Police arrest man with harem

An Israeli man has been arrested on suspicion of enslavement, rape and incest, police said Thursday.

Police say Goel Ratzon kept 17 women in a state of near-total obedience in the Tel Aviv area. Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said they bore him 37 children, some born to his own daughters.

Ratzon, a self-described healer about 60 years old, controlled the women’s money and sometimes abused them if they dared to challenge his control, police alleged.

A documentary about Ratzon that aired on Israel’s Channel 10 TV last year said he kept 32 women and 89 children in his apartments. The TV documentary showed women with tattoos of his name and face on their bodies, in almost angelic portrayals.

Ratzon is being held in a Tel Aviv jail pending a Jan. 24 court appearance, Rosenfeld said.

He was arrested Tuesday, but police only lifted a news blackout Thursday. He has not been charged.