Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. on Thursday compared congressional efforts to block U.S. weapons transfers to Israel to the antisemitic “blood libel,” the false accusation that medieval Jews used the blood of Christian children to cook Passover matzah — and he took aim at Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for leading the charge.

Speaking at a Rosh Hashanah reception at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said in a fiery speech that Democratic proposals in Congress to restrict military aid to Israel during its ongoing conflict amounted to “a modern-day blood libel,” and warned that the rhetoric could have deadly consequences.

“I was told that if we really wanted to, we would feed the Gazans appropriately,” Leiter said of a recent conversation with a lawmaker. “I said, ‘Do you put blood in the matzos that you eat on Passover?’ There is no distinction between the two. This is a blood libel. Blood libels cost lives.”

Leiter did not refer to Sanders by name, but the Jewish Independent from Vermont has been at the forefront of a series of recent Senate resolutions calling on Congress to block certain arms sales to Israel. The most recent, in August, did not pass, but 27 Democrats, the majority of the caucus, voted for it. 

“Somebody claiming the mantle of Jewish pedigree actually leads the charge — an embargo on Israel, an embargo on weapons to Israel at a time of a seven-front war,” he said. “Where is the outrage? Where are we being called to order that this is no different than putting blood in the matzos on Passover?”

The ambassador’s speech, delivered to a group that included Democratic and Republican lawmakers, Trump administration officials and Jewish communal leaders, came hours after two Israeli soldiers were killed at the Allenby Crossing from Jordan into the West Bank by a Jordanian driving a Gaza-bound truck of humanitarian aid, and after four Israeli soldiers were killed by a bomb in Gaza. 

Leiter warned that Israel is “facing something now that we haven’t faced perhaps since the 1930s.”

“It’s a contagion of lies that we have to battle together, because if you don’t battle lies, you end up battling for your life,” said Leiter. “This era of Rosh Hashanah, please be aware: the Protocols of the Elders of Zion 2.0 are being written right now.”

He castigated European governments for moves toward recognizing a Palestinian state, calling it “an award for terrorism” and accusing France and Britain of “moral depravity.” He also directed his ire at the Jewish actress Hannah Einbinder, who in an Emmy acceptance speech last week said “F*** ICE, free Palestine.”

“Maybe you deserve an Emmy, but what you don’t deserve is a platform to libel your own people and to libel people standing opposed to moral depravity on the international stage,” said Leiter, who did not mention Einbinder by name. 

“Israel is standing alone in the world,” the ambassador said — except for “with our dearest friends in the Congress of the United States and the Senate of the United States and the administration of President [Donald] Trump, the best friend Israel ever had in the White House.”

Iran and global terrorist organizations, including ISIS, plan to target Jews and Israelis traveling during Passover, Israel’s National Security Council warned on Tuesday.

“Iran is the central generator of global terror, directly or through its proxies, against Israeli and Jewish sites around the world,” the National Security Council said in a statement released before Israeli schools go on Passover break on Sunday. 

The Islamic Republic uses terror attacks as a policy and seeks to avenge the deaths of senior Hezbollah and Hamas officials, according to the travel warning.

In the last year, Iran has backed attempted terrorist attacks against the Israeli embassies in Sweden and Belgium, which were thwarted, as well as attempts to attack or abduct Israeli citizens around the world under the guise of making business contacts. Those attempts mostly began through e-mails and messages on social media.

Hamas has also attempted to attack Jews and Israelis outside of Israel, in light of the terror group’s weakened state in Gaza and the continuation of the war, the NSC stated. Hamas terror infrastructure was found in Denmark, Germany, Bulgaria and Sweden that aimed to attack Israelis.

In addition, in recent months, terrorist groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaida have increased their activities, especially in Europe. ISIS specifically has called on its supporters to strike Israeli and Jewish sites around the world.

The NSC said that “with the collapse of the ceasefire [last month] and the return to fighting in Gaza, an increase is expected in efforts to attack Jewish and Israeli sites abroad, including through local or individual initiatives.”

In addition, there continues to be a high-level threat in Egypt’s Sinai desert, where the beaches were once a popular travel destination for Israeli tourists.

The NSC also warned of possible hate crimes against Jews around the world, which have drastically increased since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.

Canada and Australia were singled out as potentially dangerous due to spikes in antisemitic attacks, including the burning of a Jewish preschool and a synagogue in Sydney, and the throwing of Molotov cocktails and shootings at Jewish schools and synagogues in Montreal and Toronto.

“The bottom line is that there remains a high motivation and activity of different terrorist factors to advance terrorist attacks against Israelis and Jews around the world,” the NSC statement reads. “An atmosphere of hate in many countries against Israel and Jews in light of the war continues to increase the motivation for individuals and independent cells to attack.” 

The NSC recommended that Israelis be cautious when they travel and check their recommendations before buying tickets to go abroad.