The group was arrested while crossing the border from Ukraine into Moldova after authorities misidentified a bag of salt in their car as an illicit substance, according to N12 News.
A group of nine Israeli tourists were arrested while crossing the border Ukraine to Moldova after authorities misidentified a bag of salt found in their car as a suspected illicit substance, according to an N12 News report on Thursday.
The group was visiting Ukraine to visit the grave of Rabbi Schneur Zalman from Ladi to pray for one of the group members, namely cancer Sick, one tourist told N12, and they were trying to catch a flight home Moldova on Wednesday when the accident occurred.
A Ukrainian border control officer searched the car in which the tour group was traveling and placed a bag containing what was later determined to be salt on the floor of the car.
Hadar Admoni, one of the tourists, told N12 that she “did not know whether it was his own bag, or the bag of salt that was in the car and used by travelers,” explaining that she and her fellow travelers did not use or carry any illegal substances.
The officer then called the police, who brought the Israelis to a local police station while they sent the bag and its contents for examination, confiscated their passports and forced the group to remain in their car in the parking lot for the night.
People walk down a street on a cold winter day, amid the Russian attack on Ukraine, in Kiev, Ukraine, January 16, 2026. (Credit: Reuters/Gleb Jaranich)
“This is anti-Semitism,” Admoni claimed.
Admoni told N12 that the travelers were in “total despair.” “We were In the cold All night in the car in the police headquarters parking lot. They left us and asked us to sleep there. Without food, without drink, without telling us anything. “It’s crazy. They didn’t question us or anything. They just did it,” she said. This is anti-Semitism. We are ordinary people.”
The group contacted Chabad of Odessa, MK Zeev Elkin, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, and Sa’ar’s advisor Moti Franco to help resolve the situation.
Chabad Rabbi of Odessa, Rabbi Shneur Wigler, contacted Ukrainian authorities, who informed him that they “sent the suspicious bag to the laboratory and it turned out to be nothing — just a bag of salt,” Wigler told N12.
Wiegler added that investigators remained skeptical about the bag even after test results revealed the bag’s innocent contents, which is why the group was detained for so long.
“It’s a huge heartache, and it’s a story we encounter often,” Wigler said, adding that Ukrainian officials have been helpful and cooperative in efforts to release the passports of Israeli tourists.
The next morning, after more than 20 hours of detention and after contacting MK Elkin, who is responsible for Israeli-Ukrainian relations, and Foreign Minister Sa’ar, the Israelis were released.
“We were very nervous,” Admoni recounted. “Some were crying and in real shock. One of us almost fainted because of the stress. My daughter had a panic attack.” “We felt their hatred, but also fear and helplessness, because they would not talk to us. They already knew that nothing was wrong.”
The group missed their original flight back to Israel from Moldova and had to make alternative travel arrangements after their release from Ukrainian prisons.