Israel – A Tel Aviv man in his late fifties is living with 32 women with whom he has fathered 89 children, an Israeli television station revealed last week.
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The women are subject to strict discipline, but say that there are all living with Goel Ratzon by their own accord.
They are not allowed to communicate with men, be in physical contact with their biological family, eat meat, smoke, drink alcohol or dress immodestly.
Ratzon is held by his companions to be the savior (Goel in Hebrew) of the universe, and is attributed godly and supernatural abilities. Many of the women have tattooed his name and portrait on their bodies.
The names of every one of Ratzon’s 89 children include his own first name. For instance, one of his sons is called Avinu Ha-Goel (our father the savior) and he has a daughter named Tehilat Ha-Goel (glory of the savior).
Ratzon told Channel 10 that there had been several attempts at collective suicide when some of the women thought he was going to leave them. Also in the film, some of the women said they would commit mass suicide if anyone tried to harm their leader.
They are all registered as single mothers, and live in separate quarters. Whenever Ratzon comes to visit, the children are required to kiss his shoes, and worship the tattoo of his portrait on their mother’s arm.
National Council for the Child Director Dr. Yitzhak Kadman said that the authorities have very little room for maneuver.
“The man is treading a fine line,” Kadman said. “As long as these children go to school regularly and are not suffering from neglect or flagrant abuse, there’s not much the authorities can do. The law does not permit to prevent people from living in a certain lifestyle just because it seems inappropriate to some.”
On Friday, one of Ratzon’s companions was hospitalized after claiming to have tried to commit suicide. She was brought to Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot by Ratzion, who was accompanied by some of his other companians. The woman was released the next day.
She said that she had taken a large amount of anti-depressants and that she could not remember whether she had medical insurance or not. Ratzon, for his part, said he could not remember the woman’s name.
“As soon as they came I knew it was this guy from TV,” a hospital staff member said. “They walked in, and one of the women was supported by another. They really stood out.”
The Tel Aviv welfare services and the National Insurance Institute said they were familiar with the case. The woman’s apparent suicide attempt on Friday has been seen by authorities as a premeditated provocation to mitigate public pressure to clamp down on the cult.
An estranged friend of one of the women said that the group was very sophisticated and aware of the repercussions of being exposed to the public.
“They are not stupid, just very extreme,” he said. “Maybe they fear that the exposure might affect their way of life, and they’re acting tactically. I don’t think it was the TV report – they wouldn’t agree to do it unless they thought that it might benefit them in any way. Everything there is under control.”
According to one of the women’s friends, “they probably thought that if they make the first step, no one will harm them… That’s their way of dealing with the authorities.
He has abused these will to the point where they think they can’t exist without him. This is classified as a cult this is not judaism and it isn’t sefardi either.
32 Shviggers! No wonder the guy is nuts!
Where are all the feminists?
this guy is dangerous
even 1 shvigger would have made him nuts!!!
On another VIN posting tonight, we are debating how many children you should have if you cannot afford them; this guy has it figured out–have wives instead of kinderlach.
I wonder what his tution bills are like
Were R the parents of all these women?? How did he get so many 2 go along with him? Who supports this large group? This is just frightening!
Is he FLDS like the guys in UT, CO and TX? This is scary…
In another country he would be jailed and his wifes and children given counselling. This is abuse, pure and simple. He is insane, his wives are dependent and insane and the children should be removed and placed into proper care.
why did he stoped after when he reached number 32?
A strange cult only ladies. does he have a mikveh to toivel them? he doesn’t seem to cover his head.
Do they work to support him?
How big is his house?
Who was his mesader kidushin?
Are they pilagshim?
I think he is a very sick man, if this story is true, & he is breeding a very sick generation,this worship is pure Avodah Zorah as far as I am concerned, and not fatherly love to his off spring.
Is there no technicality to get him on & close the place down?
As for the suicides, I guess the Yiddishe kep will do a better job than Jone’s Town, or David Koresh.
To end :what a yezer hora & nerve & it works for this guy, he gets what he wants, how many of us can’t even find one?. Wow!!!
This guys is more looney tunes than Daffy & I !!
i have a hard time with one
meshugener nebech
Negina orchestra is making big bucks playing at 300 weddings a year just from one crazy family.
And how does a photographer put up with this family when taking pictures?
Did this freak give all the rabanim mesader kedushin at the wedding just to make everyone happy?
I just finished calculating this freaks tuition bill. If I did the math correctly it comes out to 2 billion dollars. This freak needs a bail out from Obama.
Now for the retarded kids it must be confusuing for the teachers when every time they ask you to put your fathers name on an application at it’s the same guy as next door!
I am also wondering what kind of truck he drives.
Hashem is NOT pleased.
This is just one very small cult. There are much bigger ones out there RL.
he has the feature of a dark yemenite. I am very good with genetic features. yemenites that are light skin have been mixed with ashkenazim.
Is this nut even a yid?
Women care about these things. But in this case the dysfunction and/or abuse is so obvious, that there is no need to comment.
In other cases, where the abusive person is outwardly living a “Frum” life in a “Frum” community, the reality is blurred. Torah is emes, and using Torah to control others is particularly effective… and destructive.
It is in those situations that some of us feel a need to speak up for those who can not yet speak for themselves due to the fact that
1. they aren’t articulate enough
2. they are not educated enough
3.they are so emotionally drained, that they don’t have the strength to care
4. they are afraid of their abusers.
May we be zoche to hear and see people behaving normally…
in our time!
He is acting as a idol, a getchke, he’s definitely not religious (judaism) he has his own religion/cult.
The government should take care of the polygamy, abuse and the illegal cult.
it is the yetzer horo himself down here on earth
wow so many comments by people who are 100percent perfect!
Will Yad leachim & lev leachim be podeh these women like hey do to those with moslem husbands, isn’t avoda zora worse?
anyone who has more than one wife deserves whatever he gets:-)
He’s making a contribution to solving the “shidduch crisis” in his own way.
Cult leader are charismatic, smart articulate people that prey on his victims slowly. Once under they control they victim feels that the leader saved their life, and will do everything to please him. Peer pressure makes sure no one quits the cult. In Williamsburg there is a frum (looking) person Yoel Roth opened a Yeshiva and is preying on young bachurim, as per Yad Leachim, with classic cult tactics. Not to listen to parents, not to go to other yeshivas, no learning, no davening, and based on the “teaching” of Rabbi Schick from BP— GET MARRIED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO AVOID SINNING WITH SOME QUITE GRAPHICS INSTRUCTIONS HOW TO DO IT —only HE HE HE HE is the savior of the world. http://www.geocities.com/yoelroth
How does yichus work for shidduchim for his kids? Can the child of one ‘poshuter’ wife claim yichus by pointing out that her father is also married to one (or more) rebbesher ainekal?
This guy is a very skilled manipulator. He plays with these vulnerable women’s minds. He preys on weak, emotionally disturbed and confused young women, he brainwashes them and they are in turn extremely loyal to him.
He lives off social welfare as they each declare themselves as single mom’s, they all claim to get on wonderfully and help take care of each others children.
They are not married to him, they refer themselves as his close companions or some other fancy title.
The Israeli Goverment is looking for ways to legally stop the welfare and want to have them recognized as a cult.
As for tutition, in Israel most school are under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and the only money parents pay are stationary fees.
His shul must be very popular! Every week another kiddish!
Its only a matter of time before Israel shuts this perverse program down
They have tattoos (marking the body) and the children are required to worship the images? That ALONE suggests they’re not even remotely Jewish, without even getting into the rest of this mishegoss.
If the women are registered as single mothers, do they get benefits? If he admits to being the father of these children and says all the women are his wives, then they’re scamming social services and should be cut off.
If this guy’s in his late fifties, I’m the Queen of England. He looks more like eighty, or totally stoned.
For any countries in the world, what it needs is NOT population in biological sense; what it needs is good citizens with good education, innovative ideas and productivity in generating either physical or spiritual products.
Advanced creature like human being should not behave like the low level animals which just keep giving birth to the same species without any planning.
How can he manage to support that many kids? If the woolly-headed human being does not contain the presumptuous behaviors like that, the Planet will be destroyed.
this guy is nuts…32 shviggers
meshigina…
He is his marriage counselor’s only client.
you actually believe this story…..
His behavior certainly is not in line with any Judaism I know, but that’s between him and Gd.
If all his wives are adults and under no duress and simply under his spell, that may be unique, but not illegal.
If the authorities are aware of the “single” women and their children, and all those “families” are clothed, fed and schooled, what’s everyone’s problem here?
The guy has many women who worship him, serve him as wives and follow his edicts.
Jealous?
“Ratzon, for his part, said he could not remember the woman’s name”
Same as the rest of them: “Motek”
“89 kids”
It seems he wanted to make sure that he’s taken care of in his retirement.
wow imagine having a baby every week or less!!! well GOOD LUCK on that…
This guy is a crazy imoral person who belongs in you know where