Pesach travel to Israel plummets amid war

CONCERN OVER the volatile situation in the Middle East has caused Passover trips to Israel to plummet.

West End Travel has said that the number of British Jews going to Israel is down by 65 to 70 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Managing Director Daniel Segel told the JC: “Israel business for Pesach this year has been bad. Where in previous years we have sent hundreds [to Israel], this year not. Before where it may have been a flood, this year it’s a trickle.”

By contrast, West End Travel and another agency that specialises in Israel, Travelink, both said they had seen a “huge” increase in the number of people booking trips to Europe to join Pesach programmes there. In the three months following October 7, travel agencies said they saw more people travelling to Israel compared to the previous year. Budget airline easyJet has cancelled all flights to Israel for the next six months because of the “evolving situation”, while Virgin Atlantic will not be providing flights to Israel until September.

● Israel tour is going ahead this summer, the JC can reveal. Extra security measures for the annual tour were announced after October 7. Concerns about tour were raised again after Iran’s attack, but organisers have confirmed that this summer’s trip and next year’s gap-year programmes would go ahead as planned.