The Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, chaired by MK Gilad Kariv (Labor), convened on Monday for a debate on the topic of “Operation Rising Lion – threats against Jewish communities and Israelis in the diaspora.”
Some 150,000 Israelis remain stranded abroad and are unable to return to the country. In order to expedite their return home, Israelis are gathering in places where, due to the large concentration of Israelis and Jewish people, the likelihood that they will be targeted is particularly high.
“The Iranian regime has announced its plan to act against Israeli and Jewish communities around the world, and we must make certain that we are prepared for this,” said Committee Chair MK Kariv. “We will monitor the expansion of the Security Fund for world Jewry, which is managed within the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism. We will hold classified follow-up debates so long as the security tension persists. Israel has a clear security interest in bringing back the maximum amount of Israelis in the least amount of time. The Government of Israel has sole responsibility for bringing the Israelis home. There need to be regular flights, every day of the week, to bring Israelis home, while taking into account the operational conditions on the ground. Flights that bring back Israelis should operate on Shabbat as well.”
Eitan Keidar of the National Security Council said, “Situational assessments on the Israeli and Jewish communities abroad are conducted on a daily basis. We have disseminated the relevant recommendations to all Israelis who are currently abroad. We have added personnel who provide a response to Israelis who are stranded abroad. We ask that Israelis who are stranded abroad follow our instructions. At this point, there are no changes to our travel warnings. We are continuously mapping the movement of Israelis around the world and, if needed, we will activate the appropriate warning signals.”
Raheli Baratz, head of the World Zionist Organization’s Department for Combatting Antisemitism and Enhancing Resilience, said “There is an increase in the gathering of intelligence on Jewish communities abroad and on Israelis who are stranded [abroad]. There are messages with foreign links asking to assist those who are stranded, and these links include information on locations, which could be of use to terrorist elements. The communities must not disclose information to unidentified elements.”
Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism official Shlomit Hammer said, “The national control center for monitoring antisemitism on the social networks has been operating at an enhanced capacity since the launch of Operation Rising Lion. There is a large concentration of Israelis in Greece and Cyprus who wish to return to Israel, and we are concentrating our efforts there and in other regions. Our hotline is currently available from 8 AM to 8 PM.” Another Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism official said, “There is a slight increase in the preparedness of the Jewish and Israeli communities around the world for coping with extreme incidents of terror attacks.”
