After a covert investigation lasting several months, dozens of officers from the Northern District Police and the Border Police raided multiple locations in Yavne'el on Wednesday morning that are linked to a small, closed Breslov community. Many people were detained for questioning over alleged child marriages carried out in recent years, including community members suspected of arranging the weddings, matching minors, and conducting the ceremonies, as well as several minors believed to have been married in recent months.
Investigators said they uncovered a method in which the weddings usually take place in the morning with only a small number of attendees. The location is reportedly hidden until the last moment, phones are kept out to prevent documentation, and filming is barred. After the chuppah, the families often hold a separate public event disguised as an "engagement party," to which relatives of the bride and groom are invited.
In February, after receiving real-time intelligence as part of the investigation, Northern District detectives raided a child marriage ceremony at a house in a settlement. Police said they found the bride and groom dressed in wedding clothes, and during a search inside the building, they discovered a ketubah, wedding rings, and a cup wrapped in aluminum foil hidden in a water-meter cabinet.
As part of the case, investigators obtained court orders to collect information from hospitals in northern Israel. Those steps led them to more than 20 cases in the past three years in which girls from the community gave birth, while Interior Ministry records showed them as unmarried at the time. Police said the investigation is continuing and vowed to act with other enforcement and welfare agencies to stop the practice and bring those involved to justice.
