R., a US citizen who lives in Israel, is living in a nightmare for five years, Ynet reported.

It began when his daughter got married to a regular Chareidi bochur with a difficult family background. After the wedding, the couple moved to Israel and settled in Geula. “He learned in Brisk and was a regular bochur,” R. said. “After five years, a tragedy occurred in his family and one of his relatives connected him to a Mekubal. After the meeting with the Mekubal, he began davening most of the day instead of learning in Kollel.”

R. financially supported his daughter and her family and they were in day-to-day contact but then the situation deteriorated. “My daughter was editing the sefarim of a Mekubal. When the Mekubal passed away, my son-in-law became even more extreme. He’s a charismatic person and he dragged my daughter along. She believed all the lies and the religious ideas.”

“They continued to send their children to regular Chareidi schools in the period before they fled to Guatemala – a period of about five years. All along, we hoped that things would improve. The son of that Mekubal was connected to Lev Tahor. He got into trouble with the authorities and convinced my son-in-law to join the cult. The extremist ideology caused them to change their opinion on Zionism and Israel but it was apparent that despite their relative extremism, the group in Geulah wasn’t as extreme as the Lev Tahor group outside Israel. But the one who led the group wasn’t a strong leader and another group of followers decided to travel to Guatemala.”

“We received a phone call from my daughter that she was there. I asked my daughter how they financed the trip. She received misinformation that some organization paid for it. She was instructed what to answer and what not to say. They were ordered to maintain complete secrecy.”

“Then suddenly she went underground. All the phones were cut off or were ‘unavailable.’ It’s already over a week that she’s not in touch.”

“I’m extremely worried about the lives of my daughter and grandchildren,” he said. “The risk is worsening every minute. Iran is much more dangerous than where they are now.”

“Even now there are very serious issues. When my grandchildren called me, they complained of stomach aches and other physical ailments. My daughter told me strange stories. But I really don’t know what happens at the camp in Guatemala. She said they get bread, pumpkin seeds, and fruit. They don’t eat meat, chicken and fish. She says they get vitamins. I told her that she shouldn’t take the ‘vitamins’ under any circumstances but I don’t know if she listened to me. She’s convinced that her way is correct and it will bring the Moshiach.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)