Following the YWN report of the arrest of chareidi girls upon their arrival in Manchester for smuggling in Khat (a drug), it has been learned the matter is gaining notoriety throughout areas of Europe, and there are two girls currently under arrest in Oslo.
As YWN-Israel reported, over the past few months, dozens of young charedi men and women have been arrested for smuggling contraband items in Manchester, England. Two girls spent seder night in detention and house arrest after they were apprehended. It is reported that the plant is not illegal in Israel, but it is prohibited in Europe.
BeChadrei Chareidim continues reporting on the case, explaining a number of askanim from Europe have contacted them to publicize the matter pertaining to the two girls detained Seder night, as well as the outrage of a Chabad shaliach whose become involved, albeit, not at his own behest.
Dozens of young chareidi boys and girls are smuggle the drug to Europe. They receive a sum of money and a hotel for three days and are told by the operator that if they get in trouble, they are told that they can “call the local Chabad shaliach”.
Two chareidi girls from Jerusalem were detained for a number of days in Oslo, the capital of Norway, for the attempted smuggling of Khat leaves. They are scheduled to be deported on this coming Shabbos to Israel. [They spent Pesach in detention.]
The Norwegians refuse to put them on a flight with a stopover, insisting on a direct flight, and this only happens on Shabbos, and for now it seems that the two will be forced to be mechalel Shabbos against their will because of the smuggling.
The Chabad shaliach to Oslo, Rabbi Shaul Wilhelm, says in a conversation with BeChadrei Chareidim, that all those who have become entangled with the law in the past few months are asking him if they can stay at the Chabad House and pay as much as they can, but he does not agree. “They are breaking the law and I do not assist lawbreakers,” said Wilhelm.
Wilhelm says that “the boys and girls come here without the knowledge of their parents, they are arrested and expelled from the country, I am not willing to help them, they are making a terrible Chilul Hashem, and they will think that we are cooperating with them but I will not help them. They asked me to help not be deported on Shabbos, but the Norwegians are unwilling to hear from me anymore.”
“There is a plague of smuggling, young chareidim come here during bein hazmanim, not only on vacation, and smuggle illegal materials, and they know that it’s illegal. Where are their parents, chareidi girls are sitting in jail with gentiles, what is this?”
In addition to the expulsion on Shabbos Kedoshim, they girls are banned from entering 28 European nations of the EU for the next five years. “I won’t assist them” he adds.
“No one will get help in Norway if he comes to smuggle illegal materials, it’s a smuggling epidemic, and we’re not here to serve criminals,” he says. “Anyone who is caught will have to get himself home as they will not tread on Chabad here.”
Also, he turns to parents to notice where their children are walking around, and to make sure they are indeed sitting in Yeshiva/school, because many of them are flying away without the parents’ knowledge of the flight.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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17 Responses
I’m a Chabadnika & Rabbi Wilhelm is 100% right in everything he says. It’s time the frum veldt stopped bailing out these criminals – they know EXACTLY what they are doing & why!
My initial reaction to the headline alone was, TOUGH. If they do the crime, they pay the penalty. All of a sudden these drug smugglers are so frum? It’s OK to smuggle in this stuff, but then they cry foul & probably antisemitism as well??
Too bad. Add being mechalel shabbos to your list of aveiras, you brought this on yourselves.
They deserve no help
Old Chinese saying – man who vomits in church sits in his own pew.
The bais yaakov system needs to focus on more things than stockings and supporting a husband in learning. These are just 2 stories of girls and drugs.
Waiting for the invitation to participate in pedyon shvuiim
Good for the Chabad shaliach! Let them learn the lesson that we frum people are supposed to respect the laws, and not feel like we’re above them. Shame on those who put them up to it, but ultimately we are responsible for our poor choices.
Every child knows that smuggling is illegal and if you’re caught it will hurt. The problem is that the Chareidi Community has gotten used to the fact that no matter what someone will bail you out. That’s very commendable when somone ends up in a foreign hospital or gets stranded someplace due to no fault of their own.
But when it comes to smuggling the message has to be loud and clear “DONT DO THE CRIME IF YOU DONT WANT TO DO THE TIME”.
Millions of $ were spent on getting the 3 boys out of trouble in Japan, so people assume the world is hefker and some ‘askonim’ or Chabad Shliach will get you out of the mess.
We need to send a clear message to the smugglers and to the handlers that you risk landing in jail for weeks, months or years.
There drugs are often the starting point for young people to become addicted to serious narcotics which ultimately wreck lives.
What a chilul hashem. I think the bais yaakov’s need to stress to the girls that smuggling drugs is absolutley unacceptable.
if they do not want to travel on shabbat, put them in cages and load them into cargo. since they are not doing any Ma’aseh, there is no Issur de’Oraytah. when they land they can stay in the cages until after shabbat. if they want, i will donate glatt badatz dog food for them to enjoy along with mezonos rolls.
Rosen, the chillul Hashem on BY is how these girls got to these levels.
Yes, they are responsible for their actions. And there is still a mitzvah of pidyon Shvuyim, no matter what. We say during Unesaneh Tokef who will be put in jail. Some people need that test in their life. Frum people also need to stop playing prosecutor and judge.
One of the Brisker Ravs put up money on Yom Kippur to bail out a Maskil.
Dr Yidd, the self-hater. Do you enjoy Jews getting arrested?
Yasher Koach to this Chabad Shaliach.
If someone is smuggling something intentionally, it’s pashut illegal and a Chillul Hashem. And to then go to bat for them as if they deserve mercy and special treatment only causes a further Chillul Hashem.
What concerns me is that we are talking about young adults that are usually being paid by their parents to go to other countries.Why do these young individuals feel a need to have more money in their pocket, if it involves doing shady stuff?If they really need more money, they should go ask their parents,get a job or learn to live without.Getting into the shady underworld to get a fast buck is really desperately descending into a dangerous world, which is very sad and troubling to see.
Pidyon shvuyim in Jewish history was worlds apart from this case, and therefore Pidyon shvuyim here is not applicable.
These girls should be considered rodfot, as they are creating justifications for ant-semitism and endangering Jews’ lives.
The Briskers were always friendly with the maskilim, some of the brightest maskilim were products of the great Lithuanian yeshivas. Besiides, the Briskers need action and sparring partners, it’s no fun when everyone around you agrees with you. Redeeming them was a sociological and intellectual necessity
> lakewhut
“And there is still a mitzvah of pidyon Shvuyim,”
What does “pidyon Shvuyim” mean when the foreign government is expelling them?
But in any case the historical background of “pidyon Shvuyim” was when it was a societal “norm” for people to kidnap others to hold them for ransom, or soldiers taking children as booty of war and the like. This has nothing to do with those who were being punished in a reasonable manner for breaking a legitimate law. In fact, it could lead to the appearance that the Rabbis condone the law breaking. Don’t confuse “chesed” and “chaplaincy” with “pidyon Shvuyim”.
And who said the alleged Maskil in the alleged story broke any legitimate law?
> lakewhut
Further, the concept of “pidyon Shvuyim” was to save the person from death, sexual abuse or conversion. None of these considerations apply in this case. By screaming “pidyon Shvuyim” when it does not apply, it merely cheapens the concept and what will happen is that REAL “pidyon Shvuyim” will be drowned out by all the noise and will be neglected.
Would the Rebbe זצ”ל have reacted the way his שליח is reacting?