Daniel Ambash, who headed the “Jerusalem sect,” was convicted in 2013 of sexual exploitation and possession of slavery conditions of women and minors, and sentenced to 26 years in prison. This morning (Friday) he was found unconscious in his cell in Maasiyahu prison. Paramedics who arrived at the cell provided him with medical treatment and performed resuscitation on him but they were not left to determine his death.
Next week a hearing was to be held in the parole board of the courts administration. Ambash surprisingly asked for an early release from prison. Ambash, who was expected to be released in 2037, suffered a medical incident during Shavuot and was hospitalized at Assaf Harofeh. Following his medical condition, the cult leader claimed that his condition did not allow him to continue to be held.
The Jerusalem sect
The Jerusalem sect There was a polygamous cult, headed by Ambash and his partner Ilana Lugassi, which operated for about 15 years until it was disbanded by the Israel Police in July 2011. The sect included the leader, Ambash, Dorit Biran who was his first wife, and six other women who married him. The wives of the cult leader had 17 children, some of whom are not Ambash’s children and some of whom are adults.
Extreme punishments were imposed in the cult. Ambash and his wives considered themselves students of Rabbi Israel Dov Odser. They believed that in order to attain the purification of the soul one must confess to promiscuous thoughts and receive an appropriate punishment for them.
Ambash was sentenced to 26 years in prison. Three of the women including Byrne were prosecuted for sodomy on minors, and have been in custody for only one year. The proceedings against them were closed in a plea deal in which they were convicted of dismissing witnesses and obstructing legal proceedings.