the group repeatedly denies this accusation. Its members keep the Sabbath and the Jewish festivals of Pesach, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. Youth hold Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah celebrations, and they regularly perform Israeli folk dances. Child labor and homeschooling controversies In 2001, The New York Post ran an article accusing the group of child labor violations; and later attributed itself as having prompted the investigation. The Twelve Tribes responded with a press conference at the "Commonsense Farm" where the alleged child labor had taken place. The Twelve Tribes reported that during a random inspection by Estée Lauder Companies, the company discovered that several 14-year-olds had been found assisting their fathers in the factory. This report was later confirmed by Estée Lauder who terminated their contract with Common Sense products. The group's official statement at the press conference stated that they believed that it was a family-owned business, and children ought to be able to help their parents in the business while making "no apology" for it. The New York State Department of Labor stated that they intended to visit all five of the Twelve Tribes' businesses. State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer asserted that apprenticeships amounted to indentured servitude and were illegal. Robert Redford's Sundance Catalog, who had contracted with Common Wealth Woodworks (another of the group's industries that made furniture), also terminated their contract as a response to the allegations. The Labor Department found no violations at Common Sense Farm or Commonwealth Woodworks. They did propose a fine on two other industries: $2,000 for allegations of child labor law violations that the group's spokesperson, Jean Swantco Wiseman, was quoted in a news article as saying were for a 15-year-old pushing a wheelbarrow and another 15-year-old changing a lightbulb. In June 2018, another New York State investigation into the Common Sense Farm was launched, yielding allegations of child labor, after an Inside Edition article revealed children working in the group's soap factory. Twelve Tribes owned business Greener Formulas had contracted with brands including Acure and Savannah Bee to manufacture its private label bodycare products and was using the facilities of Common Sense Farm (also owned by the group) for production. Both Acure and Savannah Bee have since terminated their contracts with Greener Formulas. In Germany and France, the controversies centered on the issues of homeschooling, health, child abuse, and religious freedom. The group has several times been in conflict with