Kobi Trabelsi, a Haredi man who tried to enter Jordan with his wife and kids, on Sunday told Reshet Bet radio about his treatment by the Jordanian border police who refused to let him into the country because of his earlocks: “When my wife went over to try to talk to the policeman, he told her in English, cut them off,” Trabelsi reported. So far there hasn’t been any reaction from Israel’s foreign ministry to the behavior of its neighbor who depends on the Jewish State for the very water they drink.
“כשאשתי ניגשה לנסות לדבר עם השוטר, הוא אמר לה באנגלית “תחתכי אותם” (את הפאות)”: קובי טרבלסי, בחור שומר מצוות שניסה להיכנס עם משפחתו לירדן, מספר על הבקשות והבדיקות של הירדנים שבסוף סירבו להכניס אותם למדינה#עצם_העניין עם @KalmanLiebskind pic.twitter.com/YRDVp5Q6i4
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 16, 2023
According to Trabelsi, he waited with his family for two hours at the Israel-Jordanian border, and during this time many Israelis continued to cross the border into Jordan. “One of the Jordanians told us, we want to let you in, but during the visit, you must hide your earlocks,” Trabelsi said. “He talked about the situation in Israel and said they are concerned about our security.”
This was not the first time he has visited Jordan, and in his previous visits, he had been allowed to enter despite his earlocks, even during the month of Ramadan.
After two hours of waiting, the border police officers stamped their passports, and Trabelsi, his wife, and their children started to go through, but then another policeman appeared and delayed them for another hour and a half.
Treblesi said his wife talked to the policeman, and he told her to tell her husband to cut his earlocks. “When my wife went over to try to talk to the policeman, he told her in English, ‘Cut them off.’”
Finally, the Jordanian police revoked the stamps in their passports, and Trabelsi said he and his wife decided to return to Israel and give up the pleasure of visiting Jordan. He has also visited Egypt and Morocco and says there was never a problem with his earlocks or the tzitzis that stick from under his shirt – only in Jordan.
On February 21, security personnel at Amman’s Queen Alia international airport cut off the tefillin straps that were carried in a bag by Rabbi Moshe Haliva, the rabbi of the Sephardic community in Dubai. The rabbi was on a connecting flight from Israel to Abu Dhabi, via Amman. According to the Jordanians, the leather straps can be used “to hang a person during a flight,” which is why they were removed.
In August 2022, Israel increased by 25% the amount of water it transfers to Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, and the Gaza Strip, from 77 million cubic meters per year to 96 million cubic meters.
Jordanian dependence on Israel increased greatly in 2022, when the kingdom purchased twice as much water from Israel in the first half of the year, compared to the first six months of 2021.
In recent years, Jordan has been dealing with the depletion of its natural water sources, alongside an increase in consumption by the growing population. The water crisis is destabilizing the kingdom, and large areas of the country only get water once a week. The additional water supply from Israel, therefore, helps the regime’s survival.
Israel is also helping Gaza more than before: in September 2021, the Bennett-Lapid government decided to increase the water supply to the Strip by 50% and transfer there an additional 5 million cubic meters on top of the 10 million cubic meters that Israel already transfers to the PA and Gaza every year.
I’m just saying.
