The National Security Council today (Thursday) warned Israelis of an increased risk of terrorism against Israelis abroad ahead of the Passover holiday next month.
At the same time, an official involved in the countering of terrorist threats advised Israelis traveling abroad not to reveal their identities during their trips.
"You can speak Hebrew with each other, but you don't have to laugh at the other family or your friends at the other end of the street," the official said in a press briefing.
He advised Israelis traveling to the Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden not to reveal their Israeli identity. "This is an event that should be handled with discretion. The site of the competition will be under very heavy security, but the surrounding area could be problematic. Malmo is a city with many hostile areas. We are not saying not to travel there, but those who travel should not walk around with Israeli signs."
The briefing was given at the same time as the National Security Council published a publication on the latest assessment of the threat to Israelis abroad from terrorist elements. The threat assessment was published in order to increase the Israeli public's awareness of the threats of terrorism in various parts of the world, against the background of the significant increase in the threat to Israelis abroad during the war against Hamas.
The National Security Council said that in recent years there has been a continuous trend of worsening threats against Israelis abroad, which has been exacerbated since the beginning of the war.
The report notes an increase in the motivation of various international terrorist groups to carry out terrorist attacks. In this context, the Iranian threat (which has intensified) stands out, along with Hamas and global jihadist elements, who promote even more attacks against Israelis and Jews abroad.