Israelis stranded in Cyprus find shelter and kosher meals with help of rabbis and residents
LARNACA, Cyprus (AP) — 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.
Sundays
Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba.
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
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Senegal women's basketball team members denied US visas, prime minister says
The Senegalese women's basketball team has scrapped plans to train in the U.S. for the upcoming AfroBasket tournament in the Ivory Coast next month after several players and team officials had their visas denied, Senegal's prime minister said. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said on Facebook Thursday that the team would train in Senegal's capital, Dakar, 'in a sovereign and conducive setting.' The West African nation's federation said in a statement that the visa applications of five players and seven officials weren't approved. 'Informed of the refusal of issuing visas to several members of the Senegal women's national basketball team, I have instructed the Ministry of Sports to simply cancel the 10-day preparatory training initially planned in the United States of America,' Sonko said. The visa denials come amid a push by the Trump administration to have countries improve vetting travelers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States. Senegal wasn't on that list of countries and it was not immediately clear why the visas were denied. The travel ban includes exemptions for the World Cup, the Olympics and any 'other major sporting event,' though it's unclear what is considered a major event. The team is coached by Otis Hughley Jr., who previously led the Nigerian women's basketball team. He was the men's coach at Alabama A&M before resigning in March. Senegal, which was going to train in the U.S. from Sunday through July 3, has finished either first or second in four of the last five AfroBasket championships over the last decade and has won 11 titles in total. The tournament determines Africa's champion, which earns entry into the FIBA World Cup next year in Germany. ___ AP sports:
Toronto Star
13 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Fearful of Iranian missiles, many sleep in Israel's underground train stations
RAMAT GAN, Israel (AP) — Aziza Melech felt her body relax for the first time in days when she settled onto her inflatable mattress in an underground station of Israel's light rail system on a recent evening. For the next few hours, at least, the 34-year-old event planner wouldn't need to run every time a siren warning of Iranian missiles sounded. Since the war began a week ago with Israel's airstrikes on Iran, families with young kids, foreign workers, and young professionals have brought mattresses and sleeping bags, snacks and pets into the stations each evening.
National Post
15 hours ago
- National Post
Adam Zivo: Canadians stuck in Israel abandoned by embassy that closes at 4:30 p.m.
Article content After Israel closed its airspace last Friday due to the threat of Iranian missile attacks, about 40,000 tourists — including over 6,600 Canadians — were left unable to return home on their own. While many countries are scrambling to evacuate their citizens by land and sea, some Canadians say that they have been abandoned by their government and left to fend for themselves. Article content Article content With passenger flights indefinitely cancelled, options for leaving Israel are limited. It is impossible to escape northward, into Lebanon or Syria, as the border areas of these countries are infested with violent militias, including the remnants of Hezbollah and ISIS. The risk of being kidnapped, injured, tortured or murdered there is not insignificant. Article content Article content Article content Article content Meanwhile, in the east, tourists are evacuating to Jordan, a relatively stable country by regional standards. While some terrorist groups operate on Jordanian territory, they are concentrated along the Syrian and Iraqi borders, far from Israel, and attacks in major cities are rare. Article content Still, the Canadian government advises that citizens avoid non-essential travel to Jordan, and individuals I spoke with in Israel considered the Jordanian routes to be somewhat unsafe. Article content They worried about being struck by the debris of intercepted missiles, and argued that the country's political volatility, particularly in the context of this new war, means that the threat of violence is never truly far away. Individuals who are visibly Jewish face additional risks, including potential harassment from antisemitic border officials. Article content There are three crossings into Jordan: a north, central and southern route. Incidentally, the most popular and direct of these options (central) passes through the West Bank, where violence is commonplace. The Palestinian Authority, which administers the area, lacks the capacity to guarantee visitors' safety, but there have apparently been no reports of attacks against fleeing tourists yet.
