Goel Ratzon (; born 19 September 1950) is an Israeli

polygamist Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...

who led a

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

Hatikva Quarter Hatikva Quarter (, ''Shkhunat Hatikva'') is a working class Neighborhoods of Tel Aviv, neighbourhood in southeastern Tel Aviv, Israel. History The quarter was founded in 1935, named for "Mount Hope, Jaffa, Mount Hope" ("Har HaTikva" in Hebrew), a ...

in south

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. As the cult leader, Ratzon had 21 wives, who bore him 49 children. In September 2014, Tel Aviv-Yafo District Court convicted Ratzon of

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

and other offences against his wives and daughters. He was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment.

Early life

Ratzon was born in

to parents who immigrated to Israel (

Aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

) from

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. He had a number of odd jobs, such as a renovation worker and vehicle mechanic. In 1972, he married a woman with whom he had five children. At the beginning of the 1980s, he met another woman with whom he had five more children. Starting in 1991, he became famous as a spiritual healer and as a proficient in

Kabbalah Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...

while gathering many women to a cult.תפ"ח 23751-02-10 מדינת ישראל נ' רצון (עציר)
erious Crime Case no. 23751-02-10: State of Israel v. Ratzon (detainee)''Tel Aviv-Yafo District'' Court. (in Hebrew). 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2020-02-15. Some of these women introduced their female friends and relatives to Ratzon's cult. In these years, he earned his living from funds transferred to him by his wives, either salaries of their work as

housewives A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which may include Parenting, caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; Sew ...

or their income support as

single mother A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include death, divorce, break-up, abandonment, bec ...

s from

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

's national social security agency,

Bituah Leumi Bituah Leumi (, ''HaMossad LeBituach Leumi'', the National Insurance Institute of Israel) is Israel's national social security agency. History Bituah Leumi was established in April 1954. It collects health insurance contributions which are tran ...

. According to Ratzon, he had romantic relationships with his women.

Formation of the cult

The

daily life Everyday life, daily life or routine life comprises the ways in which people typically act, think, and feel on a daily basis. Everyday life may be described as mundane, routine, natural, habitual, or normal. Human diurnality means most peop ...

of Ratzon's cult was exposed to the public on 11 February 2009, by Israeli journalists Shelley Tapiro and Nesli Barda of Israeli TV Channel 10. A day after broadcasting Tapiro and Barda's report, Ratzon was interviewed by Israeli TV Channel 2 and claimed that he had only assisted women who needed his help and nothing else. Nine of his sons and daughters were named after him, such as

Goel Goel or Goyal (alternative transliterations of Hindi गोयलl) is a surname of Indian origin. It may refer to: Goel * Adarsh Kumar Goel (born 1953), Indian judge * Anita Goel, American physicist, physician, and scientist * Aseem Goel, In ...

("Redeemer"),

Yigal Yigal and Yigael (from Hebrew יגאל) are given names that mean "He (God) will redeem". People with those names include: * Yigal Allon (1918–1980), Israeli politician, acting Prime Minister, a commander of the Palmach, and general * Yigal Amir ...

("He will redeem"),

Geula Geula ( lit. ''Redemption'') is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem, populated mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews. Geula is bordered by Zikhron Moshe and Mekor Baruch on the west, the Bukharim neighborhood on the north, Mea Shearim on t ...

("Redemption"), Yigaela (a feminine version of Yigal), Adoneinu HaGoel ("Our Lord the Redeemer") and Goeleliya ("God Redeemer"). The cult resided in several houses, in which Ratzon periodically visited. In each house, domestic duties were shared between the women. From time to time, Ratzon chose one of his wives to spend the night with him. The exposure gained the interest of the public and the media, and while many considered it as a cult Ratzon and his wives claimed it to be a

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

. Some of the wives praised Ratzon and compared their lifestyle with the routine of the

Kibbutzim A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, i ...

during the establishment of Israel. Some of Ratzon's wives had said in public that they adored him. Many of them

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

ed his name on their arms, as well as his face portrait. They had declared that without Ratzon, there was no meaning for their life. Ratzon said that if someone had given him the same treatment that he gave his wives then he would have trusted him with his life. Ratzon's neighbours claimed that he had

hypnotized Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychological ...

his wives. In an article published by Israeli newspaper ''Maariv'', it was mentioned that Ratzon's wives were obliged to obey a detailed set of rules which Ratzon had written in a secret document called "The Book of the Family". All of the wives had to repeat reading this document weekly without telling anyone else about it. Near every rule in the document, a

fine Fine may refer to: Characters * Fran Fine, the title character of ''The Nanny'' * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (p ...

was mentioned for disobeying it: up to 7,000 NIS for each. In some sections of this document, Ratzon referred to himself as

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

and called his children "Sons of God". Some of his wives declared him as the

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

. Ratzon had tried to renounce this imagery in public and explained their gratitude for him only as a reaction for his giving solely. The rules covered many aspects of life, which included the education of the children, daily management of the housekeeping, and the order of the sexual relations with Ratzon. According to these rules, the women had to dress

modestly Modesty, sometimes known as demureness, is a mode of dress and deportment which intends to avoid the encouraging of sexual attraction in others. The word ''modesty'' comes from the Latin word '' modestus'' which means 'keeping within measure'.Je ...

and were allowed to neither look at nor talk to other men. They were also not allowed to touch each other or other women. They were forbidden to smoke, to drink

alcoholic beverages Drinks containing alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered non-alcoholic. Many societies have a di ...

and to eat

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

. Ratzon also abstained from eating meat. Most of Ratzon's wives were not in contact with their families, as they did not accept the life they had adopted. Some of the families used

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...

s and filed complaints against Ratzon, but they didn't achieve any results. According to an article on Israeli radio station

Galei Tzahal Israeli Army Radio ( lit. IDF waves) or Galei Tzahal, known in Israel by its acronym Galatz (), is a nationwide state funded Israeli radio network operated by the Israel Defense Forces. The station broadcasts news, music, traffic reports and educa ...

, Ratzon's wives declared themselves as

single parent A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include death, divorce, break-up, abandonment, bec ...

s and consequently gained some benefits.

Arrest and conviction

Ratzon was taken under arrest on 12 January 2010 by

Israeli police The Israel Police (; ) is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction o ...

, being suspected for

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

and

sexual assaults Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. Sex, SEX or sexual may also refer to: *Sexual intercourse, a sexual activity Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Sex'' (1920 ...

against minors. Galit, one of the wives who left him, whose two sisters also participated in his community, had filed a complaint against him for raping her when she was a minor at the age of 14. After receiving Galit's complaint, the police had been keeping Ratzon and his wives under surveillance using

hidden cameras A hidden camera or spy camera is a camera used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another obje ...

and

eavesdropping Eavesdropping is the act of secretly or stealthily listening to the private conversation or communications of others without their consent in order to gather information. Etymology The verb ''eavesdrop'' is a back-formation from the noun ''eave ...

. In one of the recorded conversations he noted he had sexual intercourse with one of his daughters. After Ratzon's arrest, his wives and children were evacuated from Ratzon's house to

women's shelter A women's shelter, also known as a women's refuge and battered women's shelter, is a place of temporary protection and support for women escaping domestic violence and intimate partner violence of all forms. The term is also frequently used to ...

, aided by the welfare services. In an interview after his arrest, he claimed that his relationships with his wives were based on love and respect. On 8 September 2014, Tel Aviv-Yafo District Court convicted Ratzon of most of the sexual assaults with which he had been charged, but acquitted of the slavery charge. On 28 October 2014, he was sentenced for 30 years. Ratzon filed an appeal to the

Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...

, which was denied on 18 July 2016. Ratzon is considered an endangered prisoner, and for that he is moved between prisons occasionally. His wives and children broke off their relations with him, except for his son Yigal who supports him and declared that he would rebuild his father's harem.

References

Bibliography

External links