A leading communal rabbi from Meron in northern Israel has been arrested for alleged “serious sexual offenses,” police said on Thursday, a week after he was accused by a cult watchdog of managing a tightly controlled group since at least 2011.
Sources familiar with the details of the case told the Walla news site that according to complaints that had accumulated over time, Shoveli presented his control over followers as spiritual.
“He succeeded in entering into the lives of people and making them completely dependent on him. He controlled their daily routines, distanced them from their families, and some of them effectively became his servants,” a source with knowledge of the probe told Walla.
Last week, the Israeli Center for Cult Victims posted a warning about Shoveli, saying it had collected 16 testimonies against him, including from five people who were directly involved in the group’s inner circle, as well as from family members from the Haredi community.
I'd be interested, DT. How does one establish himself like this? Like this guy? Or Berland? How does he turn off the voice in the heads of his followers which should be saying "Um, this doesn't sound right. I should get out of here"?
ReplyDeleteThis is a common problem with charismatic authority figures as is described in my book on abuse, it happens with doctors and therapists and politicians
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