U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee warned in a letter he sent to Interior Minister Moshe Arbel Wednesday that the Americans could make it harder for Israelis to get visas.
"This is not the relationship Israel wants to have with its best partner and friend," Huckabee wrote in the letter, which came against the backdrop of what he described as difficulties the Interior Ministry is facing in granting visas to Christian organizations and workers operating in Israel.
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U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Interior Minister Moshe Arbel
(Photos: Alex Kolomoisky )
"As of the beginning of 2025, the Visa Department has stopped honoring the recommendations and has launched an independent investigation of each of the evangelical organizations to determine whether they should be recognized as religious institutions and whether they should continue to receive visas. This includes organizations such as the Baptist Conference in Israel, the Christian Missionary Alliance and others, some of which have been active here since before 1948. The vast majority of them are located in the United States. All of them were required to fill out huge questionnaires. To my knowledge, none of them have received new A3 visas for religious leaders since the beginning of the year. We simply requested that the visa department return to status quo," Huckabee wrote.
“As the U.S. Ambassador representing President Donald Trump, I am formally demanding that this deteriorating relationship with the Department of State be resolved so that this matter does not escalate further,” Huckabee added. “It would be deeply regrettable if our embassy were to be forced to publicly announce throughout the United States that the State of Israel no longer welcomes Christian organizations and their representatives and that ,instead, it is engaging in harassment and negative treatment of organizations with longstanding ties and positive engagement with Zionism. We will be further obligated to warn Christians in America that their generous donations to organizations in Israel are being met with hostility, and that tourists should reconsider travel until the situation is clearly resolved.”
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According to Huckabee, “Christian tourism to Israel is an important source not only of revenue, but also of goodwill and support for the State of Israel. Your Department of Tourism can attest to these facts. The close partnership between the United States and Israel is at an all-time high, having just concluded a joint military operation that will hopefully reduce the threat of Iranian nuclear ambition. Our formal and heartfelt request to return to the ‘status quo’ of normal visa practices, which has been denied and even aggravated, is shocking and a source of inexplicable disappointment. We are not asking for special or exceptional treatment. We are simply asking for the continuation of the long-standing policy that has been in place for generations.” We feel that we are being treated as adversaries."
Interior minister 'I was surprised. Every request was handled'
In response to Huckabee's letter, Interior Minister Moshe Arbel wrote: "To the best of my knowledge, and following a re-examination conducted in coordination with the attorney acting on your behalf, every request that was personally brought to my attention was handled in an exceptionally short time. I have issued the same instructions regarding the cases mentioned in your letter - cases that were not previously brought to my attention. Given the direct line of communication between my staff and your representatives, and in light of the fact that every request received by my office has been handled so far promptly, I was particularly surprised by the manner in which you raised your concerns and your decision to address a wide range of senior officials in your letter without first contacting me or my office directly. In my opinion, this course of action deviates from accepted working norms and does not reflect the direct and structural relationship we have established.
"The relationship between the United States and the State of Israel is among the most valued and meaningful partnerships. I greatly appreciate your consistent support for Israel and your strong commitment to our partnership. For this reason, I believe it is our duty to act in a spirit of coordination, mutual trust, and respect – even when misunderstandings or difficulties arise," Arbel concluded.