"Brave Survivor, Translator and Journalist Exposing Ritual Abuse in Israel"

12.29.23 | From S4E19 of 'The Imagination' Feat Nechema Te'ena & Israel Sykes

*Nechema’s weekly demonstrations in front of the Knesset

Dear Reader,

Recently, I was given the amazing opportunity to work with a non-English speaking survivor named Nechama Te’ena from Israel who has a phenomenal, heart-wrenching and awe-inspiring story of survival and disclosure to share with the world. To help get her story out - another survivor, Israel Sykes, jumped to the rescue to serve as a translator and support system on the episode and together, we pulled off one of the most incredible interviews I’ve had the honor of doing so far.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH FULL INTERVIEW!

If you missed the episode, you missed out on a fantastic collaboration effort to expose one of the most powerful men in Israel, Rabbi Zvi Tau, who horrifically and ritually abused Nechama and her family and murdered two of her brothers. The events she disclosed are so eerily similar to what we’ve covered in America, the UK, and other countries and I highly recommend you all listen to the interview and see how ferociously brave Nechema is. It is NOT common in Israel like it is in America for survivors to speak out. Nechema was even so bold as to call out Rabbi Zvi Tau in person when she saw him on the streets. When I say she’s a true warrior - take my word.

Israel Sykes did an amazing job translating and keeping the interview flowing smoothly, and this was an experience I’ll never forget. How amazing to have an opportunity to cross a language barrier for one of these episodes.

Nechema’s bio:

Nehama, 39, was born in Hebron, Israel to her parents Menahem and Rivkah, in an extended family of Orthodox Jews who love and settle the land of Israel. Her mother gave birth to her at the early age of 16, very unusual in Israel. She believes that at a very young age her mother was a victim of trauma-based mind control and was cultivated for an active role in an organization whose long-term goal was the destruction of Israel from within.

She is the oldest of 9 children, two of whom died mysteriously at an early age. She remembers having been abused since the age of 4. She remembers her mother behaving harmfully towards her two younger brothers at the behest of a powerful Rabbi in Israel named Zvi Tau. This happened to one baby brother when she was four years old, and then to a second when she was ten. This second time she was very aware of what was happening, and she screamed and called for help. Since that time both her mother and the rabbi began to abuse her (her father was never part of the abuse).

Nehama was a witness to the organization’s rituals that took place in an empty building next door to her home. Rituals included fire, walking around an altar, calls of Heil Hitler, swastikas, terrifying chants, abuse of cats, and sucking bones. She was also abused during these rituals, including rape. One time, for example, they put her over a small bonfire and threatened to burn her.

About 12 years ago Nehama gave birth to a girl (her fifth child), and it was then that she began to recover memories. About a year and a half ago she realized that she had to go public with the story that she had been raped by this powerful and highly respected rabbi. Otherwise, her life would be at risk, as it was becoming increasingly clear to her abusers that she was increasingly out of their control. She figured that if her story were known to the public it would be impossible to kill her without raising suspicion. So Nehama went through a process of sharing her memories with her siblings and father, all of whom have become staunch supporters.

When a television documentary was cancelled at the last minute, she posted her story on Facebook and called people to join her in weekly demonstrations in front of the Knesset, which have continued to this day. Since that first step, she has become a fearless leader and advocate for survivors and children, and a magnet for other survivors of similar abuse, many by the same rabbi.

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Here’s a recap from a news article that was translated to English regarding Nechema’s public unmasking of Rabbi Zvi Tau:

If you notice - Nechema REFUSED the hush money. This woman isn’t playing and isn’t about to be silenced ever again. She’s out for the truth, for disclosure and for justice. She also knows she wasn’t the only victim and that her voice speaks for every child and adult this disgusting Rabbi has abused as well as for her two brothers who were brutally murdered to hide the affair Zvi Tau was having with Nechema’s mother (who was an enabler of the abuses Nechema and her family suffered). Nechema also believes her mother was under the influence of trauma-based mind control - which would explain so much of her unstable upbringing.

So, who IS Rabbi Zvi Tau?

Well… for starters, he is blood-related to Josef Mengele - which should say more than enough:

And if you’ve been following along with ‘The Imagination’ podcast, you know this name from hearing dozens of survivors who have mentioned Mengele as one of their trainers / programmers and/or abusers in MK ULTRA…

You should listen to the podcast to learn more - Nechema’s story is a piece to this puzzle and she’s introducing new information that’s an extension of the information we are compiling from countries like America, Canada, and the UK.

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*Nechema as a young girl

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I also recently connected with a journalist in Israel named Daniel Sharon, who is an independent journalist and the manager of a monthly printed magazine in Israel devoted to truth and human rights called "Genesis Newspaper". In this article, he writes about ritual abuse in Israel and abroad and gave me permission to share it with you. This is an important article and I will share the English text below as well as the link for the original article written in Hebrew:

CLICK FOR LINK TO ORGINAL ARTICLE WRITTEN IN HEBREW

“Children of No One”

by Daniel Sharon

You Won't Want to Read This Article, but It Allows the Continuation of One of the Most Horrifying Phenomena in the World: Ritualistic and Organized Sexual Abuse of Children.

*Note: If you do not feel emotionally capable of engaging with this topic, please postpone reading the article until you feel ready.

**This article is not suitable for children.

“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.”. - René Descartes

In December 2019, a documentary called "The Dark Secret in Jerusalem" was aired on the program "HaMakor" (The Source). The investigation exposed the accumulation of over 200 testimonies from children, aged two to 12, in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in Jerusalem, reporting experiences that seemed taken from the most horrifying horror movies. According to the testimonies presented in the investigation, which included statements from the children, their parents, doctors, social workers, psychologists, and police officers who handled the cases, strangers kidnapped the children, sometimes from educational institutions with the assistance of staff members and transported them by car or through secret tunnels to monasteries, churches, underground chambers, or luxurious villas. There, they were subjected to indescribable abuse, which involved participation in sadistic ceremonies, animal sacrifices, torture, drug-induced confusion, and forced sexual acts during large-scale events, all documented by photographers present at the scene.

The story began in 2010 in the neighborhood of Nachlaot. Dozens of ultra-Orthodox families reported sexual assaults occurring in their community. The reports emerged after one child claimed to his parents that he was repeatedly taken, along with other children, to monasteries where sadistic acts were performed. The parents turned to other parents whose children also mentioned being taken, and their testimonies corroborated his story.

After unsuccessful attempts to resolve the matter with the assistance of community rabbis, the involvement of several social workers who accompanied the cases and applied pressure led to the opening of an official investigation. The ten-month investigation included 100 child interrogations and 15 arrests, resulting in the conviction of two peripheral figures in the community.

Two years later, testimonies from other neighborhoods in Jerusalem began to emerge, describing horrifying scenes. The cases usually came to the attention of parents after they noticed their children behaving inexplicably. "We woke up in the morning and heard screams and pounding noises. Boom, boom, boom..." recounts B, the father of one of the affected children. "We went into the room and found our child holding his brother's head and repeatedly banging it against the wall. I see in his eyes that he's not angry, not upset, showing no emotion, just completely detached."

A, the mother of three children who were affected in another neighborhood, also describes the strange phenomena that made her suspect that something was happening to one of her children. "We entered the bathroom to get ready for a shower, and he took off all his clothes and suddenly started dancing. I asked him what he was doing, and he said, 'That's how we do it on the street, where they take us. Everyone should dance like this and be happy without clothes.'"

Dr. Goyanna Silberg, a world-renowned specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of children with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, studied the testimonies of 70 of the affected children and personally met with 40 of them. She notes that "the details shared by the children are very similar and cross neighborhoods. These are extremely strange details... These are not routine cases of pedophilia."

Indeed, the children's descriptions reveal acts of extreme cruelty. Testimonies of children repeatedly surfaced with similar characteristics: abductions from educational institutions and drug-induced confusion through injections or "candies." "He called it vaccinations," one of the mothers recounted. Many children described being subjected to immersion in pools to the point of struggling to breathe, systematic fears and threats to prevent them from disclosing what was happening to them. In addition, there were rituals of animal abuse, slaughter, and forced sexual relations, whether with each other or with the perpetrators, while everything was documented and filmed.

The accumulation of over a hundred new testimonies led the police to reopen the investigation. However, in August 2016, following an investigation described in part two of the documentary, the police arrested one of the caregivers who had treated the children and closed the investigation due to the suspicion that she and other caregivers fabricated the story and implanted false memories in the children's minds to fraudulently obtain money from concerned parents and community members.

At the end of the investigation, Deputy Superintendent Gilad Bahat, head of the investigative team, provided his response. He stated that despite the hundreds of testimonies collected, no supporting evidence had come to light indicating the existence of an organized group harming children. Instead, there were isolated and unrelated cases. He further claimed that attempts to link the cases were driven by financial interests. However, he did not address why, if there were indeed isolated attacks on children, no perpetrator was arrested.

On December 23, 2020, a special committee on children's rights, headed by former Knesset member Yosef Gabarin, convened to discuss the matter. The discussion included Member of Parliament Tehila Friedman, investigator Haim Rivelin, Dr. Joyanna Silberg, and Deputy Superintendent Bahat, the police representative. "There is no doubt that the issue is painful," Gabarin opened the discussion, describing the distressing details revealed by the children's testimonies. He then continued, "The purpose of this discussion is to truly understand what is happening among law enforcement officials in light of the alarming situation that has been exposed, how the investigation is progressing, and what is the current treatment by law enforcement authorities on this matter?" The police did not provide any new information during the discussion, and accordingly, the committee chairman called for a second meeting, but the meeting never occurred.

Every individual with a conscience agrees that the investigation titled "The Dark Secret in Jerusalem" has exposed severe child abuse cases. These incidents must be thoroughly and comprehensively investigated, utilizing all available means to completely eradicate this disturbing phenomenon. It is incomprehensible how such extreme cases can go unnoticed by law enforcement, allowing dangerous offenders without any moral restraint to roam freely and perpetrate horrifying acts against children. But shockingly, this is not the first time in modern history that evidence of such extreme ritualistic abuse against children has been met with no response from enforcement authorities. Furthermore, it is not the first time that such cases have been dismissed, claiming that false memories were implanted in the minds of the children, despite no scientific evidence indicating that memory implantation can lead to behavioral changes or post-traumatic disorder.

40 Years of Testimonies

In the late 1980s, testimonies began to emerge in the media in the United States and Canada, claiming that adults and children were subjected to extreme ritual abuse, chillingly reminiscent of the accounts of the Jerusalem children. According to many of the victims, the abuse caused them severe trauma, leading to distress and complete forgetting of the events they witnessed until years later when they sought psychiatric treatment.

One of the brave and detailed testimonies preserved from that period is described by Anne Hart, a middle-aged woman, recounting the process of recovering her memories. Hart describes a completely normal life but always knew that something was wrong with her childhood. She only recalled fragmented parts of that period, and her life was plagued by unexplained nightmares. At some point, she decided to confront the nightmares and sought help from an experienced therapist specializing in recovering memories of sexual abuse. "With a non-invasive relaxation technique and the support of a skilled therapist, I was able to tolerate the return of past events, and can understand why this painful information was not available to me until now." she writes. "I could not have managed it before this time in my life and in the history of the world which at last has articulated the dimensions of such abuse." She adds, referring to similar testimonies which surfaced during that period and have since disappeared from public discourse. A brief warning in advance - her testimony is difficult to read, and for those of you who are sensitive, it is recommended to skip the next two paragraphs.

In one of the cases, she describes how, after experiencing a panic attack during a standard baptism ceremony in a community church, she turned to her therapist to understand why it happened. "I closed my eyes in a safe environment. the images began immediately. I re-experienced what can only be described as my own baptism into quite another religion. It was held, not in a church, but in a relative’s basement. It was night, not day. I wore a garment, not of off-white lace, but of an obscene mixture of feces, urine, and blood, packed and smeared from my head to toes. I was carried to the tool bench where gibberish was spoken by four robed adults around me. A small, black, wriggling cocker spaniel was held over me and disemboweled with a dagger-like instrument. The blood thinned the sewage on my body, and it began to slide off. Later, a long white taper was lit and ceremoniously held over me, wax dripping carefully onto each of my nipples. It was then inserted, still lit, into my vagina. In this way I was welcomed into the faith.”

In another case, Hart recounts further abuse she experienced in the same basement. "When I was three years old, I was taken again to the same basement. I was tied around my arms, torso, and legs, onto a small wooden contraption, two boards fashioned into a cross, just my size. I was medicated and became quiescent (my relative was a physician with access to medications). Thin long nails were produced and placed in the fleshy parts of my hands and feet, between the bones. It was (although not as painful as one might imagine, due to the drugs and my high pain tolerance) excruciating in that I could not move without tearing my own flesh. Indeed, it was as if I were an insect, mount on display. The feeling was intolerable”.

She concludes her testimony with a prayer for future generations: "As theologians’ debate, clinicians scrutinize, and law enforcement seeks that shred of hard evidence, I rest assured that good will triumph. I don’t pretend to understand these experiences. I just know that I had them and thank Christ has taken what was meant for evil and sanctified it for me in some way… the people who perform these atrocities are also his children and most certainly lost sheep. I pray daily for their salvation. But I pray far more for the children who are being abused tonight as I was many years ago. I am grateful for a chance to bear witness to this evil, in hopes that in the future, children will be believed and protected when they tell”.

In recent days, the public panic generated by such testimonies, and even more difficult and extreme, has been dubbed "The Satanic Panic." Until the late 1980s, more than 12,000 cases were reported to law enforcement agencies, involving what many referred to as "Satanic Ritual Abuse" (SRA). The allegations came from numerous countries across the globe, including the United States, Canada, England, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Egypt, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Similar characteristics of recurring sexual, physical, and emotional abuse by perpetrators against children, including grotesque and sadistic rituals involving cruelty to animals, extreme fear and threats, drug use, and sexual abuse can be found in these thousands of testimonies, just like in the testimonies from Jerusalem. These testimonies often pointed fingers at wealthy and high-ranking individuals, politicians, media personalities, and successful businesspeople. Most cases ended without any convictions in criminal trials, and some resulted in the conviction of the perpetrators. However, few years later, almost all of them were acquitted.

"False Memories"

Despite thousands of testimonies with similar and horrifying ritualistic characteristics, the prevailing narrative that dominated the media during that period and continues to shape the discourse on the "Satanic Panic" events to this day is that it is nothing more than a "baseless moral panic". Supporting this claim is the main conclusion of a research study conducted at the University of California during that time, quoted in Wikipedia's entry on the subject, which states that despite 12,000 testimonies of ritualistic satanic abuse, and the existence of compelling evidence of isolated incidents, no evidence was found linking the cases or confirming the existence of an organized cult that engaged in sexual abuse and child maltreatment. It is difficult not to notice the similarity between the research findings and the conclusion presented by the Israeli police regarding the events in Jerusalem.

The research also offers an additional explanation, similar to cases that occurred in Jerusalem, suggesting that in most of these cases, they are implanted fictitious memories through suggestion and leading questions from unscrupulous therapists. However, according to an academic article written as early as 1994, precisely addressing this claim, the factual and scientific basis for the ability to implant such traumatic memories does not exist.

An article published in the Psychology and Theology journal of Biola University in the United States, titled "Satanic Ritual Abuse: A Question of Memory," states: "In spite of reports by thousands of adults who describe satanic ritual abuse in their backgrounds, the Special Issue of the Journal of Psychology and Theology reveals obdurate skepticism regarding their credibility on the part of several contributors. Some of these disbelievers currently are citing experiments demonstrating extreme malleability for human memory as evidence that survivor accounts, especially those involving delayed memory, are fantasies implanted by incompetent clinicians. However, leading memory researchers such as Dr. Bessel van der Kolk of Harvard Medical School maintain that traumatic memories, which typically are engraved in the sensorimotor processes, are not subject to the same kinds of contamination that can affect normal memory. Traumatic amnesia, described in the DSM-III-R as psychogenic amnesia, is a phenomenon which has been known to mental health professionals for more than 100 years. The clinically observed characteristics of traumatic memory formation and retrieval match precisely the patterns of memory recovery exhibited by SRA survivors, and strongly confirm the reality of their cult abuse”.

A similar conclusion is drawn from the words of Professor Eli Zomer, a psychologist and trauma expert who examined 70 testimonies from Jerusalem abuse cases and testified during the investigation: "The main reason why I believe these are genuine post-traumatic symptoms is that it's not just about memories. There are physiological and bodily reactions that cannot be learned or imitated: flashbacks, dissociative states, severe anxiety reactions, especially when exposed to stimuli that remind them of the trauma, and relief following treatment. All these behaviors together indicate the presence of post-traumatic syndrome." Professor Zomer noted that another reason that led him to conclude that these are genuine cases is that many children, from different geographical areas who are unfamiliar with each other, exhibited similar symptoms that usually arose even before the start of therapy.

Reflection on the incidents of abuse in Jerusalem in light of the "Satanic Panic" events raises many questions. Firstly, if, as law enforcement agencies and mainstream media claim, these are isolated cases with no connection, how is it possible that thousands of similar testimonies are emerging from every corner of the world? Are these traumas and fears deeply rooted in our collective consciousness, dating back to the days of sacrificing children and suddenly resurfacing in people's minds? Is there perhaps a global network or guidebook among pedophiles that leads to identical cases of abuse without any connection between them? Is there a worldwide army of psychologists, therapists, and social workers implanting extreme abuse memories in their patients, leading to post-traumatic effects? Or is it maybe an elaborate fear-mongering campaign targeting the global population, including tens of thousands of witnesses who recount false stories?

But if we allow ourselves momentarily to set aside the speculations and believe the testimonies of the children, we must ask ourselves whether it is possible that we have allowed such an unimaginable scale of harm against the most defenseless to go unnoticed. Even if only a small fraction of the children speak the truth, when we look at the magnitude of the trauma they describe, it is clear that the brave few who managed to break free from the cycle of abuse represent a small but resilient group. Their testimonies point to additional unspoken horrors that undoubtedly led to a trauma that will result in further damage in the future if left untreated. We must also ask ourselves What does this say about the system in which we live? How can such a global scale of harm occur while law enforcement turn a blind eye, at best, and adhere to coverup protocols, at worst? Are there individuals in our society capable of evading prosecution for committing such appalling crimes? And if this is indeed the case, are we prepared to continue living in such a society?

“Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is. And you must bend to its power or live a lie.” Miyamoto Musashi

Mexico: "Shocking Findings"

A similar case of ritual abuse of children has recently made headlines in Mexico. The cases were exposed after the Mexican Center for the Defense of Children's Rights published a report in 2021 describing a "patterns of criminal behavior characterized by organized aggressions committed by multiple adults perpetrated in mass scale within the premises of a given school". The report indentified more than 100 cases of such abuse in 18 different schools across the country.

In the report, titled "It's a Secret - Child Exploitation in Schools", cases with similarities to those in Jerusalem are detailed. The report states that some of the children described grotesque dynamics and rituals. The reports also states: “These events are so hard to believe they could be taken to be mistakes of interpretation by the young children. However, the consistency amongst the descriptions of 3 and 4 year-old children cannot be ignored”.

The resemblance between the cases documented in Mexico and those in Jerusalem led the investigative team to establish contact with investigator Haim Rivlin and Dr. Joyanna Silberg, who accompanied a significant number of the affected children. The report quotes their work and shows the similar characteristics identified in both countries: "These cases reiterate the criminal patterns documented in the cases litigated by ODI. They are all victims of preschool age. The aggression is committed by multiple adults acting in a coordinated fashion against entire groups of children simultaneously”.

The report continues and lists the following recurring signs found in both Mexico and Jerusalem cases:

- Children are abused in groups

- Being taken out of the school

- Multiple offenders acting simultaneously

- Extreme psychological and physical violence

- Religious or ritualistic acts

- Being photographed

- Consuming things that make you sleepy or weak

- Being poked or injected between the toes

- Being tied up

- Being obligated to urinate or defecate on someone

According to the report, even in the cases documented in Mexico, law enforcement agencies struggled to effectively address the phenomenon. "Multiple local and the federal police and prosecutors have had knowledge of these cases for years and yet have been incapable of adequately investigating them”. The report adds "The fragmentation in investigating this criminal pattern, excluding the victim from the process, and the lack of specialized measures to hear children´s testimonies, have translated into guaranteed impunity for complex crimes against children”.

The publication of the report sparked numerous reactions in Mexico. The President of the country, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, also addressed the findings, calling them "shocking." He stated that his government is actively working to tackle the issue of child sexual abuse and mentioned that he has requested his administration to present a report on the progress of these efforts.

Nechema attributes her unwavering devotion to speaking out to her brother and father who have been her biggest supporters in this fight (along with Israel Sykes!). It’s rare to see a survivor who is backed by family and friends as they are typically labeled the ‘black sheep’, but Nechema is an exception to this commonality, and I am so thankful she has this support as she traverses and pioneers the survivor movement in Israel!

Nechema is a hero and since her disclosure, several other victims of Rabbi Zvi Tau have come forward. This is such a powerful example of the ripple effect of courage. That sometimes, all it takes is one brave person to stand up in the face of adversity and ‘go first’. I’ve personally gained so much courage of my own getting to be in the presence of warriors like Nechema!

I pray you all listen to this breath-taking interview and that it impacts you as deeply as it did me.

It was truly a great honor to get to host a guest from across the world and to be able to share this harrowing testimony here in America.

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I thank you all with my whole heart for your support of my work and for your willingness to look into the dark abyss of things the majority of society cannot face and looks away from. You are all heroes to me.

Never underestimate what one brave person can do.

Never think that an action you can take is too small or insignificant.

Know instead that you are powerful beyond measure and that your courage could be the catalyst to someone else finding their own courage or path to healing.

Your story matters.

You matter, Dear Reader.

Until next time…

Love you ALL with my whole heart!

-Emma Katherine