do you not say who it is.
Especially Let’s Keep Open Honest Exact News.
The photo needs to be clear and their “name” published! No doubt these evil people will try their deceit and lies elsewhere on another unsuspecting Jewish community!!!!!
Was he a mask wearer?
“This is what happens when you vote for Democrats.“
Yup, it’s all because trump was president 🙄
So here is the one that we caught. How many more are lurking in our midst? It’s time to crack down on missionizing in Israel.
Kids did nothing wrong .
He has no Yiddish look at all. Grossifying
ader: with all due respect…are u for real? This man is a fraud, a scammer a evil person he pretended to be someone he is not. and according to this article he pretended to be a softer stam… him writing jewish tefillin etc. Is not kosher…ppl who have used theese tefillin did not fulfill the mitzvah… SCAMMER he has infringed on other ppls religious beliefs religious rights… the right to have their own opinion on religion…he has violated other ppls religious dutys he has presented himself as someone who he is not and got money from ppl who thought he is someone else…that’s NOT his money that’s a SCAM he is a fraudster and a evil person who dosent belive in other ppls right to decide what religion they belive in he presented himself as a kohen…if he has done birches kohanim he might’ve again violated ppls religious dutys…this man deserves nothing… this man is truly evil…a lying scammer who has violated other ppls religious rights.
The problem with our OTD children and many many adults (in a hidden fashion), is Not Christianity. The Christians believe that there is a God and an authentic Old Testament. Our OTD children and adults don’t believe in any of those. Neither do they accept factually anything that was told to us by Chazal.
Where is his wife buried?
I assume in one of the Beis Hachaims!! If she is not Jewish she has to be removed from there ASAP!!!
Ader the money was raised by frum Jews who no doubt would not want their money to go to such a person. That simple
He was an anti-vaxxer too. Get him out! Come to think of it, he looks vaguely familiar. Hey, is that the guy who collects in Beis yeshaya?? 🙂
The video is appikorusim speaking, are you sure that it should be availible?
I understand why you play it, so that people can see the truth. I suggest, that if you did not already, then now you ask a shaila
It’s odd that Shannon Nuszen said she has known about this for 6 years. Firstly her organization has been around for only two years. If she claims she knew about it yet did nothing, that is shocking.
This person is Michael Elkohen. His real name is Michael Elk. You are correct, it is NOT lashon hara. It needs to be told. He is on Facebook under the name Michael Elkohen. Very strangely his URL is ELK. He needs to be removed from Israel and his wife’s body moved.
Maybe he could write a sefer called the “Shaygetz Aryeh”.
Something doesn’t add up. Why is a Christian organization paying him to learn in Kabbalah kollel for 10 years, while he’s not proselytizing? And like, what’s the plan in French Hill -Hareidim aren’t good targets. And like what’s the plan for raising a family- I think normal families struggle without mixed messages and dual identities…He’s not a psych patient. He’s not engaging in other criminal behavior. Videos indicated he’s struggled with becoming a min at some point, but where’s he holding now? Can we hear his side? Are we sure he’s not Jewish? And how scientific are askanim in their research process? I’m very disturbed by the story, certainly very sensational, but there are so many parts of it that make no sense.
A friend on FB, Charles Robinson – comments on Michael’s post “Greetings Michael. Your story is history making”. Thumbs up from “Amanda Elk” Michael’s wife.https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100017360708244&comment_id=Y29tbWVudDoxNzI1NTgyODI3NjE5ODk4XzE3MjYyNzM1NDA4ODQxNjA%3D
Looking at his profile – he’s an ardent follower of the man on Michael’s right in the video – pastor Rick Joyner – of MorningStar Fellowship Church.
Posted in Dec 2017 and reposted in Dec 2020 -after he claimed to have done “Teshuva”.
Michael’s denial to Channel 13 is pathetic at best.
Michael: https://www.facebook.com/michael.elk.3
Amanda: https://www.facebook.com/ae613
If one tenth of the effort put into combatting missionaries was put instead into chinuch, it would have a thousand times the effect.
Hello –
It’s worth trying to contact the fundraiser administrators who unknowingly helped this fraud steal money from innocent people and kindly but firmly request they shut down his funding page and refund all the victims.
https://my.israelgives.org/en/campaign/elkohen_family
You can see a photo of the family there. Ask your lawyer if you can publicize that photo to various communities. Don’t let these fraudsters destroy any more lives!
Lib, are you all there? There are 2 videos posted with this article, about this fraudster speaking KFIRAH. Whether or not he’s a Jew, he is a rodeif and a kofer with video proof and must be thrown out of the community if not tried for fraud. This is disgusting how someone on this frum site can support such an animal.
Ader, people give to these family online funds as maaser which cannot be used on goyim. Besides for the fact that this man is disgusting and has harmed the community and doesn’t deserve a penny of our tzedakah. How can you have rahcmanus for such reshaim when there are countless yiddishe families who are surviving on our tzedakah funds!!