Rejected for Aliya, the "Marooned" Couple Leaves Israel

Rejected for Aliya by Nefesh bNefesh, the "marooned" couple, Jack and Suzan Baumann are on their way back home to Sunny Flordia.

On Monday, the Interior Ministry said it had never received an aliya request for either Jack or his second wife, Suzan. The couple say they were in contact with the Nefesh B’Nefesh aliya organization before arriving on January 7. On Sunday evening, the couple said they were notified by Nefesh B’Nefesh that their aliya application had been rejected.

Apparently, the JPost needed to follow-up on all the unanswered questions about this unfortunate couple and reported today that a Dutch financial analyst has paid the 9000 NIS debt so the Baumanns could leave Israel.

Responding to allegations that he was a con artist and had purchased heroin in the past, which appear on the anonymously authored “Exclusive Vending” Web page, Jack Baumann said, “When I started reading that it upset me so much. I just couldn’t believe what people were saying. I want people to know I’ve never touched heroin, and I am no con artist. That Web site really hurt.”

Baumann said his past “was far from being clean” and that he had made “many mistakes.” At the same time, he said, the Web site’s allegations had no relation to reality.

“I have made many mistakes,” Baumann said. “In 1999, I got into a fight with a group of people who were very rude to my first wife. I was convicted of assault, and received a probation sentence.”

In addition to the Exclusive Vending Web page, there are dozens of other websites with allegations against the Jack Baumann, including the Ripoff Report Consumer Advocacy website. All of this in addition to the 9000 NIS debt here in Israel.

I hope the Baumanns repay their Dutch benefactor quickly and that their Zionist fervor enables them to rebuild their lives, legally regain their fortunes, get accepted for Aliya by NbN and move to Israel without incurring any more debt (here or anywhere else).

There's a Red Bull on ice waiting for you here!


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Couple Stranded at Ben Gurion Airport? I Doubt it.

In one of the more dubious stories I've seen on the JPost lately, the following one has to take the cake.

The JPost describes a couple that came to Israel for a visit...implying this was a pre-Aliya pilot trip. Things went south very quickly for them...or so it seems.

Let's read this article:

Miami couple marooned at Ben-Gurion; Wife miscarries in airport; husband claims debt result of mistaken identity.

BY YAAKOV LAPPIN 08/02/2010 02:03

Yow! This sounds like an awful story! How horrible! Can Israel possibly be such a cruel hearted country? Over 160 secondary news outlets picked up this story and ran with it as well...as fact.

After becoming stranded at Ben-Gurion Airport due to an alleged NIS 9,000 debt, an American couple’s journey to Israel has been transformed into a nightmare.

Jack and Suzan Baumann, from Miami, arrived on January 7 for a visit and hoped to soon make aliya, but unforeseen circumstances meant that their immigration process ground to a halt.

Unforeseen circumstances interrupted their visit or their immigration process?

With nowhere to go, the Baumanns were forced to stay in a number of hotels, using up their funds. Last Tuesday, the couple abandoned their plans for aliya, and decided to return to Florida.

Lets review what we know so far. The Baumann's visited Israel. They had some sort of unforeseen circumstances. They were forced to stay in a number of hotels using up their funds. So you would think their unforeseen circumstances meant that wherever they were planning on staying for free, didn't pan out...and they had to go to numerous hotels and pay in cash.

What does this have to do with abandoning their plans for aliya? Obviously, this must have been something rather traumatic; so they decided that their trip is ruined, they want to return to Florida, and they want to cancel their aliya plans.

A nasty surprise awaited them at Ben-Gurion Airport, however, when Jack, 49, discovered that a no-exit ban had been imposed on him by a Haifa court over a debt of NIS 9,000. He was told he could leave only if he paid the sum.

Efforts by Jack to trace the source of the debt failed, and he spent several hours trying to navigate complex bureaucracy on the phone, as his funds dwindled.

Several hours on the phone, and his funds dwindled? Was he using a Satellite phone at 10 dollars a minute? Theywere already in the airport...

He and Suzan were forced to live at the airport for five days, during which his newly pregnant wife suffered a miscarriage in a bathroom.

When the couple asked about medical assistance, a nurse at the airport told them that they would have to pay money they did not have for an ambulance, and, fearing another debt, they remained at Ben-Gurion.

Fearing another debt? They came here without travel insurance? The wife suffers a miscarriage and they decide its better to stay in the airport?

A second medical problem emerged when Jack began suffering from a bad infection of the root canal and sinuses, which began spreading up to his cheekbone and eye, causing severe pain and swelling.

This sounds extremely painful. He deserves our sympathy. I know, he didn't get it treated because medical treatment means...more debt.

“We have nowhere to go,” he said. “Unfortunately, my family is dysfunctional and unable to help me. We are desperate, and we fear the cold streets are our next stop,” Jack said. “I believe this is a case of mistaken or forged identity, because I was not in the country during the year the debt was incurred,” he said. “We have no access to shelter or food, let alone legal assistance, so we cannot track this debt down, and we cannot pay it.”

Who exactly is Jack Baumann? I would think the JPost would have at least used "google" to do a quick spot check on who he is...

Lets see what Google finds? Obviously, the Jack Baumann we're looking for needs to be connected to Israel (he's visited before, yet in his own words, he wasn't here during the year the debt was incurred.)

Jack, a chef by profession, lived in Israel in the past and helped design the menu of well-known Tel Aviv restaurants such as Planet Hollywood in Tel Aviv and Columbus in Herzliya.

Wow - a professional chef as well. Lets add that to our google search:

Google: "Jack Baumann" Israel chef

First result: No, no no! This can't possibly be true! A website dedicated to Jack Baumann, and how he deceived and swindled people out of money -- is involved in fraud, theft and heroin trafficking? It can't possibly be the same Jack...after all, our Jack is a professional chef who worked at Planet Hollywood and wants to make aliya (well, he wanted to before his current trip to Israel).

Low and behold Jack got fired from working in the kitchen at "Mike's Place" a restaurant in Jerusalem where he was working for five weeks at a meager salary. "Mike's Place" fired for incompetence and other workers demanding his removal. Jack got the kitchen job by claiming to have 33 years of kitchen experience, including being executive chef at TGI Fridays and Planet Hollywood.

OK, lets assume that's a case of mistaken identity.

In Israel, Jack Baumann is wanted for an outstanding debt. What would you expect Israel's legal system to do?

This story reads like a con-man's delight. Was the JPost reporter simply fooled by a con-man looking for a quick buck? Is this poor family still living in Ben-Gurion airport? The JPost comment section even had an email address posted "this is not a scam -- send wire transfers to help this family".

I wrote to the email address, offering cash -- but have not received a reply. I even offered to meet them at the airport... No reply.

I assume this far fetched story is possible, but so many details are missing from the JPost report, that its hard to take this seriously.

Of course, that didn't stop the story from getting carried around the world -- giving Israel a bad name.

The ending is the clincher:

The couple have not eaten properly or showered in days, have walked many kilometers in cold rain seeking help, and say that without outside help, their future looks grim.

“We have tried every emergency help available, including the US Embassy, but were told they could not pay the debt, but only the plane ticket home,” he said. “We have never been in a situation like this.”

Every emergency help available? They could have hitch-hiked to Beilinson hospital to help deal with the miscarriage! They could have written up a sign asking for help -- this is Israel; I can't imagine they wouldn't get help from people -- heck, why didn't they call Nefesh B'Nefesh and say that this could help save their chances for aliya.

Too many pieces of this story fail to make much sense. If you know otherwise, I'd love to know...and help this family out. Of course, if they are the swindlers that are posted all over the web, then I don't have much sympathy for them at all -- since the story sounds bogus.

And kudos to Israel's legal system -- for helping those who Jack owes money to.


Going to Israel?
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Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד