Sixteen Chassidim, including a group of five from New York en route to Vienna, were detained in the airport in Frankfurt on their way to Vienna last week for no apparent reason and were held for over 10 hours.
The incident was publicized by the Jewish rights group Americans Against Antisemitism (AAA), founded by former state Assemblyman Dov Hikind.
“As soon as I gave my papers over to the officer, he looks at me, he says to me, ‘Are you all five together?’” one of the detained men said. “And I said, ‘Yes.’ And he said, ‘You need to step aside.’”
“Two more people who are on our flight arrive there,” he said. “They went over with their papers and immediately were told to stand next to us as well. So, we immediately saw that this is a Jewish thing.
“Nobody [else] was stopped for more than a minute,” he said. “Looked at the document, ‘Next.’ Seven Jews, Chasidic Jews, were told to stand aside.”
The Chassidim were offered no explanation on why they were detained. Their passports were confiscated and they were subjected to interrogation.
One of the men eventually called the U.S. Embassy and was told that the German authorities were investigating their paperwork as it may be fraudulent.
Calling the embassy seems to have done the trick and after over ten hours of harassment, the Chassidim were allowed to continue on their travels without any explanation for their detention. However, they were first forced to first sign disclaimers clearing the German authorities of any wrongdoing. Some of the Chassidim refused to do but were nevertheless eventually let go.
“Some of the Chassidim were pulled aside and harshly interrogated,” Hikind said in a statement.
“It’s unconscionable for something like this to happen to innocent people anywhere, but even more so to identifiable Jews in Germany, of all places.”
“They reached out to share their story with me,” he continued. “I can tell you the trauma and pain they suffered is scarring and traumatic, so we are calling on the German government to investigate this appalling treatment of [these] innocent people immediately.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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10 Responses
Nazis.
Why are you flying through Germany. Have you not learned your lesson. The world hates Jews.
Why on earth is a Jew going back to Germany??!
No Jew should ever step foot in that country until 2444 (dutation of 500yr. cheirem, mashiach will come before). Especially the children and grandchildren of those who were enslaved & gassed to death by those cursed b*tards. Maybe now they will learn their lesson.
There is Cherem on Germany from May 8, 1945, through May 8, 2945, so this is what transpires when violating a Cherem
There must be another side of this story. For example what was the behavior/demeanor that precipitated this detention.
Maybe YWN can do actual research and bring us to the truth????!!!
and other charreidim were held hostage in Israel for weeks under the hand of the terrible reshaim the tzionim, also for no apparent reason other then political and anti charreidi motives
Ira absolute trauma but Hikind only escalates everything. Leave him out. Remember it was Germany. We have a history there. We’re stull in Galus unfortunately.
germany should be wiped off the map
All Jews should never have anything to do with Germans or Germany (Deutschland). The shadowy Nazis exist in many countries and particularly in Germany. The only person Jews should trust unquestionably is in the Almighty (HaShem) as my observant friends call Him.
This incident is only a tip of the iceberg of bias and hatred against Jews.
I know very, very little of Jewish law, but I do know the goy. The only real protection of Jews and Israel is HaShem !!!
B’vah’chah’shah, may I suggest that all Jews do More Talmud T_rah (MTT), More Davvening (MD)and More Chessed (MC) !!
A goy,
Gerry Mullen
A simple Google search would reveal that currently American citizens are not permitted to travel to Germany (due to COVID restrictions) unless they are residents or have special permission.
From the German Embassy website:
Are U.S. citizens permitted to enter? No (with a few exceptions, see below)
Germany will currently only allow EU citizens, EU residents, and residents of certain other specific countries to enter. The United States is not one of those countries. U.S. citizens traveling to Germany from the United States will not be permitted to enter unless they meet one of only a few narrow exceptions. If you do not meet one of these exceptions but believe your circumstances merit entry to Germany, or if you need clarification, you should contact the German Embassy in Washington D.C. regarding entry permission. The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Germany cannot give you permission to enter Germany.