Dozens of people were detained for questioning in Yavne'el on suspicion of organizing and holding illegal weddings involving minors, in a police raid that investigators say exposed a wider and disturbing practice. A covert investigation found that more than 20 similar events had taken place over the past three years, in which girls were allegedly forced to wear bridal dresses and marry.
Video from the raid showed a young girl in a wedding dress. At the same time, the groom's father was heard telling officers that the bride was "a little under 18," while avoiding stating her exact age. During the search, police found a ketubah and a ring hidden inside a gap in a wall, evidence they say strengthened the suspicion.
Police say the Yavne'el operation is only the tip of a much larger and ongoing phenomenon. Chief Superintendent Avi Aish, head of investigations in the Northern District, told the program HaOlam HaBoker that some cases involve large age gaps, such as a 16-year-old girl and a 31-year-old man, but in most cases both spouses are minors, sometimes girls aged 14 and boys aged 16. He said, "Boy and girl is a good description, I would go with child and child. In the end, a 13-year-old girl is less of a teenager."
According to Aish, police have declared an all-out campaign against the practice, which organizers allegedly hide by holding a small secret wedding first and then a large "engagement party" as cover. He said the custom is driven by a belief attributed to a late rabbi that early marriage prevents "sexual transgressions." Police also said parents are fully complicit, helping stage the events and coaching children to give false accounts in questioning. "We are determined to fight this phenomenon, we will wear them down," Aish said.
