A letter circulated to parents of students at Machon Bnos Yehuda is raising concerns after claiming that Jewish women traveling through Egypt experienced frightening incidents and possible assaults while attempting to leave Israel amid the ongoing conflict.
The letter, distributed under the Machon Bnos Yehuda letterhead, states that information was received describing “extremely distressing incidents” involving women who attempted to travel through Egypt. According to the message, in some cases women were allegedly separated from the men traveling with them — including married women separated from their husbands — and subjected to troubling experiences.
The letter urges parents not to consider sending their daughters through Egypt or neighboring countries, stating that some individuals involved in the alleged incidents chose not to speak publicly but asked that others be warned.
However, multiple travel agents who have been working around the clock helping thousands of Israelis and tourists leave the country told YWN that they have not heard of any such incidents whatsoever.
Over the past week alone, thousands of travelers have successfully exited Israel via the Taba border crossing into Egypt as Israel’s airspace remained closed, continuing onward to flights from Sharm el-Sheikh, Cairo, or other regional airports. These travelers have included families, yeshiva students, seminary girls, tourists, and business travelers.
Travel professionals contacted by YWN were unanimous: while the journey through Egypt can be long, complicated, and exhausting, none reported hearing of assaults or incidents resembling those described in the letter.
“It’s a difficult trip, absolutely,” one veteran travel agent who has arranged hundreds of such evacuations told YWN. “There can be long waits at the border, transportation challenges, and general stress. But nobody in the travel industry has heard of any of these alleged incidents.”
Several agents also pointed out that if such serious incidents had occurred, they would almost certainly have quickly spread across the extensive network of travel coordinators, drivers, border agents, and organizers currently assisting the massive movement of travelers.
The claims in the letter have therefore been met with skepticism among those involved in the evacuation efforts.
In fact after much investigation, YWN has confirmed that one woman was questioned over possible drug trafficking and no other reason. This entire story grew wings and spread like wildfire.
Some observers compared the report to other unverified rumors that have circulated in recent days, including a widely shared claim last week among some seminary students alleging that the Mossad had implanted explosives in Iranian leader Ali Khamenei’s teeth — a story that quickly collapsed under scrutiny.
For now, the overwhelming consensus among travel professionals remains that while leaving Israel via Egypt is far from easy, thousands have completed the journey safely without the types of incidents described in the letter.
YWN takes no position regarding the claims referenced above. We are simply reporting the contents of the seminary letter alongside information provided by multiple major travel professionals who say they have not heard of such incidents. The journey through Egypt can be long and complicated, and it is certainly not something a young girl should undertake alone. At the same time, many travelers currently have limited options, and thousands of Jews have successfully reached their destinations over the past week using the Egypt route.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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14 Responses
Why is אמת necessary? The Torah only says מדבר שקר תרחק – it doesn’t say לא תשקרו. SO, if the reality doesn’t measure up, what’s the problem! Why ruin a good story or scare tactic because the facts aren’t there.
The Torah does say לא תשקרו. Though it is talking about monetary matters.
I’d trust the sems who feel an achrayis to the girls more than the travel agents who dont want to lose their parnassah.
As an aside, I dont think that people who were harmed would report it to everyone & anyone, but the girls probably warned their friends not to follow.
If it is a question of trusting a seminary claiming they did hear something or a travel agents claiming they did not, the truth is far more likely to be with the seminary. Since when is NOT hearing something proof? (The Mishna says that testimony of not having seen something happen proves nothing) Who is a girl more likely to report back to her seminary or a travel agent? What does a seminary have to gain by make such a thing up? What does a travel agent have to lose if it is true? Etc.
I traveled through Egypt with my wife last week. Had a pretty pleasant experience to be honest. Very long and very difficult. Took me 2 days to get to NY from Beit Shemesh. But that’s about it.
the seminaries dont want girls leaving early before the end of the zman… or they will have the same refund drama all over again.
chap the matzav chevra.
regular peleg anti-vaxxers spreading rumors. why the same people every time?
every.
single.
time.
so predictable.
I just spoke to our travel agent and she said her friend’s son got molested so please take this news post down, it is NOT true that there were no reported incidents and you are putting people’s lives in danger
Parents of yeshiva or seminary kids are afraid to leave their kids in a place of missless raining down. It’s common sense. The travel agents dont mind making the money. The seminaries dont want to lose their students early and have any financial loss. But the airport is opening up anyway so kids can leave normally.
It is very well known that it is not safe for female travelers to travel alone through Egypt, let alone the remote areas of Sharm El Sheikh. Even a small group of naive girls traveling in an unorganized way using taxis is generally not considered safe. Lalechet as well organized groups that are perfectly safe. Or a group of girls who want to organize their own small groups to take a male chaperone with them.
Despite the fact that many frum women are making claims on forums like “Jerusaguide”, it is bbviously still possible that there may have been 1 or 2 incidents and due to our sensationalist viral-panic attitude the whole situation is being blown way out of proportion.
However, travel agents that are making huge amounts of money from this situation by taking advantage of desperate travelers by overcharging for “luxury”, “VIP” and “safe” transit are totally nogeah b’dovor to dispel any rumours.
Maybe the letter wasn’t sent by the seminary.
I actually know of a woman who had this very troubling type of experience by using this Egypt channel of transport
Every day a girl is not in seminary the seminary is losing a lot of money