Stranded in Jordan for Days, Bochurim and Seminary Girls Back in US

By Rabbi Moshe Krasnanski, Montreal

Over 60 Lubavitcher bochurim and seminary girls who were stuck in Jordan for several days have finally landed in Washington, DC and returned home after spending five long days in Amman.

What began as an evacuation plan for American citizens turned into an unplanned five-day ordeal, which, though stressful at times, ultimately became a testament to the strength, resilience, and chinuch of our children.

The bochurim, studying at Yeshivas Tzeirei Hashluchim Mesivta in Tzfas, had worked very hard on a challenging mivtzah of learning and chassidishe hanhogos in honor of Yud Shvat. Those who passed were scheduled to leave this past Thursday for a trip to Georgia, FSU. However, when the war broke out on the Shabbos before Purim, the trip was cancelled.

The group of 30 boys reached out to an American rescue group led by Olivia and Bryan Stern, Chairman and Founder of Grey Bull Rescue, who promised to safely evacuate them through Jordan on a flight to Europe and from there to the USA. On Tuesday afternoon, Purim, they were taken to Jordan, where Brian arranged accommodations for them in a five-star hotel. However, they were unable to leave the hotel under any circumstances as an added measure of security.

The plan was for them to leave on Wednesday, when another group of 35 Bais Rivkah seminary girls would join them. The seminary girls had originally planned to leave Israel the Motzei Shabbos before Purim, but were unable to do so. Rabbi and Mrs. Chitrik of the Beis Chana Seminary in Tzfas very generously hosted the girls until they were able to fly home.

The group was scheduled to depart on Wednesday for Athens, Greece, but numerous complications kept delaying the Grey bull arranged flight. These included missiles flying over Jordan and airspace closures, among other issues. Wednesday turned into Thursday, and they went to the airport Thursday night in hopes of leaving for Athens and spending Shabbos there. The flight never took off due to timing issues, and they were brought back to the hotel, facing the prospect of spending Shabbos there.

Meanwhile, the boys and girls had very little food and were surviving on some snacks. Thanks to one of the people waiting for the flight with them, who kindly shared his cholov Yisroel chocolates, they had something to eat. The seminary girls were lifesavers, preparing a kosher meal with whatever limited items they had available. The kitchen was kashered and they got brand new equipment to cook.

Once it became clear that they would be staying for Shabbos, they needed proper food. Rabbi Sholom Duchman of Colel Chabad in Israel mobilized on Friday morning to arrange food for them, preparing a large amount since they had not eaten a proper meal in several days. Unfortunately, the Jordanian border authorities confiscated the food and threw it out, much to the dismay of Colel Chabad.

Once again, the girls came to the rescue and, maintaining the highest standards of kashrus, prepared food for Shabbos using the basic items they were able to obtain. Special thanks to Paullette Reines, of Lilis Kosher Catering, for taking charge using her unique catering background to make all the kosher food happen.

When Rabbanim were consulted and the students were told that Shabbos could be broken to rescue them because it was a safek pikuach nefesh, the boys and girls, though hungry, anxious, and exhausted from sleepless nights, did not want to break Shabbos. In fact, it was incredible how careful they were, asking many halachic questions during their stay and not compromising on anything.

They kept their spirits high throughout, even in a place where they had to remain so discreet. It was a Shabbos filled with chayos, davening, singing, and Shabbos meals. We thank the incredible Shluchim group of the Yeshiva and the Madrichot of the seminary for their dedication and care.

We are grateful to Brian and Olivia Stern of Grey Bull for looking after their safety, while trying to make the rescue happen.

On Friday, Ari Tamari and Mendy Schreiber reached out to Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, a dear friend of President Donald Trump, who immediately mobilized the American government to help our children and the others with them.

We thank Rabbi Yehudah Kaploun, President Trump, Secretary of State Marc Rubio, and the US Ambassador to Jordan, James Holtsnider, along with his wonderful team led by Rocco Costa, who ensured that after Shabbos they would finally board a plane back home. They have successfully evacuated over 24,000 individuals, and we wanted to make sure our children were safely on US soil.

On Motzei Shabbos, they boarded a Royal Jordanian flight and landed this morning at Dulles Airport in Washington, DC.

We thank Rabbi and Mrs. Faijnland from Virginia, who have organized a bus to greet them with a warm and delicious breakfast—their first real meal since the ordeal began nearly a week ago—and help them continue home to New York.

We also thank the Lieutenant Governor of Florida, Jay Collins, who was involved behind the scenes, trying to coordinate with Grey Bull. We thank Tzvi Bogomilsky for his connection to Jay Collins. We also thank Yaacov Behrman of the Jewish Future Alliance for his assistance.

We thank Rabbi Sholom Goldstein of Bais Rivkah for helping coordinate and representing the parents.

We also want to thank all the shluchim who were ready to drop everything to help our children. We are deeply grateful to them:
Rabbi and Mrs. Hendel from Athens, Greece, were prepared to welcome all 77 members of the group and host them for Shabbos. Rabbi and Mrs. Wilshansky of Milan were preparing to host the girls for Shabbos. Rabbi Pinny and Chava Backman of USF in Tampa were informed on Friday that the group would likely arrive there after Shabbos, and immediately prepared hundreds of meals and arrangements to host them. Ultimately, the plans shifted, but the powerful feeling that Chassidim ein mishpacha was deeply felt.

We also thank Mrs. Brachi Kogan, and Mrs. Sara Blau of Bais Rivkah, Golda Reichman, and the many parents involved for working tirelessly to ensure that all the details would be put in place.

We are grateful to Hashem for His endless kindness and our children’s safe return. We continue to daven for the safety of all Yidden in Eretz Yisroel and continued miracles!