Anti-Semitism

It said its information indicated that Israeli businessmen and ex-government officials were prime potential targets for assassination and/or kidnapping.

With all that in mind, the bureau reconfirmed that Israelis are barred altogether from travel to Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, where the “concrete” terror threat was “very high.”

In addition, it ordered Israelis not to travel to Sudan, Somalia, Algeria, Djibouti, Mauritania, Libya and Tunisia, and to leave these countries immediately if they were there, because of a similarly “very high” terror threat. Where Tunisia was concerned, it underlined what it said were the “threats to carry out attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets.”

The unusually shrill and widespread alert included an order to Israelis not to travel to the Sinai Peninsula, because of the chaotic situation in Egypt. The Sinai’s Red Sea resorts are a traditionally popular holiday destination for Israelis, especially at this time of year. The advisory noted that Sinai was off limits not only because of the general Egyptian disorder and a series of recent attacks in the Sinai, however, but also because of “information on the intention to carry out further attacks.”

Using only slightly less urgent language, the bureau, part of the National Security Council under the authority of the Prime Minister’s Office, ordered Israelis to “avoid visiting” the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt and Qatar, where it cited what it called a “basic” terrorist threat. Israel maintains peace agreements with both Jordan and Egypt, and the warning underlines what the bureau called “the complex security realities” in nations adjacent to Israel.

The bureau also told Israelis to postpone nonessential visits to Turkey, Oman and Morocco, because of “ongoing potential threats.”

Slightly further afield, it cited “very high” terror threats in Afghanistan, parts of southern Thailand, parts of the southern Philippines, east Senegal, India’s Kashmir province, northern Nigeria, parts of Kenya, and Chechnya. Israel were not to travel to any of those areas, and to leave immediately if they were there, it ordered.

The advisory also specified a “high” terror threat in Indonesia, Burkina-Faso, Ivory Coast, Togo, Mali, Malaysia and Pakistan, telling Israelis not to go there and urging them to leave as soon as possible if they were there now.

The bureau’s warning also specified concerns about terror threats to Israeli “business targets” worldwide, and especially in Africa, “in the wake of the exposure of a terrorist infrastructure in Nigeria over the past year.”

Generally, it urged Israelis traveling worldwide to take extra precautions, such as avoiding unexpected meetings or out of the way places, and to change regular travel routes.

The full report was made available on the National Security Council website (Hebrew only). [PDF, 6 pages]."