Elana Sztokman

Goel Ratzon, a 60-year-old man with long white hair and penetrating eyes, has at least 17 wives and 28 children, though the precise figure remains elusive. Ratzon, who apparently believes himself to be something of a messiah, or the modern embodiment of King Solomon, was arrested last week in Tel Aviv, as were some of the wives, following an eight-month undercover operation that included some daring work of a female detective who presented herself as a willing conquest. The details emerging over the past few days about life in his cult/commune/harem form a disturbing and mysterious portrait, in part because of how zealously many of the women have come to his defense.

Ratzon, who is facing charges of rape, enslavement, extortion, indecent acts against minors, and possibly incest, has been living an elaborately organized polygamous lifestyle since 1993. The household, which is spread out among several apartments in a blighted neighborhood of Tel Aviv, is run according to “The Book of Rules” — intricate protocols with punishments to limit the women’s free movement and speech, along with a systematic, assembly-line rotation of tasks among women such as tending to the children, cooking, and sleeping with Ratzon.

Women compete for the privilege to feed him, comb his beard, and bear his children. He keeps records of every woman’s ovulation cycle, and a woman at the peak of her fertility has increased status. The women apparently look after each other in a tight-knit, closed circle, and they are not allowed to speak to strangers, to make independent purchases or to leave doors to their rooms closed because Ratzon may come in and out at will and search rooms at any time. Many women also work off the books as cleaners and day-care assistants, and all their earnings go to Ratzon, who also makes over 80,000 NIS (about $20,000) a year off of National Insurance payments. Some of the women were found to tattooed with Ratzon’s name or likeness.

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