Israel Upgrades Travel Warning in India

The Counter-Terrorism Bureau at Israel’s National Security Council upgraded a warning to its citizens and Westerners travelling in India, citing a “concrete threat” of terror attacks against soft targets throughout the country.

The Thursday evening bulletin, which was written in Hebrew and publicized by Israel’s media outlets, specifically mentions synagogues and Chabad-Lubavitch centers in India, including in the southern region of Goa, as possible targets. It expands a travel advisory issued last month just before the start of the High Holidays.

“The terror threat has become significantly more severe,” states the warning. “The concrete threat includes gatherings of Israelis and Westerners, Chabad Houses and synagogues throughout India.”

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Israel’s Channel 10 reported that the new warning is based on intelligence indicating that the Pakistani terror cell suspected of plotting the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai – in which some 170 people perished, including Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg and four other Jews at their Chabad House – had teamed up with another organization to plan a new round of attacks.

This year, Chabad Houses reported that hundreds of Israelis gathered for High Holiday services in popular tourist centers.

In addition to the travel warning, the Counter-Terrorism Bureau also advised Israelis against travelling to the disputed territory Kashmir in northern India.

A separate travel advisory issued on Sept. 12 by the U.S. State Department remains in effect and warns travelers in India of the possibility of terror attacks.