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Driven to suicide: Chasidic mum who became secular

June 30, 2016 10:07
Esti Weinstein

By

Nathan Jeffay,

Nathan Jeffay

1 min read

A mother was driven to suicide after her children rejected her over her decision to become secular.

"In this city I gave birth to my daughters, in this city I die because of my daughters," Esti Weinstein wrote in a note found next to her body, which was discovered in a locked car on a beach in Ashdod on Sunday.

Ms Weinstein, 50, left her life as a member of the Chasidic Gur sect eight years ago and all of her seven grown-up daughters, bar one who also became secular, cut ties with her.

Yair Hess, executive director of Hillel, a support group for Charedim who become secular, said: "The fact that she wasn't able to have contact with her daughters and grandchildren - she knew that she had a new grandchild whom she couldn't meet - was the most difficult thing."

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