I live about 1 Kilometer from the infamous Burka ladies cult who’s leader was taken into custody last month. Read the Jerusalem Post article for some background.

I have seen these women (well, not really them, but their burkas) walking in the shopping center in Ramat Bet Shemesh Bet near the post office. It never really sunk in what these ladies are trying to accomplish. I actually thought in my subconscious how ironic it was that nuns from the nearby monastery have to come to the ultra-orthodox neighborhoods to do their shopping (or to mail packages).

What’s hard to swallow is that this cult leader was systematically physically and mentally abusing her children, and allowing other unmentionable taboo acts to take place under her own roof. All the while, she’s dressed in a dozen robes for ‘extra’ modesty. Gimme a break!

A friend mentioned to me a couple weeks ago that a women from this cult had joined their synagogue for the Megilat Esther reading on Purim. No one had recognized her (sic). She said that the ladies all moved to the other side of the room from where she was sitting. If I had seen a woman come to my synagogue dressed like that, and i didn’t recognize her voice (!?), I would demand that she immediately remove her extra clothing so as to be sure it was not, G_d forbid, a suicide bomber.

Anyways, here’s a burka lady in her natural environment in Ramat Bet Shemesh. Let’s play Where’s Waldo… Israel style: “Where’s the Burka Lady” in this picture?