Picture: Police spokesperson

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A Knesset committee on Wednesday held a special follow-up hearing on the phenomenon of underage marriages in the northern town of Yavne’el, with lawmakers and officials warning that the practice may be more widespread and organized than previously understood.

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Committee chairwoman MK Merav Cohen said the information presented to her suggested that authorities were seeing only “the tip of the iceberg,” including allegations of pressure on teenage girls to marry and failures by institutions to identify children at risk.

“We are seeing only the very tip of the iceberg,” Cohen said. She said a former education-system employee had told her that by around ninth grade, 80% of the girls were already married, and that girls who remained unmarried were viewed as “strange” or as having something wrong with them.

Cohen said this could help explain an apparent discrepancy between official education data showing little school dropout and reports from within the community. She also cited allegations of sexual abuse of young girls.

“This is an industry that we are only beginning to see and expose the scope and extremity of the damage,” Cohen said, alleging that such a phenomenon would require “an entire mechanism of silence,” potentially involving nonprofit organizations, educators, welfare officials, bridal instructors and wedding organizers.

“Anyone who takes part in the mechanism of silencing — we will reach them, even if it takes years,” she said.

The allegations come after months of police investigations into suspected illegal underage marriages in the Breslov community in Yavne’el. In September, police said they detained 16 adults and minors in a raid targeting people suspected of recently marrying or preparing illegal wedding ceremonies.

In June, police had already raided locations in Yavne’el during a secret investigation into alleged arrangements for underage weddings.

During Wednesday’s hearing, a mother identified as Deborah described what she said happened to her 17-year-old daughter. According to Deborah, her daughter moved to live with her father at 16. Within several months, she was introduced to a man three years older. Deborah said her daughter initially expressed reservations about him in a letter to a rabbi, but later became engaged to him again without telling her mother.

Deborah said she urged her daughter to remain engaged but wait until she turned 18. Instead, the wedding was scheduled for her daughter’s 17th birthday.

“I told her all the time that she was my daughter, that I loved her and that I would be there for her despite everything,” Deborah said.

She described arriving in Yavne’el with her younger daughter on the wedding day. According to her account, police entered the house while her daughter was beginning the traditional bride’s prayer, and the two were taken to the Tiberias police station for hours of questioning.

Deborah said that after returning to Yavne’el, her daughter and other family members stopped communicating with her. The wedding ceremony was eventually held without her.

About two months later, she said, her daughter became pregnant. Deborah said she learned of the pregnancy through a notification from her health maintenance organization because her daughter was still a minor.

Police representative Deputy Superintendent Avi Ayash told the committee that authorities were conducting an extensive investigation and had carried out a situation assessment together with the Northern District State Attorney’s Office. A prosecutor has been assigned to work directly with investigators, he said.

The Welfare Ministry acknowledged the existence of a serious problem. A ministry representative told lawmakers that officials were aware of the phenomenon and “very much want to eradicate it,” although he did not commit to removing children from the environment.

The Education Ministry said it had not previously been aware of the full severity of the allegations and agreed to examine information presented to it. The ministry also confirmed that the Breslov Hassidim of Yavne’el nonprofit received NIS 892,000 this year as a recognized non-state educational institution.

The Corporations Authority said it had opened supervisory proceedings concerning nonprofits linked to the community in cooperation with police. The Tax Authority said it could consider removing tax exemptions following criminal convictions or the cancellation of proper-management certification.

The National Headquarters for the Fight Against Trafficking in Women and Prostitution presented an opinion arguing that there were indications of an organized network involving forced marriages and asked the attorney general to examine whether organizations connected to the community should be dissolved.

The Child Welfare Council’s legal adviser, Noam Wilder, called for surprise inspections of schools if there are concerns that authorities are receiving inaccurate reports about attendance.

Cohen called for the government to take control over social workers and school attendance officers in the community,  and to conduct surprise inspections of schools, publish the interministerial committee’s findings and end  government funding for organizations linked to the alleged system.

She also criticized Yavne’el council head Roni Cohen, saying he and municipal employees had boycotted the hearing. The council head was not present to respond to the allegations during the hearing.

“We will continue to meet until we see real progress,” the committee chairwoman said.

The Knesset has previously held hearings on the issue. In May, former community members testified about being married as young teenagers and described pregnancies and long-term trauma. The committee continued its scrutiny in July, when lawmakers heard that suspected underage weddings were continuing despite arrests and police operations.

The latest hearing underscores the gap between enforcement efforts and allegations that underage marriages continue within parts of the Yavne’el community.