In shockingly disgraceful conduct and due to its own error, a Moldovan airline on Sunday removed all the passengers, mostly frum Jews, from a flight to Israel and forcibly expelled them from the airport.
The incident occurred due to an error by Air Moldova, which registered two passengers with the same name as one person. As a result, when the passengers boarded the plane, one was left without a seat. Arguments began and in the ensuing chaos, the pilot decided he was quitting and canceled the flight.
At that point, all the passengers, most of them Israelis who had spent Shabbos Chanukah in Uman, were removed from the flight and then expelled from the airport.
One of the passengers told B’Chadrei Chareidim: “They treated us like dogs. Police officers used a stun gun on one of the passengers. I don’t have any pictures to show you because whoever took out a phone was immediately pounced upon by officers. The police officers then began physically removing us from the terminal.”
The Israelis were stranded in Kishinev and apparently will remain there until Thursday when the next flight to Israel is scheduled. Barach Hashem for Chabad, which as usual stepped up to the plate. Chabad Moldova, led by Rabbi Zushe Abelsky, is assisting the group, providing them with accommodations and food.
“It was clear to us this year that in light of the war and the difficult situation in the area, we must add light,” Rabbi Abelsky said on Monday. “Indeed, we added lots of light and joy to the Jews of Moldova with 30 different Chanukah events around the country. But we didn’t expect this 31st event…it is a still-unfolding event that will probably last for several more days. Last night [Sunday, the eighth night of Chanukah], in the wee hours of the night, a flood of messages began to flood the phones of the Chabad Shluchim in Moldova from askanim all over the world who were involved in the incident and asked for the intervention of the Shluchim.”
“They told us about the group of 150 frum Jews stuck at the airport without food. For Chabad of Moldova, it went without saying that we would assist the group. Rav Gotzel and Rav Axelrod – who haven’t been feeling well for the past few days and could barely get out of bed – despite the late hour and freezing cold, got dressed and ran to the kehilla’s warehouses and emptied the shelves of everything possible in order to satisfy the hungry group.”
On Monday morning, Rabbi Abelsky was also called by Moldovan government officials and airport officials requesting that he assist the stranded passengers. He invited them to the Great Synagogue of Kishinev – whose renovation was completed in recent weeks – to eat hot meals, daven in the minyan and receive any assistance they need.
אנטישימיות בקישנב: עשרות יהודים הורדו מהטיסה בשל טעות של החברה. 2 אנשים בעלי שם זהה היו רשומים בטיסה לישראל בטיסה מקישינב מולדובה לכיוון נתב"ג. מסיבה לא ברורה בחברת אייר מולד חישבו את שני האנשים עם השם הזהה כאדם אחד.
כולם התמקמו במטוס ואחד נותר ללא מקום ישיבה, מה שגרם לבלגן> pic.twitter.com/QcxCFvgPhw— מנחם קולדצקי (@nbjovsr88) December 25, 2022
“Arguments began and in the ensuing chaos, the pilot decided he was quitting and canceled the flight.”
Did the Jews start the “arguments”?
“The Jews”?? How much antisemitic rhetoric have you absorbed from the world around you??
And Sir/Madam, I would like to see you board a plane, discover the airline gave away your seat, and silently turn around and disembark without arguing.
The airline refused to seat someone with a paid ticket for that flight because they, the airline, messed up. I believe that is what is called ‘starting an argument’. Did YOU come onto this Jewish site to start an argument?
That question sounds like “Did Mendy Goldstein start an argument with Mendy Goldstein?” Because the article did say that they had the same name, right?
And we don’t know the answer to that or more details obviously.
Did those two Jews with that same name start a heated argument with each other, or did one of them start an argument with the plane crew?
Either way we were mistreated which should not have happened.
We need Moshiach!
Have long standing deep seated issues which will forever lend them third world status. The Jews were the shining light there. Once they left for better pastures these countries became flyover plots with a few occasional two day tourist traps.
In the darkest corners of the world I places historically influenced by communism, the kindness, decency and swift action to assist come from the yidden.
Sadly to see such events. Understanding and communication are essential in solving such small incidents in the scheme of things. That being said it should have never escalated into all the passengers being stranded and the pilot quitting. Instead of looking at who to blame we should be looking at why even small problems escape our grasp of resolution.