freedom of religion and freedom of
education"
Helbrans said the group's homes were
thoroughly investigated and every child
was spoken to at least once in private.
The Quebec youth protection inves-
tigation revealed that children were
suffering from poor dental health and
skin problems, they were not bathing
on a regular basis, they were not being
schooled according to any Canadian
curriculum and only spoke Yiddish
and Hebrew. And concerns about
forced marriages and teen pregnancies
were passed along to provincial police,
according a youth protection official
who worked their case.
But Helbrans said youth protection
services in Quebec repeatedly reported
no neglect or abuse was found, and that
the only issue was the group's challeng-
ing of the education system.
Helbrans said they chose to move to
Ontario because the province is more
lenient with its education regulations,
which will allow their community to
have an easier time home schooling.
Children's Services in Chatham have
received files that have been trans-
ferred from Quebec on the group, and
Helbrans said they have already met
with representatives from the Children's
Aid Society in Windsor.
Helbrans said in October five chil-
dren were removed from the commu-
nity amid a custody dispute between
their mother and father. According to
Helbrans, the father had abandoned the
sect and moved to Israel and had report-
ed his children were suffering neglect.
'Not A Cult'
As for forced teen marriage, Mayer
Rosner, one of Lev Tahor's directors,
said the females of the group marry by
choice, but it is an "organized" mar-
riage.
"You have to understand all the
Jewish Chasidic communities have
organized marriages" said Rosner. "And
we do the marriages when the girl is
over 16 years of age He said the orga-
nized marriage is always between two
members within the community.
The group is also not a cult, like it is
sometimes referred to, said Rosner.
"People in our group are people who
love our style and tradition. Our com-
munity is a group that if anyone wants
to go, they can go:' said Rosner.
"One of the things of a cult is you
cannot get out, but our group is a group
that only has people who are happy to
stay here, not people who are forced to
stay. The people are happy and excited
to live here together."
According to IsraelNationalNews.
com, a court in Quebec on Nov. 27
ordered 14 minors, aged 2 months to 16
years old, to be moved into foster care.
Child protection officials in
Chatham are speaking to counterparts
in Quebec about how to proceed, hav-
ing met members of the sect on Nov.
28. A decision has yet to be made on
how or whether to comply with the
court order from Quebec, reports the
Toronto Star. ❑
To access the Windsor Star website,
visit www.windsorstar.corn.
1 11
i
111
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• Basketball (U14 & U16): 5:30 p.m.
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• Soccer (girls): 7 p.m. Dec. 18, JCC
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• Table tennis: 8 p.m. Dec. 5, JCC
meeting rooms.
• Tennis: 7 p.m. Dec. 5, JCC meeting
rooms.
• Volleyball: 7 p.m. Dec. 12 and 19,
JCC gym.
• ArtsFest participants (and parents)
informational meeting at 12:30 p.m.
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