Mendle and the Lebanese in Australia from Planck's Constant

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Photo: Warren Hudson.

My friend Mendle, a Chabad Youth Leader, visits my office every Friday afternoon dropping off a copy of the weekly L'Chaim. Mendle, I believe, has more air miles than Michael Jordan, travelling as he does all over the world helping Jews learn how to pray and sharing with them his knowledge of the Torah. Visiting so many foreign countries, Mendle always has a story to tell me when he visits.

Today he told me about the time he was in Melbourne, Australia for two years back in 2005. He was there during the 2005 Cronulla riots. Mendle mentioned that the synagogues and Jewish schools in Melbourne had to have sophisticated security measures in place because of the anti-Semitism, much of it from Lebanese youths. In fact he said that he experienced more attacks against him in those two years in Melbourne than his whole life in Crown Heights. I asked him what kind of attacks. Well, he would come out of synagogue and a car would come around and its occupants would pelt him with eggs. "Sort of like a drive-by egging." I joked.

Coming back to America in 2006 he was on a United Airlines flight to San Francisco. When he got to the designated seat on his ticket he noticed a fully robed, Saudi-styled Arab gentleman and his burkad wife in the aisle seats. As he looked up to confirm his seat assignment, he heard snickering and laughter all around him as the passengers noticed that a Jew was going to sit in a seat flanked by a pair of Muslims.

Now Mendle is your typical young Chasid man, pictured here when he was in the Ukraine this Spring. After Mendle ensconced himself by the window, the Arab spoke to him and said, "I'm a Muslim." Mendle wondered at that time, whether the man was trying to make him comfortable by bringing out into the open the camel in the room or whether this was meant to intimidate him. Regardless Mendle said he was uncomfortable during the entire 14 hour flight. Interestingly the man said he was the Chief Justice under the Taliban in Afghanistan although he now lived in Florida.

I was curious whether he came to America before or after 9/11; Mendle had asked the same question, the Chief Judge said he came before. Somehow that still didn't make me feel comfortable. It made me wonder who you had to be before 9/11 to get denied entry into this country.

"Name?"

"Osama Bin Laden"

"Reason for coming to America? Business?"

"No, Pleasure, thought I like to come here and have a blast."

"What's in the brief case?"

"Just some alarm clocks; maps of the George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, Statue of Liberty, Washington Monument; a floppy with Microsoft Flight Simulator; $9.95 coupon for the buffet at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino; a few cigarette lighters, and a 12 ounce bottle of hair gel."

"How long will you be staying?"

"Until you American dogs surrender to the will of Allah."

"I see; OK I'll mark you down as waiting for the Democrats to take over Congress. Well, enjoy your stay in America."