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Rabbi Michael Elkohen dressed in strictly-Orthodox clothes and had been living in French Hill with his five children and wife, Amanda, who recently died after a cancer battle, the Times of Israel says.
Elkohen's family had reportedly been under surveillance for at least seven years, but it all came crumbling down last week, when his teen daughter told a classmate that Jesus "accepts everyone, even if they are wrong," Behadrei Haredim reports.
The rabbi denied the allegations in an interview with Israeli news station.
Nonprofit missionary watchdog group Beyneynu claims the rabbi's true mission was converting members of the Jewish community to Christianity.
“He ran a yeshiva for Messianic Jews, was giving smicha [rabbinic ordination] to messianic Jews, and conducting weddings in Messianic communities in Israel and the US," Shannon Nuszen, who runs Beyneynu, told Israeli media.
Elkohen was apparently born Michael Elk in Salem County, and sent to Israel to convert Jews to Christianity, NorthJersey.com reports.
“We are confident that the Jewish leaders will act strongly against this threat, and quickly put protective measures in place to protect the Jewish community,” Beyneynu said in a statement.
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