Terrorism threat against Israelis rising ahead of High Holy Days

Israel’s National Security Council warned this week that the threat of violent attacks targeting Israelis and Jews abroad is rising ahead of the Jewish High Holidays and the third anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

The assessment identified Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah and other jihadist groups, as the greatest sources of danger.

It also warned that anti-Israel incitement in Western media, entertainment, sporting and cultural events, as well as political discourse, could contribute to an environment in which “lone wolf” terrorists pose an additional threat to Jewish and Israeli travelers.

Large anti-Israel street demonstrations are planned for the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks. At the same time, the assessment warns that IRGC agents continue to cooperate with a wide variety of actors, including criminal syndicates and street gangs, to target Israeli diplomatic missions, senior officials, security personnel, Jewish institutions and Israelis abroad.

Hamas and Hezbollah retain extensive networks of supporters and donors in Europe and North America despite the tremendous losses they’ve sustained on the battlefields of the Middle East in recent years.

Both organizations may seek to avenge the loss of senior leaders in recent years by targeting Israelis or Jewish residents in those countries.

ISIS and Al-Qaeda also have supporters in countries around the world, and their leaders have called on those supporters to launch attacks against Jews and Israelis.

According to the Council, 25 Jews and Israelis have been murdered abroad over the last three years by terrorists linked to Iran and these sub-state actors. However, many of the attackers were not formally linked to established terrorist infrastructure. Instead, they were “lone wolves” inspired to carry out acts of violence by content they consumed online.

Jewish communities are particularly vulnerable to attacks because synagogues, Jewish cultural centers and Jewish-owned businesses are highly visible and have traditionally been open to the public. Protecting them against attacks can be costly and technically difficult.

Although Western countries remain areas of concern, the threat profile is even higher in countries that share land borders with Iran or have a history of IRGC terrorist infrastructure, including Turkey, Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates.

The National Security Council is also strongly cautioning Israelis against traveling to Jordan, Qatar, Somaliland and Egypt, including the Sinai Peninsula. Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Somalia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Libya and Algeria are also considered high-risk destinations.

Israeli law prohibits citizens from traveling to Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, Yemen, Iran, Syria and Lebanon.

The assessment also warns that Israelis can potentially be identified through their online behavior. Social media posts in which Israeli travelers share pictures from vacations can sometimes include GPS coordinates that allow potential attackers to locate and target them.

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