Israeli tourists assaulted with ax in Mongolia, attacker reportedly shouted 'Heil Hitler'

A man of Kazakh origin allegedly assaulted six Israeli travelers with an ax at a remote campsite in northern Mongolia this week after hearing them speak Hebrew.

According to the tourists' accounts, the attacker shouted “Heil Hitler” before launching the assault. They also said he appeared to be intoxicated during the attack.

One of the Israelis suffered a broken jaw and was transported back to Israel for medical treatment. All of the travelers were later evacuated from Mongolia.

The attack is unusual in Mongolia, a country generally regarded by Israeli tourists as a friendly destination where antisemitic incidents are rare.

The alleged assault also comes amid a sharp global increase in anti-Jewish and anti-Israel violence following the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 Israelis and the abduction of 251 people.

Mongolian authorities condemned the attack on the Israeli travelers.

While more than half of Mongolia's population is Buddhist, the country is also home to a small Muslim Kazakh minority. There is no formal Jewish community in Mongolia, although some 100 Israeli expatriates and businesspeople reportedly reside there.

Most of the rise in anti-Jewish incidents has occurred in Western countries, where the majority of Diaspora Jews live.

Jewish communities and Israeli embassies raised alarms in December 2025 after two radicalized Muslim terrorists murdered 15 Jews at a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach.

Antisemitic violence has also surged in the United Kingdom. In October 2025, an Islamist terrorist of Syrian origin murdered two Jews at a Manchester synagogue during the Jewish High Holiday of Yom Kippur.

The British government recently allocated a record $335 million to bolster security for Jewish communities, synagogues and Jewish schools across the United Kingdom, with a particular focus on London and Manchester, where most British Jews reside. The decision followed a string of antisemitic attacks targeting Jewish communities in London.

“After a series of appalling attacks against Jewish communities, the difficult decision was made to raise the threat level to severe. My thoughts remain with the victims of these vile attacks. Today we are going further and providing record funding to help keep Jewish people safe, supporting visible policing and protection around synagogues, schools and community centres. We will do everything in our power to rid society of the evil of antisemitism,” British Minister of State for Policing and Crime Sarah Jones announced.

Canada has also experienced a dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents since the Hamas attack nearly three years ago. Much of the current global rise in anti-Jewish hatred has been linked to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

Last month, the J7 Task Force, a global Jewish organization combating antisemitism, warned that Islamist extremism and anti-Zionism were fueling hatred against Jewish Canadians.

In a joint letter addressed to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the J7 Task Force argued that antisemitism threatens entire societies, not only Jews.

“Antisemitism is not only a Jewish issue. It is a test of democratic leadership and a measure of the health of democratic institutions,” the letter stated. “For generations, Canada was viewed throughout the Jewish world as one of the safest countries in which Jews could live openly and proudly."