Tefillin Sparks Bomb Scare in New Zealand

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tefillinA religious Israeli tourist sparked a bomb scare on Sunday on a New Zealand ferry when he put on tefillin. Armed counter-terrorism police met the ferry at Picton, on the South Island, and forced the man and his travelling companion to the ground before taking them away for questioning, the Dominion Post newspaper reported.  

It said that the incident occurred when the man began putting tefillin on his arm and forehead. Ferry operator Kiwirail said staff on the vessel, which had 750 passengers aboard, were concerned about a possible bomb threat and contacted police before it docked.

“One individual had two boxes attached, one box taped to his leg and one box seemingly taped to his forehead… there were what seemed to be wires attached to them,” Kiwirail spokesman Kevin Ramshaw told national news agency NZPA.

New Zealand Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres said the armed response was unfortunate and showed “an exaggerated fear of terrorism” in the country. 

“It’s just a reminder we ought to pause and think before we jump to conclusions,” he told the Dominion Post.

Police confirmed a man was questioned after reports he was acting suspiciously on the ferry and later released.

{AFP/HannahK Syndicated/Matzav.com}


2 COMMENTS

  1. I’d rather that people used their brains a little, and differentiate between legitimate ones and bogus ones.

    ‘Im ain daas havdala minayin’

    Of course everyone would “rather” be safe but it is a very dangerous argument if taken out of context. any reactionary behavior can be excused by just saying “well you’d rather be safe”

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