Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

With Israel shut down, hotlines field questions from stranded tourists

An emergency information center, staffed by English and Hebrew speakers, is assisting some 90,000 visitors in the country.

Travelers at Ben-Gurion International Airport, where flights were being delayed as the workers of the airport went on strike in a protest against the judicial overhaul proposed by the government on March 27, 2023. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.
Travelers at Ben-Gurion International Airport, where flights were being delayed as the workers of the airport went on strike in a protest against the judicial overhaul proposed by the government on March 27, 2023. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.

Israel’s Ministry of Tourism opened an emergency virtual information center to field questions from the roughly 90,000 tourists currently in the country.

The announcement came amid ongoing nationwide strikes by the Histadrut, Israel’s national labor union. Ben-Gurion International Airport closed on Monday, leaving many people stranded.

The information center will be open at all times and staffed by English-speaking and Hebrew-speaking ministry employees.

The staff is also available via phone, email, Facebook and WhatsApp.

Travelers at Ben-Gurion International Airport, where flights were being delayed as the workers of the airport went on strike in a protest against the judicial overhaul proposed by the government on March 27, 2023. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.
Travelers at Ben-Gurion International Airport, where flights were being delayed as the workers of the airport went on strike in a protest against the judicial overhaul proposed by the government on March 27, 2023. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.

Airline personnel at Ben-Gurion International Airport, March 27, 2023. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.
Airline personnel at Ben-Gurion International Airport, where flights were being delayed as part of a national labor strike protesting judicial overhaul proposed by the government, March 27, 2023. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.

The Islamic Republic wrote that U.S. and Israeli vessels, and those of “other participants in the aggression” don’t “qualify for innocent or non-hostile passage” through the vital energy corridor.
“When hate-driven narratives are allowed to masquerade as neutral information, the consequences extend far beyond Wikipedia itself,” Yfat Barak-Cheney of the WJC stated.
“The convergence of ideologically, politically and religiously motivated violent extremist threats to the Jewish community and, by extension, Jewish public officials drives this elevated threat,” the report said.

At a U.S. State Department gathering of first spouses, Netanyahu urged leaders to condemn online harassment of minors.
“We’ve won this,” the U.S. president said. “This war has been won.”
The legislation would expand federal database access and require schools to submit a list of all individuals on visas.