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.”
really nice
amazing!!!!!
nice!
anyone know who he is? his answer was straight to the point, and i like that he blew the full blowing! who knows… maybe there was a yid there whose neshama heard it…
and bh Mr. Mechlowitz was there – a true yid, doesn’t seem from the article like he knew him before, but he stopped and helped a fellow yid in trouble!
Why don’t you read the article properly before asking questions
🙂
why would a shofar be dangerous? Have bombs inside? And technology these days grew so much that u have to GOOGLE IT?!?!?!?!?
I love his answer!
cool!