Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, stated on Monday that an issue with Israeli visas for American evangelicals was “fully resolved.”
Huckabee said he had met with the Israeli interior minister and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu helped remedy the issue, after a January change in the way that Israel handled visas for Christian groups for decades “led to serious challenges bureaucratically and financially for the groups.”
The U.S. envoy said he learned that the changes “were creating delays, costs and significant burdens with paperwork.”
“After a meeting with the minister of interior, we thought the problem was settled, but organizations continued to have issues,” Huckabee stated. “I informed the prime minister’s office of the problem and pointed out how detrimental it was to the relationship of the State of Israel with the American evangelical community.”
Huckabee said that U.S. Christian groups were asking for “merely a return to what has been an efficient and satisfactory process for many years” and not preferential treatment.
“I am delighted to report that the issue has been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction, and the strong support that Israel enjoys from American evangelicals will continue,” the envoy stated.
“I’m convinced the interior minister was not fully aware of the change being imposed, and I’m grateful he has personally intervened to completely restore the long-standing process,” he said. “American Christians are some of Israel’s strongest supporters, and the resolution of this issue among friends is a welcome outcome.”
