Israelis stranded in Cyprus find shelter and kosher meals with help of rabbis and residents
Yossi Levitan was only making a brief stopover to visit his brother in Cyprus. His travel plans didn't include slicing mushrooms for kosher meals at a local Jewish community center to help feed thousands of other stranded travelers.
Levitan is one of approximately 6,500 people who are in Cyprus attempting to reach Israel, located about 470 kilometers (292 miles) from the island nation in the Mediterranean Sea.
Initially, 2,400 passengers aboard Israel-bound flights were stranded in Cyprus after their aircraft were abruptly diverted last week to avoid ongoing hostilities between Israel and Iran.
Since then, thousands more have traveled there in hopes of using Cyprus, the nearest European country, as a depot to find a flight or chartered boat that will take them back to their families in Israel.
Levitan, 44, has a flight booked next week and said he is eager to rejoin his eight children and one grandchild in Ramla, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Tel Aviv. His eldest daughter, 18, recently gave birth and is looking after her siblings with help from her grandparent.
'We're waiting for the moment when we can get back,' Levitan said. "In the meantime, we here are helping however we can all the people who are stuck her in Larnaca, in Cyprus.'
Rabbi Arie Zeev Raskin, the Jewish faith's leader in Cyprus, said the island's 14 rabbis mobilized from the moment the first 2,400 people arrived aboard at least 10 Israel-bound passenger aircraft that were diverted to Cyprus' main airport in Larnaca on June 12.
Finding accommodation all at once for so many people at the height of the tourist season was a huge challenge. There also was the issue of providing hundreds of kosher meals, which was handled by the community center, or Chabad, he said.
'Above to this, new flights have started to arrive from Hungary, from Rome, from Georgia, from New York, all people who are on the way ended up here with the hope that since Larnaca and Paphos are the closest nearby neighbor of Israel, once the flights will begin, they will be the first shuttle to go,' Raskin said.
Locals have provided shelter while doctors have treated travelers in need, he said.
Some were desperate to return to Israel right away, Raskin said, including two mothers with kids with special needs. Thankfully, they departed Wednesday aboard a pair of EL AL aircraft that landed at Ben Gurion airport.
'To take people back to Israel, obviously there are priorities. Priorities would be elderly people, single mothers, nurses, people who need medical issues," he said. "Anyone that is in urgent would get a priority to go on the flight.'
Raskin pulled out all the stops to secure a seat on the same flight for a groom whose wedding was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. He later got a message that the young man was able to attend the ceremony promptly at 4 p.m.
A few who could afford it and weren't prone to seasickness rented boats or yachts for the 20-hour trip to Israel. But arranging boat trips has been a fickle affair, Raskin said, as many voyages were cancelled at the last minute.
Raskin has vaulted into the role of coordinator for thousands of Israelis who see Cyprus as a springboard to Israel.
'Why this should be like a gate of a door to Israel?" he said. 'It's like I'm being now at the western wall of Israel.'
But he advised against more people using Cyprus as a stopover to catch a short flight or boat ride to Israel, given the difficulties faced by those who are already there.
"Do not come. We don't have enough rooms, we don't enough beds now in Cyprus to accommodate, unfortunately,' Raskin said. 'So if someone is in Budapest or in Vienna and you have a place to stay, to eat, stay there, you are safe there, don't rush to come. Once things will get better, yes, welcome.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Inside the 'hidden gem' country with an eerie prediction about its future - would YOU travel there?
Dreaming about decamping to a far-flung island where the world's troubles feel a million miles away? Then you could always make for a speck of an island in the Pacific Ocean that manages to exist peacefully without a prison or an army. The downside? It could also be the first country in the world to disappear due to rising sea levels. Located 1,000km north of Fiji in the west-central Pacific Ocean just below the equator, the remote country of Tuvalu isn't the easiest of places to get to - but it does manage to have a society that relies on community values over overbearing official authority. Given it's a remote, hard-to-reach location, the United Nations World Tourism Organization named Tuvalu as the world's least-visited country for 2023 with around just 3,700 tourists landing on its shores per year. In terms of area, the archipelago - which consists of four reef islands and five coral atolls - measures about 10 square miles, making it the fourth smallest country in the world and 0.8 times the size of Manhattan. As for its population, there are around 10,000 inhabitants. Getting there won't be easy - there are no direct international flights to Tuvalu, and there are only three flights a week running from the island chain to and from Fiji. As it requires plenty of time and money to get to Tuvalu, it tends to attract the more adventurous tourist and some have shared their insights of the place on social media. One TikToker who visited the capital of Funafuti last year said of the island: 'It's definitely very peaceful, everything feels like one family - every one knows one another.' last year said of the island: 'It's definitely very peaceful, everything feels like one family - every one knows one another.' On a more sombre note, many of those who've visited highlight Tuvalu's environmental plight - it's predicted that the country could be off the global map in just 50 years due to climate change and rising sea levels. In 2022, Tuvalu's Foreign Minister Simon Kofe gave a speech to the United Nations COP26 climate summit while standing knee-deep in water where there was once land. As the country's highest point is four metres above sea level, any rise in the sea level means parts of some islands will be washed away, while other parts will become uninhabitable. In 2023, Australia offered the residents of the tiny island nation the chance to live, work and study there. In an announcement on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum in the Cooks Islands, PM Anthony Albanese said Australia would strike a treaty with Tuvalu. Under the pact, Australia will also provide assistance to the Pacific Island in cases of natural disasters, pandemics and threats to its national security. However, in October 2024, Tuvalu's latest Prime Minister Feleti Teo released a report that called out Australia, Canada and the UK for disproportionately high emissions from fossil fuel extraction within the Commonwealth of Nations, compared to their share of population. 'Despite rhetoric on climate leadership and Pacific solidarity, Australia's fossil fuel exports are second only to Russia, with... the largest pipeline of coal export projects in the world awaiting approval,' a statement from the report authors, the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, said. The report said that as wealthier nations benefited the most from coal and gas, they could therefore more easily absorb reductions in fossil fuel production. 'It is a death sentence for us if larger nations continue to open new fossil fuel projects,' Tuvalu Home Affairs Minister Maina Vakafua Talia said. 'As a Commonwealth family, we must work together to keep our Paris commitments of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees alive and lead in financing a fair transition for countries like ours. Tuvalu's prime minister said Australia was 'highly morally obliged' to take further action to reduce emissions and phase out fossil fuels.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
PM urges Britons to contact Foreign Office for Israel evacuation flights
The Prime Minister has urged British nationals in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories to make contact with the Foreign Office as it prepares for an evacuation flight early next week. It comes after the US attacked three nuclear sites in Iran overnight and Tehran then launched a ballistic missile barrage against Israel. Speaking to Sky News, Sir Keir Starmer said: 'I urge all citizens to make contact with the Foreign Office so that we can facilitate whatever support is needed.' He added that the Government will help evacuate British citizens on charter flights 'as soon as we can'. Sir Keir said: 'Well for British citizens, we've been saying for some time to register their presence. 'And so far as Israel is concerned, just as soon as we can get charter flights off, we will do so.' The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has continued to urge British nationals to register their details and interest in evacuation flights, the first of which it said will take off early next week. It said further flights 'will be considered depending on demand and the latest security situation'. According to the Israeli Government, some 22,000 tourists are seeking to board evacuation flights. It is unclear how many of these are UK citizens. British nationals who have already registered will automatically be contacted and provided with a link to the booking portal, the FCDO said. Those eligible for the flight will be expected to pay for their seat – and payment will be taken on registration on the flight booking form. The FCDO added that those with 'greatest need' will be prioritised, and British nationals plus their non-British immediate family members travelling with them are eligible. All passengers must hold a valid travel document, and those non-British immediate family members will require valid visas/permission to enter or remain that was granted for more than six months, the FCDO said. The UK has been working on charter flights for Britons in Israel but none have so far taken off as the country's airspace has been closed. Business Secretary Jonathon Reynolds told Sky News on Sunday morning: 'We are in active conversations about chartering aircraft to get people out.' Asked if that will happen imminently, Mr Reynolds said: 'I believe our intention would be to do that as soon as possible… hours, not days.' Meanwhile, shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel told Times Radio the UK 'must not be behind the curve' in evacuating its nationals. 'The Government's got to start moving fast now in terms of British nationals in Israel,' Dame Priti said. 'They've been talking about this for days… Israeli airspace is shut down. 'The Americans are ready to evacuate 25,000 US nationals — we must not be behind the curve.' The FCDO has warned British nationals not to make their way to the airport unless they are contacted. A spokesperson said: 'This is a perilous and volatile moment for the Middle East. 'The safety of British nationals in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories continues to be our utmost priority – that's why the UK Government is preparing flights to help those wanting to leave. 'Working closely with the Israeli authorities, our staff are continuing to work at pace to assist British nationals on the ground and ensure they receive the support they need.' Commercial flights remain in operation from Egypt and Jordan to the UK, and international land border crossings to these countries remain open. The FCDO said the situation 'remains volatile' and the Government's ability to run flights out of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories 'could change at short notice'.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Why don't people hitchhike any more? Is the world more dangerous or just meaner?
Whatever happened to hitchhiking? You rarely here of people thumbing a lift any more. Is the world more dangerous or just meaner? Ann Langdon, Essex Post your answers (and new questions) below or send them to nq@ A selection will be published next Sunday.
