Similar to previous years, the Israeli Foreign Ministry has issued a travel warning against Israelis and Jews traveling to more than 40 countries during the coming holiday season.

In a statement released to the press, the Ministry said: “The International Jihad forces together with Al-Qaeda are calling for and attempting to undertake attacks against Israeli and or Jewish targets across the globe. These forces continue to carry out terror attacks, with a strong focus being in countries located in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.”

The  list of locations and countries included Sinai (Egypt), Turkey, Jordan, Rest of Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Mali, Niger, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Thailand, South Phiipenes India’s Kashmir region, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Turkmenistan, the Persian Gulf countries, and other countries in southern Asia such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and others.

Israel’s six enemy countries, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen are illegal for Israelis to fly to. The other 40 countries on the list published by the Foreign Ministry are not illegal to fly to but the Ministry strongly recommends avoiding them during the upcoming holiday season due to special intelligence received that Muslim extremists are planning to attack any and all Israeli and Jewish targets in those countries.

The Ministry added that should an Israeli or Jewish person be traveling to one of these countries then it is best to avoid public occasions and to use a heightened level of awareness with regards to safety concerns. Additionally, it is advised that Israelis refrain from giving out information regarding the whereabouts of their local lodgings or any other information that can assist those wishing to hurt Israelis from knowing the details of your trip.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)