HaRav Yehoshua Rokeach, the Machnovka Rebbe, was detained for a number of hours in London’s Heathrow airport after he refused to sign a form stating that he would agree to enter into self-quarantine for 14 days upon entering the country.

According to a report in BeChadrei Charedim, the Rebbe made a surprise trip to London in order to be Menachem Avel R’ Elish Englander while he is sitting shiva for his wife. Rabbi Englander is a major patron of Machnovka.

According to British law, all travelers to the country must enter in quarantine for 14 days upon entering. The law is similar to the one in Israel. The British law does state, that a person can return back to where they came from without having to sit in quarantine. The Rebbe, who was visiting for a just a few hours, refused to sign the form as he stated that it would be akin to lying.

The Rebbe told the authorities that he won’t sign the paper because he won’t be staying in quarantine. Rather, he was planning to return to Israel in a few hours’ time. Following this response, the Rebbe was detained and questioned by the authorities in Heathrow for a number of hours.

At the end of the saga, with the help of Rabbi Hershy Fogel from Chabad, who is the chaplain for the airport, the Rebbe signed that he would stay in one place for the duration of his trip in England until he returned to Israel.

The Rebbe canceled his plans in London, drove directly to the shiva house, and from there returned to the airport, in order to prevent any element of a lie.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)