Leaving On a Jet Plane (or Not)

[I wrote these words en route from Zurich to Boston a bit over a week ago, but have only gotten to share them now.]

It happens almost every time I board a plane to return home from a trip, be it work-related or leisure.  Each time, from somewhere in the recesses of my mind I hear Peter, Paul & Mary singing John Denver's famed "Leaving on a Jet Plane."  It has been almost 50 years since I first head the song.

Holocaust Memorial - Vienna

Now my wife Laura and I are on a plane, from Zurich to Boston.  Zurich was but the transfer point after our flight from Budapest, Hungary as we closed out an 8-day visit to Vienna and Budapest as part of a Rabbinic Mission to `these two Central European cities.  It was a first visit to both cities for us. The trip, about which I will write at a later point, was eye-opening, informative, and in some ways, inspiring.

Shoes on the Danube Memorial to Murdered Jews

We left the US just two days after the inauguration of our new President.  We’ve watched the early days of this Administration from afar. I found myself reaching for news almost at any pause in our itinerary. Visiting two Central European cities which have dark pasts in Jewish history, learning about that history and how Austria and Hungary deal with their stained past, while watching this new Administration unfold its policies has been shocking.  Learning about totalitarian regimes and their heinous crimes against our Jewish people and others was, at times overwhelming. It brought back memories of my abbreviated visit to Berlin in August. Following the news as the President and his advisors rolled out one Executive order after another, each the fulfillment of a campaign promise, has been disturbing.  None of the actions has been more troubling than the January 27 Executive Order regarding refugees and immigration. 

Learning about the fate of Jewish citizens, immigrants and refugees in Hungary while watching the drama unfold in my own country has been bone-chilling.  Watching the news of the widespread protests was inspiring. It made me sad to be so far away at a time when it is necessary to stand up for our nation's values and character. (I take some comfort in having been able to participate in the Women's March in Boston the day before our departure.)

However, nothing brought home the new reality to which I am returning home than the scene Laura and I witnessed as we boarded our flight in Zurich.  A young girl, likely in her mid-20's was standing at the counter. She was trying to explain to the Swiss Air attendants that she had a proper student visa, permitting her to fly to Boston to start classes at Harvard for her Master's degree.  Another passenger stood by her side.  Clearly a stranger, and possibly an attorney, she was advising the flight attendants that the ban had been stayed by a court in Boston. The student, she argued, must legally be allowed to board the plane.

We were ushered along by the flight attendants. Just moments later, as we took our seats we saw the attorney, tears streaming down her face, coming down the aisle. "They denied her boarding?!?" we asked.  "Yes," she replied.  I thanked her for trying to help the young student whose fate at that counter. Right before our eyes we were brought face-to-face with the new reality to which we are flying home in an all-too-disturbing manner.

While I can feel good about our homecoming after a worthwhile mission with a group of colleagues and spouses, Peter, Paul & Mary's echo in my mind is discomforting on this flight. Too many are being denied the ability to leave on a jet plane opting to the narrow-minded, cold-hearted and brutal machinations of a disorganized and tyrannical President and his henchman. (Now, just over a week later the order has been stayed and our nation awaits a court ruling.)

Our plane departed only a short while ago, but my homecoming feels blemished.  Sure, I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and awakening my own home.  I am eager to see my children, and in only a few weeks, God-willing, to the arrival of our first grandchild. There is much to look forward to.  But the scene at the Zurich airport, but an hour ago, tempers my warm feelings. In fact, it underscores the disturbing news reports and images I’ve been watching from afar. My hopes are relatively intact.  My faith in my country is shaken.  May the jetlag be short-lived.  There is too much work to be done before too many of our country’s values and too much of its character are undone by a cold-hearted, dishonest bully, and his close circle of advisors whose reckless management of our nation over but a week-and-a-half has wrecked havoc not only across our nation, but around the globe.