Israelis avoiding Cyprus due to Lebanese refugees

[Poll_Blind]

From Ha'aretz:

The war in the north has indirectly dealt a serious blow to Israeli tourism to Cyprus this summer, partly due to a desire to avoid running into refugees from Lebanon there.

According to a study carried out by TheMarker, the presence in Cyprus of significant numbers of war refugees, both Lebanese and foreign nationals, has led many Israeli vacationers to postpone or change their vacation plans.

In one case, which is being made public here for the first time, a group cancelled its return flight and hired a private plane from Tamir Aviation for the duration of its stay in Cyprus to ensure a quick retreat if necessary.

Almost all organized tours from Cyprus to Israel have been cancelled.

--snip--

  I can imagine the feeling. The last time I was in Europe was something like '98/'99 and of course the climate was much different then. I can only imagine what it would be like if a major U.S. tourist destination was suddenly populated with refugees from Iraq. I imagine this makes things even less comfortable for Israelis who travel to Cypress to get married to work around the Orthodox regulations which is unfortunate because they're likely to be folks least-supportive of the action.

PB

[IntiRaymi]

1. Yep, I've been targeted for being who I am

In South America.