The Northern District Police have been conducting an undercover investigation in recent months into illegal marriages of minors that were carried out within the Breslav community, a small, closed community whose main activity is in the Yavniel settlement in the Lower Galilee.
This morning (Wednesday), as the investigation became public, dozens of police officers from the Northern District and the Border Guard raided targets linked to the community, detaining dozens of community members involved in organizing secret weddings, arranging minors' matches, and conducting ceremonies that are performed in violation of the law. A number of minors who were suspected of getting married in recent months were also detained for questioning.
The operation is intended to stop the organized mechanism of illegal underage marriages within the closed community.
During the investigation, the investigation team revealed the method for maintaining the secrecy of the ceremonies: most of them take place in the morning with a limited presence of people, without sharing the location of the ceremony until the "shin hour", while preventing the ceremony from being photographed and the introduction of cell phones for fear of documenting the marriage ceremony.
After the religious ceremony, there is usually another event for the general public under the guise of an 'engagement party', to which all relatives of the bride and groom are invited.
Last February, after receiving a real-time tip and as part of the investigation plan, Northern District detectives raided a minor marriage ceremony that took place in the morning at a home in the community. During the operation, the police identified the couple dressed as bride and groom, and during a search of the building, they found a ketubah, wedding rings, and a glass wrapped in foil inside the water switchboard cabinet.
As part of the investigation, the investigative unit issued warrants through the court to collect information from hospitals in the north, and as a result of these actions, the investigators came across over 20 cases in the last three years in which minors from the community gave birth to babies, while according to the Ministry of Interior records, they were registered as single at the time of the babies' birth.
This morning, as mentioned, a large number of suspects were detained for questioning, including several minors who are suspected of having married in recent months within the community.
The suspects were taken to police stations for questioning. A decision will be made later on whether to request an extension of their detention in court.
The investigation into the incident continues.
