House of Horror: Israeli rabbi has been accused of enslaving numerous women through use of fear tactics

Israeli Rabbi Aharon Ramati, accused of enslaving dozens of women in a cult-like house in Israel, has been released. Dubbed the "House of Horror," the rabbi frightened women in the house by telling them that they would face terrible harm from otherworldly forces if they did not obey him.

According to the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot, Rabbi Ramati, a former head of a Jewish religious school in Jerusalem, was convicted of "keeping people in conditions resembling slavery," as well as charges of "minor assault" and "obstructing justice."

After 11 of the rabbi's victims were deemed too traumatized to testify against him in court, the prosecution reportedly reached a plea deal with Ramati, in which he admitted to lesser charges in exchange for a reduced sentence.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ramati was sentenced to only 9 months of mandatory community service and ordered to pay $34,000 in financial compensation to his victims, after which he was released.

Identifying himself as an enlightened religious leader who knew the path to salvation, Rabbi Ramati began gathering women around him in 2008. Initially arrested in 2015 in connection with the women he had gathered at his home, the rabbi was released after some of the women gave statements in his favor.

According to prosecutors, the rabbi later resumed gathering women around him, with more than 30 women living in his house along with their children. Ramati charged the women around $220 a month for a bed and about $170 a month to share a bed with another resident.

Reportedly, during this time, Ramati frightened the women by telling them they would suffer terrible harm from otherworldly forces if they did not obey him and inflicted punishments such as forcing them to burn their fingers in fire or eat hot peppers to "simulate hell."

Ramati was arrested in 2020 on charges of enslaving his victims, violence, and obstructing justice.

Described in Israeli media as a "House of Horror," Ramati's home was characterized by police as a "cult leader" who invented tales of violence, intimidation, and eternal damnation to brainwash and control his victims.