Idolatrous Chinese Cult Posts Notices in Chareidi Cities
June 14, 2020
An apparently innocent poster that has been appearing in many chareidi cities may be a Chinese cult’s attempt to introduce itself to local residents, Yad L’Achim warns.
The notices, with the heading, “Revealed: Frightening Crime of Communist Regime in China,” alleges that the regime cuts off the limbs of members of Falun Dafa, an idolatrous Chinese cult that is based on various eastern religions.
The notice cites a halachic ruling of Hagaon Harav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, zt”l, regarding murder, in a bid to to lend legitimacy to its activities.
It reads in part: “Come, let’s daven that the Communist Chinese regime be removed from the world,” in the knowledge that the chareidi public recoils from communism and its hatred of religion.
At the bottom of the notice, beneath the verse, Lo Ta’amod al Daam Rei’echa, contact information is given.
The use of Rav Elyashiv’s psak, the appeal to “come, let’s daven” and the reference to a passuk, is the cult members’ way of gaining entrée to the chareidi community, in order to expose it to their faith, a Yad L’Achim official charges.
“Even if some of the claims in the ad about the Chinese danger are correct, it is our obligation to make the public aware that it is likely that these ads are meant to serve another purpose: to acquaint people with the cult and its methods.”
The official stressed that the cult’s idolatrous ceremonies involve its leader Li Hongzhi, who claims to be able to walk through walls and make himself invisible. For example, at the cult’s first meeting in Israel, held in Tel Aviv, members bowed down to his photo.
In addition, the cult promises its faithful protection from evil spirits. Its members, like those of many other cults, are afraid to leave the group because they’ve been brainwashed to believe that if they do so they will lose the “protection” of the cult.
The cult also convinces its members not to go to doctors but rather to opt for alternative therapies it recommends. According to publications around the world, many members have died as a result, including, to our great sorrow, at least one Jewish woman.
Cynical Exploitation? The cult’s notice
