JERUSALEM—When 1,500 exhausted travelers disembarked from a cruise ship at Cyprus’ Limassol port yesterday, they found something unexpected waiting for them: a full-scale humanitarian operation run by a handful of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries and volunteers.
With Ben-Gurion Airport remaining closed for the foreseeable future and thousands trying to return to their homes around the world, Cyprus has become an important pit-stop for people heading home from the Land of Israel. They come by boat to Cyprus, with each day bringing more people, from which they arrange travel to their next destination. Rabbi Arie Zeev Raskin and his wife, Shaindel, who have served Cyprus’s small Jewish community in Larnaca for over two decades, are at the center of efforts to welcome the men, women and children.
“We’re preparing for waves of people over the next several days,” said Meir Levin, a volunteer at Chabad in Larnaca. “We are working around the clock to meet their immediate needs and offer a sense of calm, care, and dignity in this moment of uncertainty.”
The scale of the response is immense. An island in the Mediterranean Sea, Cyprus is a favorite vacation spot for Israelis and many Europeans, and most of its Jewish infrastructure is built around that. But Chabad pivoted quickly. What began as emergency accommodations for diverted airline passengers just before Shabbat has evolved into a round-the-clock operation serving those who arrive by both air and sea. The Chabad center in Larnaca has been reconfigured to serve the waves of hundreds at a time.
The trek today is no El Al flight. Passengers describe sleepless nights, and hours of waiting at ports.
“The energy on that boat was indescribable,” recalled Rabbi Moshe Kahn, director of Chabad Youth in Melbourne, Australia, who was leading a group of young professionals visiting the Holy Land when the war broke out. “Songs, tears, hugs …. We were exhausted and emotional, but we were together.”
Upon arrival in Cyprus, many face long waits for connecting flights. Rather than leave them stranded at airports, Chabad centers across the island mobilized. At Chabad of Ayia Napa, Rabbi Zushe Naymark welcomed busloads of weary wayfarers for lunch and respite at the coastal town’s Chabad house.
‘Chabad Would Take Us In’
Scott Berzon, who serves as director of community impact at the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, was among those to make it to Cyprus after his Birthright volunteer trip was cut short. His group of 25 had been based out of Tel Aviv and traveling to work on kibbutzim and farms when the Iranian rockets started falling. The group was evacuated to Israel’s south for a few days, before being transported to the port of Ashdod, where they boarded a cruise ship with 1,500 others.
“When we arrived in Cyprus, there was confusion—we weren’t sure if the U.S. embassy would step in,” Berzon told Chabad.org while waiting on line at the airport, hoping to catch a flight to Frankfurt. “We were sitting on the hot dock in Cyprus when we got the wonderful news that Chabad would take us in.”
Berzon is no stranger to the nonprofit world. What struck him most about what awaited the evacuees in Cyprus was the sheer scale of the preparation. “It’s dumbfounding to me that this was done by maybe eight volunteers serving hundreds and hundreds of people,” he said. “Suitcases lined the streets. Armed security coordinated with local police. They had to check passports just to manage the crowds, but it was absolutely safe and organized.”
The Chabad of Cyprus team served lunch to the massive crowd, and when flight arrangements fell through and passengers faced extended waits, they pivoted seamlessly to prepare dinner. “This was such a kind and welcoming gesture,” Berzon noted. “We were all over their space and no one seemed frustrated or put off by the burden.”
As the airport closure shows no signs of easing, and more evacuation ships and planes scheduled in the coming days, the Chabad in Cyprus team is scaling up its already massive response. They have been coordinating closely with hotels near the Chabad centers and have been preparing kosher food and making sure that another round of Shabbat needs are met.
“How do we use our words to express the deep gratitude we have?” Berzon reflected. “They took us all in, no questions asked. It was really moving.”
For Kahn, there are conflicting emotions. There is the relief of reaching safety mixed with anguish for those left behind. While waiting in Dubai for his connecting flight to Melbourne, he sent a status update to community members: “Physically heading home, but our hearts remain in Israel.”
But for Chabad in Cyprus, the work is just beginning. They are preparing to host some 1,000 people for Shabbat and are hard at work preparing meals, arranging accommodations and continuing to work with local authorities to ensure as smooth a process as possible for the evacuees.
“There’s nothing like Chabad,” Berzon said.
To help Chabad of Cyprus welcoming these evacuees, consider donating here.
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