Secretive Jewish Sect Causes Stir in North Macedonia Town

Ther arrival of a group of Ultra-Orthodox Jews in the northern town of Kumanovo this weekend, wearing traditional clothing that residents never saw before, has raised concerns among some local residents.

"These persons respect the laws of North Macedonia, have a completely legal right to stay here and are here only temporarily," Kumanovo police told the media on Sunday.

"Our information is that this group is in permanent movement and is expected to leave our country in the next few days," police added, not disclosing where the group might be heading.

"Police wish to inform residents that this group poses no danger, and appeals for tolerance and solidarity towards them," they added.

After the local news portal in Kumanovo started reporting about residents being worried by the sight of unusually dressed people traversing their town, mayor Maksim Dimitrievski said that he had no hard information, but that Kumanovo was traditionally "hospitable to all well-intended" visitors.

The group according to local media has rented two houses in the Zelen Rid [Green Hill] settlement in Kumanovo, and is comprised of more than 30 Canadian, US, Belgian citizens, as well as some who hold passports from North American countries, the police said.

They are reportedly members of an ultra-conservative Jewish sect called Lev Tahor, translated as Pure at Heart from Hebrew.

Reportedly, they left their previous place of residence in East Sarajevo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and had crossed nearby Montenegro and Kosovo on foot before arriving in North Macedonia.

Their stay in Bosnia during January and early February caught the public spotlight there as well, after local residents were quoted as saying they were worried by the "unusual"...

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