Christian groups to receive streamlined visas from Israel after diplomatic dispute

The diplomatic dispute triggered by a low-level clerk in Israel’s Interior Ministry over visa applications for Christian organizations was resolved on Monday through “fruitful cooperation,” attorney Calev Myers told Fox News Digital.

“The Evangelical Christian organizations active in Israel, which represent the vast majority of Zionists in the world today, will receive all of the visas they need through a streamlined and efficient application process,” he said.

The issue burst into the news last week when U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee publicized a letter he wrote to Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, in which he expressed “great distress” over a halt to the “routine granting of visas for Christian organizations and workers, as has been practiced for decades.”

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According to Huckabee, beginning in early 2025, the Interior Ministry’s visa department stopped following the Ministry of Religious Affairs recommendations and began conducting its own investigations into each Christian organization to determine whether they should be recognized as “Religious Institutions” and remain eligible for visas.

He cited as examples the Baptist Convention of Israel, Christian Missionary Alliance and Assemblies of God, noting that members of these groups have been denied renewals of their A3 clergy visas and are instead required to complete lengthy questionnaires about their religious beliefs. Huckabee said the status of their applications remains “under investigation.”

“When support for Israel around the world – and in the U.S. – is under pressure, backing from our Christian friends is extremely important”

He also named the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem as another group whose visas were “being held up.”

He had threatened that unless changes were made, “I will have no choice than to instruct our Consular Section to review options for reciprocal treatment of Israeli citizens seeking visas to the United States.”

A source told Fox News Digital that the issue originated with a low-level clerk in Israel’s Interior Ministry who was “not particularly friendly” toward Christian visa applicants. As a result, the visa process for clergy and volunteers had become “increasingly problematic” and filled with “barriers for years.”

A second source told Fox News Digital that elements within the Israeli Interior Ministry “are not sympathetic, they don’t appreciate the relationship” with the Christian world.

Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren told Fox News Digital that he has been involved with helping to get visas for Christian organizations that do “extraordinary and important work” and there’s no reason for them to be given a hard time.

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“When support for Israel around the world – and in the U.S. – is under pressure, backing from our Christian friends is extremely important,” Oren said. “They are there through thick and thin – including when bombs are falling on us – and they contribute in so many ways. Whether it’s picking grapes, attending to people in hospitals, or cooking meals for soldiers. We should do nothing but appreciate them and make them feel welcome.”

The Ministry of Interior, responsible for the Population and Immigration Authority, was led by the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, a member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, until it bolted from the government last week over the issue of conscription into the Israeli army of ultra-Orthodox men.

According to the first source, leadership turnover at the Population and Immigration Authority has exacerbated the issue. Amos Arbel, the former head of the authority and the uncle of outgoing Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, stepped down some five years ago. His replacements rotated through the position in quick succession, and the role is currently vacant.

“The absence of stable leadership has allowed a lower-ranking official – the head of the visa section – to make unilateral decisions,” the source explained. “She routinely disregards recommendations, including those from the ministry’s own religious affairs advisor.”

“It’s a chronic problem, and it’s disheartening,” the source said. “It shouldn’t take the intervention of someone like Ambassador Huckabee to resolve what should be a routine bureaucratic matter.”

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In response, Moshe Arbel sent a letter to Huckabee, reaffirming his “commitment to reviewing such applications [for clergy visas] with the utmost efficiency.” He wrote that “immediately following our meeting, I instructed all relevant professional bodies to act in accordance with the understandings we reached, and I assigned advisors from my office – headed by the chief of staff – to ensure a personal, continuous, and effective response to such requests.”

Arbel’s office said in a statement to Fox News Digital: “There is no fear of diplomatic repercussions. The issue is being handled in a good and friendly manner.”

When contacted by Fox News Digital, the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem declined to comment.

As of the end of 2024, Israel’s Christian population was estimated at 180,300 – roughly 1.8% of the total population – reflecting a 0.6% increase from 2023, according to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where the local Christian population is growing.

David Parsons, vice president of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, told Fox News Digital that he is “very grateful that the U.S. ambassador has intervened on behalf of all the Christian organizations.

“It’s a shame that it takes this sort of action when the government and the minister of interior should have reined in the head of the visa section and corrected her wrong decisions,” he said.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman told Fox News Digital that he had spoken to individuals on both sides of the issue and believed it “was a misunderstanding and the Christian groups will get what they need. This does not at all speak to the very important relationship that Israel has with the Christian community,” he said.