Doesn't feel good, does it? Only this one is probably true. For anyone who isn't aware, the neighborhoods and streets mentioned are all in Boston. Maybe there's another Milton Kapner from the Boston area.
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For the congregants of Young Israel, which like many synagogues is increasingly security-conscious since Sept. 11, Milton Kapner never posed a physical threat. But the fast-talking guest, who told congregants he graduated from Columbia University and lost his home in Needham, began making people feel uncomfortable, even chasing some away from services.
"The truth is he was welcome here, as long as he followed the rules," said Robert Wolff, the synagogue's former president. "But after a while, people lost their patience."
Approached recently at the McDonald's on Harvard Street, where he often cajoles people to buy him a free meal, Kapner refused to speak. In a previous phone interview, he complained: "I've been excommunicated. It's the worst thing that can happen to a Jew."
A few days later, after a crossing guard reported Kapner was endangering himself walking through traffic on Washington Street, he ambled into Brookline District Court and started screaming, police said. Health officials decided to commit him to a hospital, where he will stay until doctors release him.
"Maybe this is the best thing for him," said Baronofsky, Young Israel's president. "Hopefully, it will help."
David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com.
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