Israeli authorities have announced that they will seek the extradition of Elior Chen, a 29-year-old from Beitar Ellit who is suspected of involvement in a severe case of child abuse that left one toddler in a vegetative state and caused serious injuries to another. Chen calls himself a rabbi, and has asked followers to call him “the King Messiah.”
Chen and two followers allegedly advised a mother from Jerusalem that at least two of her young children were possessed by evil spirits, and joined her in carrying out a series of sadistic “corrections” that Chen said would purify them. The abuse came to light after one of the children was hospitalized with burns, and the second was hospitalized less than one day later with severe burns and other injuries.
Chen fled to Canada after the children were hospitalized, and has not yet been located. It is not clear if Canadian officials will agree to extradite him to Israel.