Dossier methodology and help for those affected

How we work with the material — four evidence levels

Every claim on this site belongs to one of four levels. You can tell which one from how a statement is worded and from whether a source link sits beside it. That way a reader sees at once what a given sentence rests on: a document, a person’s account, an investigative theory, or our own analysis.

Documented and verifiable

Things you can open and check yourself: court proceedings, lawsuits, questionings, dates, appointments, media reports, public records. A claim of this kind almost always carries a direct link — in the body of the article or in the source library. No link means the level is a different one, and the wording around it shows as much.

Testimony

Accounts from former participants in the movement — among them the stories of Katya, Mona and Olesya/A. A testimony is what one particular person says they lived through or saw. We label it as exactly that and never dress it up as a court verdict. Yet every account has an author and a set of circumstances behind it, and that is what sets it apart from an anonymous rumor.

Suspicions and investigative theories

When the police are testing a theory, or the press reports a suspicion, we keep their wording: “suspected,” “under examination,” “according to the investigation.” A suspicion is a stage in a process, not proven guilt. Until a court has said its last word, it stays a suspicion here too.

Editorial conclusions

Now and then several independent threads — documents, testimony, a chronology — line up into a single recurring pattern. Where we draw a conclusion from that, it is marked as editorial and kept apart from the facts. The reader can see where the source ends and the editors’ assessment begins.

How to read the dossier

Each topic has a main article. That is where the whole account sits — the context, the documents, the chronology, the source links. To take in a topic as a whole, start there.

The other materials on the same topic are shorter. Each gives a single fact, document or episode and links back to the main article. This is on purpose: the same story is not retold in five places, and that keeps it easy to check.

The home page lays out a recommended route — eight stops, from the broad picture down to the doctrine in Laitman’s own words. Nothing here is required reading; it is simply a convenient order for anyone arriving for the first time.

Every outside publication is gathered in a separate source library. Each entry there has a number, a verification status and a link to the main article where it is used.

Where to start — short routes

People arrive here with different questions. Below are five short routes by type of reader; each leads to a few materials, not the whole dossier at once.

Reading for the first time. Start with the map of the system, then see how a person is drawn inside step by step (the way in), and weigh the documented record against the markers of a destructive group (the checklist). The full reading order is laid out on the home page.

You left the movement. Here it helps to see the mechanism from outside: the way in and the sacralization of the teacher show how it is built, the checklist gives you language to describe it, and the piece on silenced testimonies shows what happened to those who spoke up. Support organizations are listed below.

Worried about someone close. Start with how the system pulls people in (the way in) and how a teacher’s authority turns into control (the sacralization of the teacher); the checklist of markers will help make sense of what you are seeing. Where families can turn is below.

Working on a story as a journalist. The core is the silenced testimonies, the movement’s litigation machine and the reach into public money (the 50-million bill). Who is who and how the figures connect is on the power map; the key events by year are on the timeline; every publication with numbers and verification status is in the source library.

Checking the sources. The section on the four evidence levels above explains how to tell the confirmed from the alleged; the power map shows the type of evidence beside each node; the full register of publications with verification status is in the source library.

Where to turn — for former participants and their families

Leaving a high-control group, and recovering once you have, is a long road, and there is no need to walk it alone. The organizations below work with former members of movements of this kind and with their families. They differ in character — a government service, research centers, charitable trusts; some take inquiries in English, some in Hebrew.

• MIVILUDES — the French government’s inter-ministerial mission against cult-related abuses: guidance, information and points of contact for those affected and their families.
• Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan’s center; support for families and former members, with material on methods of influence and on recovery.
• ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — the international association for the study of cults: research, conferences and a network of specialists.
• The Family Survival Trust — a UK charity (reg. no. 1121388) for families who have come up against high-control groups.
• Israeli Center for Victims of Cults — a local, Hebrew-speaking support organization.

These are external resources. The editors do not represent them and are not answerable for how they work or what they contain. If life or health is in danger, contact the emergency services in your country.

How to leave safely and preserve evidence

This section is not legal advice, and it is not a call to act against any particular person. It is about one thing: your safety as you leave. The dossier documents that the movement knows how to retaliate against those who leave or speak up — from leaking personal data and public accusations to pressure on the family (see the checklist of markers, marker 7, and the piece on silenced testimonies). So the steps below are about leaving with less risk and keeping what you may need later.

Preserve the evidence

If you have correspondence, documents, audio, photographs or screenshots, copy them ahead of time — while you still have access. A few simple rules:

• Keep copies somewhere the organization cannot reach: personal cloud storage, an external drive, an account the movement has no access to and never had.
• Do not edit the originals. The value of evidence lies in its being untouched; alongside each copy, note the date and the circumstances it came from.
• Do not leave the only copy on a device or in an account the group has used.

These are general principles of safekeeping, not instructions for breaking into or getting around anything. This is only about what already belongs to you.

Digital hygiene and safe contact

As soon as you are out, it is worth taking back control of your personal accounts:

• Change your passwords and turn on two-factor authentication for email, messengers, social media and your bank.
• Check which of your accounts and devices people or services tied to the movement had access to, and close that access.
• For sensitive correspondence, use channels outside the movement’s shared work and group systems.
• Do not rush into public posts: what is said openly is hard to take back later. Consult first, go public after.

What to expect

Here it is fairer to say it plainly: the response can be harsh. As has already happened to others, expect possible pressure, attacks on your reputation and lawsuits (the same markers 7 and 8 in the checklist). This is not a legal forecast, nor a verdict on your case — every case is different. What matters is something else: you do not have to go through it alone. The blow is easier to bear with a specialist or an organization beside you that has already worked with stories like yours.

Where to turn

The organizations that help former participants and their families are listed in the block above. If life or health is at risk, do not wait — contact the emergency services in your country.

Further in the dossier: