An Israeli rabbi narrowly escaped arrest after being stopped by security officers at Munich airport for carrying a shofar.
Airport officials pulled aside the man, in his late 50s, and asked him to explain the religious article while arriving on a flight from Tel-Aviv on Monday night. He was visiting his daughter who lives in Nuremberg and works as an Israeli emissary in the city.
“He was in a bit of a panic,” said Gigi Mechlowitz, a fellow Jewish passenger from Manchester, who stopped to help.
“They told him to open his bag and loads of security guards came around. The rabbi asked me how to say shofar in German.”
Mr Mechlowitz said: “Officers escorted the rabbi to a customs area suspicious the ram’s horn was a trophy from a protected animal.
“The rabbi told them in English ‘sixty years ago you knew exactly what it was and we got liquidated because of religious items’.
“I thought he was going to be arrested,” added Mr Mechlowitz, who defused the situation by suggesting the customs officials Google the item.
After some investigations airport guards returned and asked the rabbi one final test to ensure the item was safe – a full blowing of the shofar.
Mr Mecholowitz said: “He didn’t just give a quick toot, but a whole tekiah teruah thing. About 20 to 30 people, mainly airport staff and a few passengers, looked up in awe.
“It got a nice round of applause from everybody.”
(Source: The JC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
9 Responses
What a line from the rabbi! What guts!!!
BH there was someone nearby to help out.
great story
“The rabbi told them in English ‘sixty years ago you knew exactly what it was and we got liquidated because of religious items’.
Good for him! He should have yelled it! I’m glad some people aren’t afraid to say it how it is. One good thing: any Jews in the airport had the chance to hear Shofar during Chodesh Elul.
Vienna Airport is even worse. I didn’t have any problems in Frankfurt Airport, but on one occasion a fellow Frum passenger & I were the only ones given a hard time over there. Still Nazis.
They are NOT “still Nazis” as bestbubby posts. They are still m’zera Germamia shel Rome, whom the Vilna Gaon writes are B’nei Eisav/Edom/Amalek. The Chasam Sofer also, I believe says along thos lines. To state they are still Natzis implies when the political mood changes we will no longer face the challenges their presence poses. This places NONE of the burden on us and on His service. Realizing they are Eisav/Edom we remember that “k’shezeh kam, zeh nofail” and “om mil’om ne’matz” – that they receive their strength from our weakness. May we merit to see the day of v’alu moshi’I’m b’har se’ir, lishpot es Har Eisav . . . HaShem Echad uShmo Echad. K’sivah va’chasimah Tova to one and all!
I stand corrected, Shuali!
The rabbi’s arithmetic was a bit off (by 1950 the Germans had probably forgotten about Jewish religious articles), but kudos to him anyway for the ‘put him in his place’ one-liner.
Rabbi, well done! B’H, many Jews heard the shofar in Elul; let us hope we here also are “hearing” the call.
I give it a year or two before some kiruv organization or author has a story about someone coming back to the fold after hearing the shofar in the airport.
#6 That’s a sad and petty response. The Rabbi responded brilliantly. In the midst of being interrogated, was math the most important aspect of how he handled it?