tel aviv (jta) | Teens meeting in Internet chat rooms is nothing new.
But a scandal involving two such teens is making international headlines because it involves the family of Israel’s chief Sephardi rabbi.
The rabbi, Shlomo Amar, said in a statement that he feels “true anguish” and that he was not involved in the bizarre kidnapping and physical assault of an Internet acquaintance of his daughter. The boy is a fervently religious 17-year-old from B’nai Brak.
Police arrested Amar’s wife, Mazal; their 18-year-old daughter, Ayala; and their 31-year-old son, Meir, for their alleged roles in the incident. Mazal and Ayala Amar are under house arrest.
The rabbi was questioned by police on his return from Thailand.
According to Israeli news reports, the family decided to take action against the boy because they were opposed to his relationship with Ayala.
The alleged relationship between the two, which began in a chat room several months ago, reportedly had led to several platonic dates. In the religious world, such meetings defy strict religious prohibitions limiting contact between single members of the opposite sex.
When Ayala continued the friendship despite family protests, her mother reportedly got in touch with Meir, who had been estranged from the family since he became secular as a teenager, to ask for help finding a solution to the problem.