Bronfman Sisters Named As Members Of Shadowy Group That Branded Women
Image by Forward Montage
By Dave Goldiner October 18, 2017
Two daughters of the late philanthropist Edgar Bronfman were named in a New York Times investigative story about a shadowy upstate New York group in which female members were branded to enforce loyalty to its leader.
It was unclear if Sara and Clare Bronfman underwent the painful procedure that burned a symbol into the bodies of some members of the group, known as Nxivm.
Sara Bronfman, 41, has reportedly poured millions of her family’s fortune into the group. Clare Bronfman, an accomplished equestrian, also ran programs for Nxivm.
The sisters’ involvement in the group led by a self-proclaimed self-help guru named Keith Raniere was revealed by a blog started by a Buffalo businessman whom they sued and who is facing federal fraud charges, the Times reported.
Other members of the group described it as a sort of human bondage pyramid scheme in which members swore loyalty to a “master” and handed over embarrassing information or photos that would be released if they ever tried to leave the group.
Members were then allowed to recruit new members as their own “slaves.” New members were taken to a secret location near Albany where they agreed to undergo the branding process.
No criminal charges have been filed against leaders or members of the group, and state medical officials ruled the procedures were voluntary, the paper said.
Sara and Clare Bronfman are the youngest daughters of Edgar Bronfman Sr., a legendary figure in the Jewish communal world who died in 2013.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Dive In
-
Fast Forward Language apps are putting Hebrew school in teens’ back pockets. But do they work?
-
Fast Forward Suspected arsonist intended to beat Gov. Josh Shapiro with a sledgehammer, investigators say
-
Fast Forward Trump administration can deport Mahmoud Khalil for undermining U.S. foreign policy on antisemitism, judge rules
-
Fast Forward Is the Passover Seder Zionist?
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion My Jewish moms group ousted me because I work for J Street. Is this what communal life has come to?
- 2
Fast Forward Suspected arsonist intended to beat Gov. Josh Shapiro with a sledgehammer, investigators say
- 3
Fast Forward How Coke’s Passover recipe sparked an antisemitic conspiracy theory
- 4
Politics Meet America’s potential first Jewish second family: Josh Shapiro, Lori, and their 4 kids
In Case You Missed It
-
News Student protesters being deported are not ‘martyrs and heroes,’ says former antisemitism envoy
-
Opinion This Nazi-era story shows why Trump won’t fix a terrifying deportation mistake
-
Opinion I operate a small Judaica business. Trump’s tariffs are going to squelch Jewish innovation.
-
Fast Forward Language apps are putting Hebrew school in teens’ back pockets. But do they work?
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.