With its rich Jewish history and an infinitesimally small Jewish presence, Iraq beckoned to Moshe Klein

Photos: Moshe Klein

In the course of his worldwide travels, intrepid globetrotter Moshe Klein has visited places that are beautiful, uplifting, and exciting. But if he had to pick one word to describe the country he visited during Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, it would most likely be “dangerous.” Because no matter how many precautions you take, and how careful you try to be, personal safety is never guaranteed when you visit Iraq

Flying Under the Radar

Klein was well aware that Iraq had earned its spot on the State Department’s do-not-travel list, with various militias and ISIS operating freely without fear of governmental reprisal. The fact that the American soldiers who had been stationed in Iraq for 20 years had all been called home, left Klein without a friendly military there to call on in case he got into trouble. And yet, with its rich Jewish history and an infinitesimally small Jewish presence, Iraq still beckoned to Klein.

Joining Klein on his trip was his close friend, a fellow seasoned traveler named Beri. The two were excited by the prospect of being able to daven at significant but rarely visited kevarim during Aseres Yemei Teshuvah. Given the inherent risks in visiting Iraq, Klein hired a fixer, someone well connected with local law enforcement who has his ear to the ground. Not surprisingly, fixers charge top dollar for their services.

“A fixer is someone who knows where it is dangerous and where it is safe, and has the ability to assess a situation within hours,” says Klein. “You might have something on your itinerary and a fixer will tell you not to go there, or he might turn a 90-minute drive into an all-night trip in order to avoid places that are dangerous.”

Klein’s fixer was a gun-carrying Kurd named Ahmed, who advised Klein to book lodging at small guest houses during his trip, since staying in hotels could attract unwanted attention. From the moment he left New York until his return three days later, Klein worked hard to look as inconspicuous and as non-Jewish as he possibly could.

“I didn’t dress chassidish when I boarded our Qatar Airways flight,” says Klein. “I had my peyos hidden under my cap, and I was wearing Nike shoes that I normally wouldn’t be wearing.”

But somehow, Yidden can always recognize a landsman, and despite Klein’s efforts, his cover was blown before his plane to Doha, the capital of Qatar, even took off.

“We were standing there minding our own business when a family from the Five Towns came over and gave us shalom aleichem, and asked us where we were going,” says Klein. “The father was a rabbi, and they were catching a flight to South Africa, where he had been invited to speak, while we were traveling on to Baghdad.”

Thankfully, both legs of Klein’s journey to Iraq passed uneventfully. He did have a few stressful moments when Ahmed called him during his stopover in Qatar to say that he wouldn’t be able to come to the airport in person, and was sending his driver instead.

“I was very nervous, but baruch Hashem, we got our visas right away, and he took us straight to meet Ahmed without any issues,” says Klein.