Israelis who returned on Tuesday from Turkey, said they felt unsafe after Israel issued a travel warning out of concerns Iran would launch a terror attack.
After the assassination of IRGC officer Hassan Sayyad Khodaei which was blamed on Israel in official Iranian statements, the counterterrorism division at the National Security Council issued a travel warning for Turkey and other countries bordering Iran.
"It was very scary," said Oshrit Dugma upon her arrival from Istanbul. "We heard less Hebrew and we also didn't speak Hebrew, not even with each other, not even in whispers," she said.
"The problem is in the markets where they recognize us from miles away," Dugma said. "On the last day, yesterday, after the announcement of the travel warning, we didn't leave the hotel. Our flight back was for this morning, but we would have shortened our trip anyway because we received a lot of messages from friends and family," she said.
"ring the last day we're seeing a significant decline in new reservations for Turkey and also cancellations for the upcoming month." Shirley Cohen Arkavi, VP of Eshet Tours said.
"Regarding the reservations that have already been booked for July - August, the Israelis are still on the fence and waiting to see how things play out."
The official travel warning called on Israelis to avoid unnecessary travel to Turkey along with recommendations for stringent cautionary steps, which include avoiding contact with strangers, a suspicious approach to offers made by unknown individuals or entities, even if they appear to originate from Turkey.
The warning also called on Israelis not to reveal personal or travel information or even specific locations, in advance, and to make sure they are in possession of emergency numbers and contact information for Israeli embassy and consular offices.