Haaretz Jerusalem police and municipality workers raided the Be’er Miriam seminary for women in Jerusalem Sunday, following parents’ claims that the Sephardi institution, headed by Rabbi Aharon Ramati, is a cult. Ramati was not at the school when it was raided, but police located him shortly after in a nearby synagogue and he was taken in for questioning by the Jerusalem fraud squad.
Six women from the seminary were also detained on suspicion of various crimes, including fraud. Two other women were held for allegedly holding a former student against her will.
The police suspect a number of crimes were committed at the school, located in the Sanhedria neighborhood in north Jerusalem, including tax fraud and defrauding government ministries, as well as violating health and educational standards. A preliminary examination found that the gas lines were hooked up illegally, A fire and rescue service team disconnected the lines for safety reasons.[...]
A battle to close the seminary has been going on for years within the ultra-Orthodox community, but the police never found a reason to intervene until now. Ramati has even been accused of being the leader of “a dangerous cult” by leading Haredi rabbis. Still, the seminary continued to operate and drew dozens of young women students, most of whom were either newly religious or in the process of becoming more religious. [...]
I have yet to come across any evidence that anyhting that is taking place in that institution is illegal or even bad in any way.
ReplyDeleteThe fact the the institution is not mainstream does not mean that it is not a good place. Cosidering the sort of homes where some people are groiwing up, this kind of place may be crutial for them to have a chance in life.