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Video: Jew Who Was Expelled from Israel Interviewed

Shneur Zalman Haskelevitch with a Kikar Shabbos correspondent in his home in Morocco.

Shneur Zalman Haskelevitch, 35, an orthodox Jew who grew up in Crown Heights, was banned from Israel in 2005. The rare move was taken by Israel in the wake of an intelligence investigation, after it was discovered that he had visited six Arab countries, including Iraq during the U.S. invasion. This week, Kikar Shabbos met up with him in his home in Morocco, and heard all about his unique day-to-day life.

Although he grew up in a Chabad family, Zalman considers himself a follower of Breslov Chasidism.

When the officials investigated him upon his arrival in Israel, they were surprised to find a Quran in his possessions, and that he spoke a fluent Arabic. Zalman was arrested after the investigation revealed that he had threatened to harm then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon due to the disengagement from Gaza. He was transferred to the custody of the General Security Service, who expelled him from Israel.

This was the first time in Israeli history that a Jew was expelled from the county for national security reasons.

In an exclusive interview with Kikar Shabbos, Zalman expressed his wishes to contest his expulsion with Interior Minister Eli Yishai.

A spokesman for the Minister responded, “Mr. Yishai puts great trust in the hands of those who are responsible for keeping Israel safe, and does not intervene in their decisions.”

Interview is conducted in Hebrew

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49 Comments

  • a product of OT kindness

    May he be blessed with a refuah shliemah very soon.

    To his classmates of OT: This is what happens when you tease a child nonstop. Please teach your children to be different.

  • mendoza

    wow ,,,, he is interesting guy, very much like his father . the way he speaks and his manerisems….oh well we both went to oheli torah , as u can see my bad spelling

  • yukel

    the end is the best, you want your car visa up to date but that no one cares but this exceptional yid kick him out…the system is corrupt and messed up.

  • is it true?

    the main question that he did not answer is why he is living where he is and if he does carry around a Quran, and if he has anything againts israel

    just because he is jewish and chabad does not mean they can not be evil

  • Boruch Sholom Wolf

    Actually, Chaim Ben Pesach (Victor Vancier) was also banned from Israel, so Haskelevitch isn’t the first.

  • A jew

    wow this community has nothing better to do then speak lashon hara. this is the best way to pass time before moshiach comes…isent it?

  • meir rhodes

    zalman is a legand. he traveled all over the middle east thru arab countries as a jew and was banned from entering israel.ironic no?
    as far as the koran ,perhaps he was learning koran in order to converse with moslems. that’s the way to connect if you’re living among them.

  • Ohalei torahnik

    הקטן הזה גדול יהיה.
    Zalmen zalmen…. I am sorry if I ever teased you….

  • dfg

    ot to this day is a messed up place. rich matter, poor don’t. he was not the first nor last to be teased there. they care about money, oh, and yiddish.

  • yossel

    lots of bochurim regulerly travel to arab contreis frome all yeshivos its a thrill and a chalenge

  • no koran

    he never had a koran, the story was copied word for word from the contradictory left wing Maariv years ago…they wrote hes a “chamasnik” and wants to kill sharon cuz of the “hitnakut” makes sense???

  • Yakkov from Boro Park

    If you are wondering if Israel really thought he was a security threat… consider this: they picked him up and didn’t investigate much, they claimed that he was considering an assassination against ariel sharon. They put him on a plane and sent him to NY. If they really thought he was planning something, they would keep him and try to get info out of him… when the New York Times wanted to write up this story they contacted the Israeli authorities for a comment, when Israel didn’t make an official comment about him, they declined writing the story because it was not officially confirmed. In other words, I for one presume, they didn’t have any hard facts, they figured, why bother with this guy, just send him away, that’s the easy way. If he was an Israeli national, they would have to decide, criminal or not, if we have charges make a case, if we don’t have any we let him go home. Because he is not Israeli and they picked up a guy they had suspicion about (because he looked charedi but didn’t do exactly as the other charedim do.. travel, reading etc.) once they realized they had nothing concrete, they thought, we don’t need to decide, just eject him… so they did… anyone who knows the story disagree?

  • ot-nick

    the only thing missing from this gan izzy night activity or color war scavenger show is huda lipsker, leizer mishulovin and zalman morozov

  • Is it True Asks LOL What a NUt ,

    I asked Zalman About the Koran (NOt that i have a problem with it, the Koran Is shtus not Avoda Zara…) He said In Ramalla a Arab Boy took a tramp with him and asks him in Arabic if he “Davened” or would he like to daven in his House..(maybe they had clean fresh rugs) , So ZAlman said NO! He asks do you have a Koran in the car? he said No, The kid said “Here is my Koran” and handed it to him, I love how 5 asks about Koran and Evil, #5 you watch to much TV go learn Rambam!

  • Is it True Asks LOL What a NUt ,

    he never had a koran, the story was copied word for word from the contradictory left wing Maariv years ago…they wrote hes a “chamasnik” and wants to kill sharon cuz of the “hitnakut” makes sense???

  • dada

    actually there were MANY lubavitch bochrim “deported” from Isreal when they protested Sharon’s disengagement

    they fought off soldiers until they were literally dragged into custody and put on a plane back to New York

  • Zalman is a Tzadik

    Zalman is a true Tzadik, went on Mesirus Nefesh to visit and clean up the graves of Tzadikim in Arab countries. Even went up against the authorities in Egypt (With success) to re-allow jews to visit the Kever of Rabbi Yaakov Abuchatzera in Demanhur Egypt.
    Aharon Hakohen in Jordan
    Yechezkel in Baghdad
    Helped the Yidden in Damascus and Halab.

    The list goes on…

  • 1 fun di alte chaverim

    he was always different. I mean DIFFERENT…
    any chabadnik who first grows lange peios then shaves off his beard is a bit unstable… reminds you of someone else…

  • Zalman yesh lo michnasayim

    Helped the Yidden in Damascus and Halab.

    There are no Jews left in Damascus or Halab except one wealthy family that does not need anyone’s help – they even travel back and forth from the US because they sell their textiles in NY schlock shops.

    This guy is meshugge. I fear for the girl he recently married; she had a business in Europe and a great future and now she is holed up in Morocco with this nut. I can’t help but be reminded about Yusuf Khattab ne Joey Cohen.

  • a third party

    I salute this guy, very intellectual. half of you people with a fish bowl over your heads are dumb enough not to even realize that you have the ‘right’ to be jealous of such a man.

    This community is what i denounced a long time ago, the place though i am more then happy to claim as a home.

    I hope the future holds a lot better for the next generation.

  • a third party

    …And I love the way they only show the part of the interview that they want you to see.

  • thoughts

    #26. let me just explain what the “first grows lange peyos and then shaves off the beard it about””:
    usually it means that the father or both parents were not able to raise their child with a strong enough identity. so unfortunately, the person who has this, will spend the majority of his/her time, trying to figure out who they are, who they can be, and which type works for them. It usually lasts for most of their life, unfortunately. That is one of the drawbacks to poor parenting and uninvolved parents who are present in their kids lives just enough but not enough. Its tragic.

  • Zalman yesh lo michnasayim - al harosh

    Very intellectual. He sounds like he has about three functionig brain cells.

    Switching from Chabad to Breslov is not a problem in and of itself – if someone feels Reb Nachman’s Torah is his derech, so be it so long as he leads a Torah life – but this guy is clearly unbalanced.

    BTW Rav Avraham Hecht was among those banned from entry in the mid 90s for his statements against Rabin.

  • What right do YOU have....

    I don’t think anyone can comment based on what they read and see here.
    There is so little information, he may be a Tzaddik or a Rasha, but I doubt he’s either.
    Definatly sounds interesting.

  • Saying truth?

    If he is speaking to person with camera or in that direction, notice there is barely any eye contact…

  • Pace

    Why does it make a difference whom you pledge allegiance to? Isn’t serving G-d the ultimate goal, so be it lubavitch, satmar, ger, breslov or litvish.

    I am appalled by the hatred within these comments, so he was lubavitich and now breslov. The important question is, where are you in the service of G-d? Stop looking at what others are doing!

  • Tzvi Hirsh Lustig

    Many people reached greatness with their A.D.D. (I.E Jet blue CEO David Neeleman) However unfortunately our schools have educators without degrees in education and only know how to translate Vayomer Hashem to Yiddish… The end result is a child that gets sent home for not being a “Regular child” and the parent believes the school system knows what they are doing so obviously if they sent him home it was because he is making trouble. Meanwhile the child does not know what the adults want from him, he is just being himself… this is a product of our own environment, wake up!

  • Good cadre for CIA

    He should apply for a position of OSA (Open Source Analyst) of CIA. After certain clearance, training and certification, he would be reading Arab Newspapers and Listen Arab Radio. Jews speaking Arabic are ideal candidates for this kind of job.

  • This is Zalman speaking

    I ask not to bother Eli Yishai, cause his causin told me, he is taking a suntan in Greece with his wife. But usualy Haredi newspapers are always a broken telephone. Baruch Hashem I never harm prime ministers or violin players. Israeli paranoya is disconected from reality. As our sages say “who ever lifts his hand on his fellow even if he didnt strike yet is called evil…

  • zalman

    the reason why i had a quraan in the car on front window is simple it kept the car safe from mobs breaking cars of cristions in the muslim world and boy did it help alot better than the crown hights shmirah … its called :“a yiddishe kop”

  • Enough!

    While our system is not perfect, it is the oisvorfen THEMSELVES who are to blame for being oisvorfen.

    If he were really Breslov, there would be no issue; Breslov is completely acceptable as a derech in avoidas Hashem. This, however, is just an example of a diseased oisvorf looking for attention the way the Neturei Karta and Boteach do – by doing and saying outrageous things.

    Time for people to take responsibility for themselves and to stop blaming “the system” or “da man” the way they do on Utica Avenue.

    And time for us to call a spade a spade, an oisvorf an oisvorf, and a shaygetz a shaygetz. Ahavas Yisroel does not mean accepting wrong as right and turning a menuval into a tzaddik!

  • Un vrai fou?

    I seriously hope 41 and 42 are not the real Zalman. If they are, and I don’t think they are for one moment, someone needs to call Rebbetzin Raskin, the Banons, or the Edelmans and arrange for one of the many French-trained psychiatrists in Casablanca to visit Zalman ASAP.

  • Un vrai fou?

    Umm..you don’t have to be a psychiatrist to realize that posts 41 (especially) and 42 are either a good joke (which I hope they are) or the ramblings of someone totally disconnected from reality. 42 looks like a good joke but 41 scares me.

    My only deal is that I know Morocco very well and I know that the shluchim there do know all the good doctors. I also know what and who #27 is referring to and if this Zalman is off the wall, she may be in danger.

    It really isn’t my problem, though, so I hope the shluchim in Morocco are aware and know how to handle things if he does go majnoun.

  • Zev Engel

    I love how all you people are judging him from this one clip and a story they attached to him. I grew up in CH, went to Ohalei Toire, and I remember him too but, I still don’t claim to know him now. who the hell are you who judge him or his parents?!?!?
    I remember when I was a teenager growing up in CH I would hear stories about myself which were not true at all but, people like to talk, and people love to talk about people that are different then them. If I met Zalman I would shake his hand and, I would love to sit with him and talk about his life. he sounds very intelligent to me and I give him respect!
    Zev Engel
    PS you are all great big talkers but constantly remain anonymous. shame on you!!

  • zalman

    zev my pleasure i live in morocco come for a pessach its a michaye call me anytime +212659384556 or 011 @ the beg.
    love
    zalman