Goel Ratzon (, born 19 September 1950) is an

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

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

who led a cult in

Hatikva Quarter Hatikva Quarter ( he, שכונת התקווה, ''Shkhunat Hatikva'') is a working class neighbourhood in southeastern Tel Aviv, Israel. History The quarter was founded in 1935, named for " Mount Hope" ("Har HaTikva" in Hebrew), a farm built in 185 ...

in south

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

. 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 usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

, fraud 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) from

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

. He had a number of odd jobs, such as a renovation working 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 Energy medicine is a branch of alternative medicine based on a pseudo-scientific belief that healers can channel "healing energy" into a patient and effect positive results. Practitioners use a number of names including various synonyms for ...

and as a proficient in

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...

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 includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying an ...

or their income support as single mothers from

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

's national social security agency,

Bituah Leumi Bituah Leumi ( he, המוסד לביטוח לאומי, ''HaMossad LeVituach Leumi'', the National Insurance Institute of Israel) is Israel's national social security agency. It was established on 1 April 1954. Poverty In January 2021 it publish ...

. 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 Normality (behavior), normal. Human diur ...

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. Tapiro had received Ratzon's permission, after negotiating with him, to video record inside his house i
28 Ahima'ats Street
at

. 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'' (Hebrew: גואל, lit. "redeemer"), in the Hebrew Bible and the rabbinical tradition, is a person who, as the nearest relative of someone, is charged with the duty of restoring that person's rights and avenging wrongs done to him or h ...

("Redeemer"),

Yigal Yigal and Yigael are given names. People with those names include: *Yigal Allon (1918–80), Israeli politician, acting Prime Minister, a commander of the Palmach, and general *Yigal Amir (born 1970), Israeli assassin of Prime Minister of Israel Yi ...

("He will redeem"),

Geula Geula ( he, גאולה lit. ''Redemption'') is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem, populated mainly by Haredi Jews. Geula is bordered by Zikhron Moshe and Mekor Baruch on the west, the Bukharim neighborhood on the north, Mea Shearim on ...

("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, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

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

Kibbutzim A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming ha ...

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, and/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 ...

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 Psychologica ...

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 * 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 (penalty), money to be paid as punishment for an offe ...

was mentioned for disobeying it: up to 7,000

NIS Nis, Niš, NiS or NIS may refer to: Places * Niš, a city in Serbia * Nis, Iran, a village * Ness, Lewis ( gd, Nis, links=no), a village in the Outer Hebrides islands Businesses and organizations * Naftna Industrija Srbije, Petroleum Industry o ...

for each. In some sections of this document, Ratzon referred to himself as

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

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 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 An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The cons ...

and to eat meat. 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 and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

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

Galei Tzahal Army Radio ( he, גלי צה"ל lit. IDF waves) or Galei Tzahal, known in Israel by its acronym Galatz ( he, גל"צ), is a nationwide Israeli radio network operated by the Israel Defense Forces. The station broadcasts news, music, traffic reports ...

, 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 divorce, break-up, abandonment, becoming wid ...

s and consequently gained some benefits.

Arrest and conviction

Ratzon was taken under arrest on 12 January 2010 by Israeli police, being suspected for

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and

sexual assaults Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

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 in 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 ''eaves ...

. In one of the recorded conversations, it 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, 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