A two-year stand-off over visas for Christian organisations in Israel has been resolved for the immediate future. That’s according to the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (ICEJ) which encourages Christians worldwide to stand with Israel and the Jewish people.
Israel’s Ministry of Interior has been refusing to issue annual clergy and volunteer work visas to ICEJ staff after changing its policy without notice, claiming it no longer quaified as a religious institution. Similar organisations like the Baptist Convention of Israel, Bridge for Peace and Christian Friends for Israel were also affected. They had between 40 and 60 mostly temporary or volunteer employees and feared they’d have to significantly scale back their operations.
The sudden crackdown had left evangelical organisations and advocates who have had good relations with Israel’s right-wing governments in the past, confused. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has often touted the importance of strong relationships with the international evangelical community which played a role in former President Donald Trump’s decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.
The ICEJ claimed at the time: “The situation we face at the moment with the Ministry of Interior is unprecedented, It has made us unable to operate effectively in our mission to stand and support the State of Israel.” Vice president David Parsons told Israeli media the ICEJ was “being squeezed out of existence.”
Read the article by Tony Davenport in Vision Christian Media.