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	Arrested for 'Child Abuse', the Veiled Queen of Modesty By Anshel Pfeffer The Jewish Chronicle March 28, 2008 http://www.thejc.com/home.aspx?ParentId=m11&SecId=11&AId=59044&ATypeId=1 A mother-of-twelve belonging to a small strictly Orthodox sect was arrested on Tuesday in Bet Shemesh, on the suspicion that she had not reported cases of sibling incest, had beaten her children and prevented them from receiving medical treatment. The 54-year old woman, whose name has not been published, was arrested following numerous complaints by neighbours and reports of children screaming within the house — and at least one case in which a young child was forced to spend the night outside the house wearing only a vest. When brought before the court, the mother denied the charges but said that she believed in beatings as an "educational punishment". The woman refused to speak to the judge, saying that her beliefs forbade her to speak to men. The woman, covered from head to toe in shawls and cloaks, was reported to be Rabbanit Bruria Keren, the leader of a small female sect practising an extreme version of the religious strictures of tzniut (modesty). Last month, the JC reported how this group of women believed in obscuring the shape of their bodies, covering their faces and having no contact with a man not their husband, practices frowned on by most Charedi rabbis. According to police, most of the children had already left home, including at least one removed by the social services. Only a boy of 16 and an eight-year-old girl lived permanently at home. This week, they were also taken into care. During the investigation, the boy allegedly told police that he had had sexual relations with one of his older sisters and tried to do the same with his younger sister. Police suspect that the mother knew but refrained from notifying authorities. At the court, she said that she was being persecuted for her religious beliefs. People who know the family say that the mother was the dominant figure, with the father working mostly outside Israel as a fundraiser for religious organisations. On Wednesday he returned to Israel and was detained at Ben Gurion Airport for questioning.
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