Leaving Via Egypt

By: Larry Gordon

Once again, it’s like a game of musical chairs, but this one involves airports and airplanes. Iranian missiles, rockets, and drones have closed down Ben Gurion Airport yet again, forcing travelers to figure out how to get from point A to point B.

Most Israelis and visitors to Israel are hunkering down, always cognizant of the location of safe rooms and shelters, but also devising plans to either enter Israel or leave as their personal situation demands.

So, with Purim gone and Pesach about three weeks away, we are confronted with devising routes through some unfriendly neighboring countries to get to where we need to go. As far as plans to spend Pesach in Israel, that is a matter we will have to deal with once all the students are finally able to leave.

As I write these words, three of our grandchildren are scheduled to be on their individual flights before the end of the week. So, by the time this issue makes it into your hands, we will know much more about the situation.

After last June’s 12-Day War, when American B-2 Bombers obliterated Iranian nuclear sites, people used some of their ingenuity to figure out how to reach airports in neighboring countries from which they could buy tickets back to Europe or America.

As it turns out, one of the most utilized routes was by car to Eilat, crossing the border at Taba, and then hiring an Israeli or Egyptian cab driver to take them to the larger airport in Sharm El Shiekh, which lies at the Southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula on the Red Sea.

The Taba area used to belong to Israel and was a busy and lively beach town that was taken away by the United Nations from Israel and awarded to Egypt. So, while it was once a safe Israeli beach resort, with one flick of a pen it became a dangerous Egyptian city.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Jewish tourists from Israel were congregating near the Sharm El Sheikh airport. In one specific case, a group of American seminary girls were reportedly detained by Egyptian police or airport officials and some claim they were assaulted to an extent.

In other instances, husbands and wives who were traveling together were separated. In some cases, they were extorted and told that their passports were invalid until they came up with a few hundred dollars and their passports magically became valid.

My friend, David Bodenheim, who has an office near ours in Cedarhurst, popped over to Israel for a friend’s wedding a day before the war with Iran broke out. When he learned that his El Al flight was cancelled, he applied his resourcefulness and contacts and got to work.

The route he took was as follows: He took a taxi to Eilat where he hired another driver to take him across the border to Egypt. The driver wanted $27 to take him across, so he gave him $100 to share with the security personnel they encountered. Once safely over the border, he hired another driver to take him to Sharm El Sheikh, which he says is a 3- to 4-hour drive.

From there, he booked a flight to Istanbul, Turkey which is not exactly a place to picnic either. He says that he kept to himself while in Istanbul, and even managed to put his tefillin on in a corner of the airport. He relates that he observed how some of the travelers, who were more visibly Jewish by their dress, were also hit up by Turkish airport officials with the “invalid passport” scam until they produced enough money to “validate” the passports.

From Istanbul, David was able to fly direct to Newark Airport, where he landed close to 11 p.m. and made it to the non-stop minyan shul in Cedarhurst where he caught the midnight Megillah reading. He said his ordeal felt somewhat dangerous at times, and he’s glad to be home.

You can hear more of David’s story on our podcast “Between the Lines” on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple as well as on the 5TJT.com website. n

Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.