All of the rabbis come from the close-knit and wealthy Sephardic Jewish communities of southern New Jersey and Brooklyn and the arrests have put the spotlight on a usually quiet community.

VOA : standard.2009.07.24

One of the rabbis arrested, Saul Kassin,is considered the leading cleric of the U.S.Sephardic community, comprised of families that emigrated mostly from the Middle East, Syria in particular, following the formation of the state of Israel in 1948.

VOA : standard.2009.07.24