Since the beginning of the Swords of Iron War, Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) has been conducting ongoing situation assessments together with the Israeli security organizations.
The NSC released recommendations last month (Nov. 3) for Israelis abroad, emphasizing threats existing in several countries, but since that time, the threat levels in many countries have changed and in many cases, have been raised in accordance with the in-depth analysis conducted by the Council.
Alerts were raised this month to to threat level 2 for countries in Western Europe, including the UK, France and Germany, as well as in South America (Brazil and Argentina), Australia and Russia.
Israelis who find themselves or travel to the above countries are urged to exercise “increased caution,” the NSC said.
The threat level has been raised even higher — to threat level 3 — for countries in Africa (South Africa and Eritrea) and Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan) with Israelis urged to “reconsider non-essential travel to these countries.”
Iran and its proxies, including Hamas and Global Jihad factions have increased their efforts to attack Israelis and Jewish targets worldwide since the beginning of the war on October 7th, the NSC said.
“At the same time, there is a constant and significant rise in incitement, attempted attacks and manifestations of antisemitism in many countries,” the NSC noted.
As a result, “the NSC reiterates and underlines its recommendation to weigh the essentiality of travel at this time. For Israeli citizens traveling abroad, we recommend choosing their destinations wisely, while exercising recommended precautionary measures wherever they are.”
The NSC urged Israelis abroad to “examine their conduct in light of the recommendations detailed on the NSC website,” especially including the following:
a. Postponing travel to countries for which travel warnings have been issued, and particularly Arab and Middle Eastern countries, the North Caucasus, countries bordering Iran and several Muslim countries in Asia.
b. Checking whether there have been anti-Israel protests and violence at the destination, even in countries for which no travel warnings have been issued.
c. Staying away from demonstrations and protests.
d. Remaining alert while abroad and being aware of things happening around you.
e. Avoiding openly displaying your Israeli and Jewish identities and any relevant symbols and, and staying away from Israeli and Jewish gatherings.
f. Finding out in advance the phone numbers for emergency services in the destination country and of the Israeli mission, if there is one.
