Israeli authorities in talks about new work visa provisions for Christian clergy and staffers
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Amid consternation about a recent spate of visa denials for international Christian clergy, Israeli government officials are discussing new visa provisions for the permanent staff of evangelical organizations, including the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (ICEJ), Bridges for Peace, and Christians United for Israel, the Christian Post (CP) reports.
International Christian groups have traditionally enjoyed a good rapport with right-leaning Israeli governments. Still, the new Netanyahu-led coalition includes Ultra-Orthodox and Jewish nationalist parties: these last have historically been less sympathetic to Christians than the Prime Minister’s own Likud party, CP notes.
Lawmakers from Israel’s United Torah Judaism party recently proposed a bill that would criminalize all Christian evangelism. This caused an outcry and led Netanyahu to assure Christians at home and abroad that such a measure would not be allowed to pass. Israeli law already prohibits the proselytization of minors, and it is also illegal to offer financial or material incentives for people to convert to Christianity.
Meanwhile, Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa has blamed radical Jewish extremists for recent attacks on residents in the Christian quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, CP reports.
Concerning visa restrictions for major international Christian organizations like the ICEJ, which have had a stable presence in Israel for decades, ICEJ Vice-President David Parsons told Ha’aretz: “We are slowly being squeezed out of existence by the [Israeli] Interior Ministry.”
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