Israeli Police Halt Wedding Of 14-Year-Old Hasidic Girl
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel Police halted a Hasidic wedding in the central Israel city of Lod because the bride was 14 years old.
The groom, reported to be in his 20s, and the girl’s father were arrested on Monday night prior to the ceremony, Israel’s Channel 2 first reported. The men later were released to house arrest with restrictive conditions.
The father of the bride, from the Breslov Hasidic sect, is also the rabbi of the community and was the rabbi slated to perform the ceremony, according to the Channel 2 report.
Allowing an underage child to marry is a serious criminal offense in Israel.
Police were informed about the wedding by city welfare officials, who told the news channel that it would be difficult to ensure that a secret religious wedding ceremony is not held in the coming days or weeks.
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