Michael Laitman
Founder and leader of the Bnei Baruch movement. The central figure of the investigation.
Michael Laitman and Bnei Baruch: what the investigation shows
Michael Laitman is the founder of the Israeli movement Bnei Baruch, which presents itself as a school of Kabbalah. This site collects testimonies of former students, documents, and media publications about what happens inside the structure: pressure on participants, silencing of complaints, legal harassment of critics, opaque finances, and ties to Israeli politics.
Suspicions and investigative theories are marked separately from documentarily confirmed facts. More on the methodology →
Key figures
Hanoch Milwidsky
Lawyer of Bnei Baruch and Knesset member. Person of interest in the case of pressure on a witness.
Eli Vinokur
Teacher and public face of the movement. Under police investigation in the case of pressure on a witness.
The witnesses
Katia, Mona, and «Olesya»/A. — former participants whose testimonies of coercion and blackmail form the basis of the investigation.
Gilad Shadmon
Director general of the Ministry of Regional Cooperation, whose wife admitted in court under oath that she did nothing about complaints of rape by Laitman.
Hagit Telem
Former secretary of Laitman who landed a realistic slot on the Religious Zionism municipal list in Petah Tikva — the city where the administrative center of Bnei Baruch is located.
Recommended route
Six stops — from the general picture to the political exit. Each leads to one main article; inside are links to related materials.
1 Overview The general outline: leader, labor, money, testimonies, politics 2 Entry into the system How a person gradually ends up inside Bnei Baruch 3 The main investigation Testimonies about Laitman and why they did not become a full investigation 4 Lawyers and lawsuits Milwidsky, lawsuits, the SLAPP context, and the path to the Knesset 5 Money and family Amutot, reports, and the financial architecture of the movement 6 Politics The 50-million bill and the personnel network inside the state
How we work with the material
Every claim on the site is assigned to one of four levels. This allows the reader to distinguish what is confirmed from what is alleged.
Documentarily verifiable
Court proceedings, media publications, dates, appointments, lawsuits, interrogations, and public documents.
Testimonies
Accounts of former participants, including the stories of Katia, Mona, Olesya/A., and materials on other complaints.
Suspicions and investigative theories
Stated as suspicions, police reports, or media publications — not as guilt established by a court.
Editorial conclusions
Drawn only where several independent threads form a recurring pattern: dependence, keeping complaints inside, pressure on testimonies, legal protection, money, and political access.
Sources
The library of external publications is on a separate page: sources and materials. Each source has a number, a verification status, and a link to the relevant dossier material.
All claims not backed by documentary sources are presented as testimonies of former participants in the movement or as editorial conclusions drawn from the totality of materials. The editors do not present anything unverified as a fact established by a court.
