Israel urges citizens to reconsider foreign travel amid rise in antisemitic incidents

The Israeli government has urged its citizens to reconsider foreign travel and has asked to exercise caution abroad in the wake of rising antisemitic incidents across the world since the start of the war.

The Israeli National Security Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it has observed a “significant rise in antisemitism and anti-Israel incitement alongside life-threatening violent attacks on Israelis and Jews around the world,” even in countries that do not have “terrorism-related travel warnings.”

A statement by the bodies read, “Jewish communities, religious and community establishments (synagogues, Chabad centers, kosher restaurants and Israeli businesses), Israeli delegations, and airports with flights to and from Israel are key targets for protests and attacks by antisemitic groups.”

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in the US said its preliminary data showed a 388 per cent rise in antisemitic incidents in the US from October 7 to October 23 over the prior year. The group reported 312 incidents including harassment, vandalism and assault. About 190 of those were directly linked to the war between Israel and Hamas, ADL said.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, the Biden administration unveiled plans to combat rising cases of antisemitism in US colleges.

The White House has said that it will deploy dozens of cybersecurity experts to help educational institutions examine antisemitic and Islamophobic threats.

Apart from this, the Department of Justice and Homeland Security are also working with campus police to track down hate-related rhetoric.