Jewish residents in the Polish city of Poznan recently discovered that their community rabbi was in fact a fraud. Several years ago, Jacoob Ben Nistell arrived in the city dressed as an ultra-Orthodox Jew, complete with beard and sidelocks. He had dyed his natural blond hair to a darker color. He claimed he was a resident of Haifa, Israel, and had family there, including a son in the Israel Defense Forces. The community eventually agreed to have him serve as their rabbi, although without pay. He rose to prominence, often leading services and representing his community at interfaith events. He also taught Judaism in schools. Even city and state officials were fooled, and sent him invitations for official events as if he was the chief rabbinical authority in the city. His real identity was uncovered two weeks ago when a former neighbor saw the "rabbi" being interviewed on TV. According to the German outlet Deutsche Welle, when a local newspaper followed up and contacted him, he reportedly admitted he was not a rabbi. The Polish paper discovered that his name was Jacek Niszczota and that he was in fact Catholic. He apparently works as a cook in Ciechanow, in north-central Poland. Alicja Kobus, vice president of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland, said she was surprised by the revelation. "I never checked his documents," she said. "He said he came from Haifa, his mother still lives there, and he has an Israeli passport and a son in the army. I believed he was who he said he was because of how he looked and how he was able to pray in Hebrew and knew the customs of the Jewish [faith]," she said according to the Daily Mail. Members of the community said they had long suspected he was not who he claimed he was. "We knew something was wrong, but we were afraid of reporting to Alicja, because we knew Alicja was close to him, and she, as someone who has ties to the regime, could retaliate," one member said. Other members said they noted he was not well versed in Jewish customs and traditions and had a strange demeanor. Some even said he held a Torah book (perhaps a Torah scroll) upside down. According to the Polish media, he used the name Yaakav Ben Nistell on Facebook, but the account was recently taken down.
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שיתוף כתבה
Polish city's longtime rabbi turns out to be Catholic cook
"Rabbi Jacoob Ben Nistell," who led Jewish community in Poznan for several years, seemed to be an ultra-Orthodox Jew • Residents were surprised when he held Torah upside down, but did not speak up • True identity emerged after neighbor reported on him.