SATANIC PANIC IN ISRAEL? The Explosive "RITUAL ABUSE" Claims Tearing The Jewish World Apart

The National Religious sector in Israel is currently embroiled in an unprecedented controversy. It began with a series of explosive reports alleging the existence of "mysterious rituals" involving sexual abuse for cultic and mystical purposes within modern orthodox communities in Israel in which the victims report grotesque and sadistic rituals performed by so called ‘normal and respectable’ members of the community taking place in hidden locations throughout Eretz Israel.

Meanwhile accusations have been leveled against some of the most senior rabbis in Israel. Including two titans of the religious-Zionist world: Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu and Rabbi Zvi Tau.

Until recently, these reports were mostly met with much doubt. Despite a heated Knesset debate and several press reports, the National Religious sector remained largely indifferent due to the lack of objective evidence.

Earlier last week, the firestorm reached a fever pitch when Rabbi Yaakov Medan, a highly respected and senior figure, Head of Yeshivat Har Etzion, addressed the phenomenon. His intervention changed the landscape, and shortly after, a full scale national public debate ensued.

While the allegations have ignited a fierce debate across Israel echoing also among world Jewry – one man, Rabbi Eliyahu Galil has emerged as a prominent critical voice.

Rabbi Galil has been studying this issue for years. He warns against the "sensationalization" and dangers of a modern-day moral panic and its ramifications. He Believes people have been victimized perhaps but does not buy into the claims regarding secret rituals of abuse. We sat down with him to discuss where the line is drawn between genuine trauma and dangerous conspiracy.

Rabbi Galil, let’s go back to the moment this all started for you.

It began three and a half years ago. I was exposed to the allegations against Rabbi Tau and noticed something strange: silence. No one in the religious news sites or the Shabbat pamphlets would touch it. I naively thought there might be truth to the claims and that it needed to be investigated, did something happen or not? It bothered me that it was being hushed up to protect the Rabbi’s honor. I wrote then that if she were telling the truth, it would be a "disgrace upon a disgrace": both the act of abuse itself and the act of concealment.

How have the claims evolved since that initial point?

I followed it closely because it pained me, and I saw how, with every step, another layer of illogic was added. it started with a testimony of abuse, and suddenly it became something very bizarre. There was testimony about two infants who disappeared from a family at the same time and supposedly no one noticed; then came claims that Rabbi Tau had murdered them, and the sexual abuse was a "punishment" for trying to stop the murder.

Finally, they claimed he isn't Jewish at all, but a Nazi who arrived from Germany under an assumed name. It became a snowball that absorbed delusional claims and people who had no connection to the story, who suddenly became "accomplices" in the eyes of the accusers.

You claim the stories are far-fetched, but the victims are crying out "from the blood of their hearts." How is that possible?

I don’t believe people just fabricate far-fetched libels out of malice. These women likely experienced something. But what is the core of what they experienced? It’s very hard to uncover due to the years that have passed and because some of the claimants suffer from an inability to distinguish between imagination and reality.

This is a product of psychological defense mechanisms designed to protect the soul after severe childhood trauma. It doesn't mean Rabbi Tau didn't hurt them, but it also doesn't necessarily mean he did. Only the police and the prosecutor's office can know for sure.

How do you suggest the public makes this distinction?

We must split this into two levels:

You mentioned the term "Ritual Abuse." Where did this reach us from?

This is a "moral panic" imported from the US with a delay. In the 80s, they believed in Satanic cults there, and eventually, it turned out to be just stories with no evidence. In the Rabbi Tau affair, this term didn't appear at all in the beginning; it only surfaced at a very advanced stage.

And what about Rabbi Medan, who recently released a video on the subject?

I spoke with him personally. He heard parents of boys, and his wife heard boys and girls who told of abuse. But he didn't specify who hurt them and he didn't investigate them, he is not a qualified investigator, and neither am I.

This information should be taken with skepticism. It is important to note: Rabbi Medan issued an explicit clarification that his words about rituals in the community were not directed at Rabbi Tau or Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu. It's possible he didn't even know there were allegations against them. The accusers exploited his words, even though he clarified there was no connection.

What is the greatest danger in these stories?

That it will end in bloodshed. Such conspiracies have already cost lives. In Guatemala, for example, white people were suspected of kidnapping babies and were murdered in lynchings. In Israel, there was the "Nahlaot Affair" in Jerusalem, absurd stories about a tunnel under the neighborhood through which children were kidnapped to a church for rituals. The police investigated and found there were indeed sexual abuses (by a person who was likely autistic), but everything else was a libel. Along the way, residents went on a "witch hunt": one man was murdered (he was hanged and it looked like suicide, but did not match the findings), and an elderly woman was assaulted for hours to reveal the tunnel entrance, they even dug up her house.

"When someone is convinced that another is performing rituals for Satan, they feel that in a war of 'Sons of Light against Sons of Darkness,' murder is a blessed act. It ends in violence toward people who are suspected for no fault of their own."

Do you find a connection between this and historical blood libels?

Absolutely. Blood drinking, cannibalism, and trafficking, it’s all there. In the past, it was directed at a persecuted minority (Jews), and today it is directed at the elites. Interestingly, something good did come out of the Satanic Panic in the US: they realized they needed to interview children properly, using tools like dolls ("show me on the doll"). Even though it was all a libel, the professional tools remained. I hope that here, too, something positive will eventually emerge for the sake of uncovering the truth, even though right now, it looks very bad.

Thank you, Rabbi Galil, for this detailed and important conversation.

Rabbi Eliyahu Galil is a writer and editor. He formerly served as the community rabbi in Montevideo, Uruguay.