Citing rising antisemitism worldwide since Israel declared war on Hamas over the terror group’s October 7 onslaught in southern Israel, the National Security Council on Friday urged Israelis to reconsider any travel abroad while calling on those flying overseas to avoid outward displays of their Jewish and Israeli identities.
In a joint statement with the Foreign Ministry, the National Security Council said Israelis should “weigh the essentially” of their travel plans before departing and take additional precautions while out of the country.
Israeli embassies, airports that take in flights from Israel as well as Jewish communities and religious institutions abroad “are a major target of antisemitic protest events and attempted attacks,” the announcement said.
The statement called on Israelis not to visit countries with travel warnings in place, “particularly Arab countries and the Middle East, the North Caucasus and countries that border Iran.”
Those traveling in countries without travel warnings should be on the lookout for protests and “displays of violence against Israel,” according to the statement.
It also advised Israelis to refrain from discussing “serving in the Israeli security services, including the army,” with strangers.
The National Security Council and Foreign Ministry have already raised the travel warnings for a number of countries and called on Israelis visiting them to leave as soon as possible, including Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. Earlier this week, they said Israeli citizens should avoid traveling to Russia’s North Caucasus and those already there should leave, after an antisemitic riot at an airport in the Muslim-majority region of Dagestan,
