Rabbi Shlomo Erez Helbrans was born Erez Shlomo Elbarnes in 1962 and died on July 7, 2017.

He was an Israeli cult leader, Anti-Zionist Rabbi, and Rebbe of the Lev Tahor community, convicted in the United States for kidnapping, and designated as a refugee in Canada.

He had originally established his community in Israel, which he claims to have modeled after the Satmar Hasidic movement, he and his non-Zionist community went to the United States where he was convicted for a kidnapping in 1994, and served a two-year prison term.

During this time Erez was accused by a few former community members of child abuse, serving medicine and psychological pills and using various punishments on the people in the community.

Helbrans was deported to Israel, and then fled to Canada receiving the status of a refugee.

Helbrans’ community settled in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec, for 12 years.

During November 2013, amid clashes with the education authorities most members of the group (claiming religious persecution) left for Ontario.

On July 7th, 2017, he was reported to have drowned while performing a ritual immersion in a river in Mexico.

Shlomo Helbrans passed away at 55 years old.