After a covert investigation lasting several months, dozens of officers from Israel’s Northern District Police and the Border Police raided several locations in Yavne'el on Wednesday morning, targeting members of a small, closed Breslov-affiliated community. Police detained many suspects for questioning over alleged illegal child marriages carried out in recent years, including people suspected of arranging the weddings, matchmaking minors, and conducting the ceremonies, as well as several minors who are believed to have married in recent months.
Investigators said they uncovered a method designed to keep the weddings secret. Most were held in the morning with only a small group present, and the time and place were not disclosed until the last moment. Phones were reportedly kept out to prevent filming. After the chuppah, the families would often hold a second event open to a wider audience under the cover of an “engagement party.”
In February, after receiving real-time intelligence as part of the probe, Northern District detectives raided one such child marriage ceremony in a house in the community. Officers found the bride and groom dressed for a wedding, and a search of the building uncovered a ketubah, wedding rings, and a cup wrapped in aluminum foil hidden inside a water-meter cabinet.
As part of the investigation, police obtained court orders to collect information from hospitals in northern Israel. That led investigators to more than 20 cases from the past three years in which girls from the community gave birth while Interior Ministry records listed them as single. Police said the investigation is continuing, and on Wednesday many suspects, including several minors, were detained. Police said they would keep acting against offenses harming children and would work with welfare authorities to uncover the truth and bring those involved to justice.
