Posted on 07/18/2025 4:50:49 AM PDT by hcmama
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has threatened to publicly declare that Israel no longer welcomes Christian groups to Israel over what he said was Jerusalem’s failure to approve tourist visas for evangelical missions.
The threat was issued in a letter that Huckabee sent on Wednesday to Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, which was leaked to Hebrew media on Thursday. Arbel pushed back on the allegations in a response letter that was obtained by The Times of Israel.
“It would be very unfortunate if our embassy were forced to publicly announce throughout the United States that the State of Israel does not welcome Christian organizations and their representatives, and instead engages in harassment and negative treatment of them. We are also obligated to warn Christians in America that their generous donations are being met with hostility, and that tourists should reconsider their travels,” the US envoy wrote, according to the Belaaz Jewish news site.
Huckabee sent copies of his letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.
Given Huckabee’s longstanding support for Israel and close ties with the current government in particular, the rhetoric in his letter represented a shockingly quick deterioration.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesofisrael.com ...
Your post is pretty much bullchit because it just isn’t true. The US lets in muslims and radicals and all kinds of people with radical causes.
Which begs the question of why these silly, delusional evangelicals (I’d count Huckabee among them) who have some kind of fixation on supporting a country with a state religion that is defined by its rejection of Jesus Christ.
Because all Counties are. ONLY the US TRULY is.
I wonder what the Ezek 38 crowd thinks about that.
I’m sorry, I can’t fault Israel here if th sole purpose is to evangelize. It’s the same thing when we started revoking visas for Islamic radicals to come over here and start intentionally spreading their filth.
Christian tourists and visitors are ESCEPTIONALLY welcome and appreciated in Israel ( from affinity and from history and from their tourist spending) and Israel has restored historic churches and sites of Christian interest ...and built and maintains many visitor attractions of interest to Christian visitors whether in groups or traveling independently.
secondly, Huckabee as an ambassador would never go public with a statement like this, it is not a diplomatic way to handle any questions or concerns...he would take it up with the government in Jerusalem where he is detailed. He is too intelligent to commit a diplomatic faux pas, blunder like this
Organized Christian tour groups, church groups of various denominations, are all extremely welcome, with open arms. The Ministry of Tourism reaches out to Christian churches and organizations to invite them to visit, and there’s quite a budget for this, too.
So, unless anyone in a group appeared to pose a security or terrorism risk (and there have been instances of terrorists and spies “using” Christian tour groups as “cover” to sneak in), entire groups of Christian visitors arrive daily on flights from USA, Canada, Europe, and even places as geographically remote as Australia and South Korea.
Have you seen the great big beautiful hotels and tourist facilities in places like Eilat, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Sea of Galilee? While there are some Moslem and a number of Jewish and other visitors, tourists...the rest of these facilities are always filled up with (very welcome) Christians.
https://www.gov.il/en/departments/ministry_of_tourism/govil-landing-page
We're told we must support Israel because it "shares our Judeo-Christian values."
Including freedom of speech and religion (i.e., freedom to proselytize).
Yes, Israel can do what it wants -- on its own dime.
If Christians are unwelcome, they need to know it so they can direct their financial and political support accordingly.
Anyone who sends money to Israel, voluntarily or through taxes, has no obligation to be quiet.
A few isolated incidents does not match the discrimination Messianic Jews face im Israel
Yes, you Messianic Jews are a strange bunch. One thing Christians and Jews agree on is that Messianic Jews are Christians. Only Messianic Jews insist that they are Jews.
Are you aware that many Messianic Jews are gentile, with no Jewish heritage? That's what one Jewish writer wrote in the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles (a free publication I read from time to time). He said that some Messianic synagogues have more gentiles that Jews. I don't know how he'd know that, but it's what he claimed.
Ethnic cleansing would be the more accurate term. And yes it’s more than obvious that’s what’s going on over there.
Just like Pat Buchanan, they seem to think because they are Christian, they understand Israel.
I was there for 3 months and you need to be there for years before you can truly understand what it is like to be surrounded by 20M people who hate you.
There is a reason why every Kibbutz is surrounded by barb wire and armed guards 24-7.
I was told by other FReepers that UN-Israel-1948 was a "Democracy". And since they were a Democracy, we needed to defend them.
Now you are telling me that they are actually an ethno-state.
I'm very confused.
Just more B.S. from you.
Israel restricts Christians' access to Holy Saturday celebrations in Jerusalem
Ultra-Orthodox Jews seen spitting on Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem
When Israel was formed there were just over one million palestinians. Currently there are well over SEVEN million. Many thousands live in Israel and prior to October 7th thousands crossed the border every day for work.
So I ask again, are you lying or just an idiot? Or maybe Israel is the single worst country do ever try ethnic cleansing because the people they are trying to wipe out just keep multiplying.
Idiot.
I very much respect your opinion but I never saw any of this when I was in Israel.
I will always respect your posts!
I DID see an Israeli soldier rescue an American who wandered into the wrong section of the Arab sector of the old city.
The guy would have been dead if he hadn’t been rescued.
IDF stopped and warned us when we were driving from Galilee area to the Dead Sea area:
“Don’t get off the road, don’t visit towns on the way until you get to Jericho! Jericho is very safe”
“If your car breaks down, stay with your car and we will rescue you.”
“Do NOT go to a nearby town for help!!! it is WAY too dangerous”
I traveled thru most of Israel when I was there from The Golan Heights (we could see Damascus), Elat, about 5 miles from the Dimona reactor, Haifa, Tel Aviv and of course Jerusalem.
The only time I felt really scared was in Nazareth but Bethlehem wasn’t great either. You have to be at full alert and with a tour guide in Nazareth!
Messianic Jews chose to worship in Messianic Synagoges. To some Gentile Christians, we are being too Jewish. To Unsaved Jews we are no longer Jewish. We take it in stride. Our mission is to bring salvation to Israel and also to the Nations, as did our 1st Century forbarers.
I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make. You seem to be saying that because the Arab reproduction rate is high it’s ok for Israel to occasionally thin the herd of them to keep the population in balance?
The black coats are a problem. They stone woman who don’t covered up clotjes. They are fanatical l, and live off welfate while the study the Talnlmud all day.They are a small part of the Israli population.
And they persecute Messianic Jrws way more than Christians.
Is America guilty of "ethnic cleansing" every time we kill people, including MANY civilians, who have attacked us? A yes or no will suffice.
Yet they have free reign in Israel and never prosecuted.
America is guilty of doing many evil things but I’m not aware of us doing any ethnic cleansing in modern times unless you are referring to our displacing American Indians more than a century ago. Modern day morality differs from what it was in the past and ethnic cleansing nowadays is greatly frowned upon. Back in the day slavery and burning witches was an acceptable thing too but obviously neither one is acceptable today. Generally morality has evolved over time to where things that were once commonplace are no longer acceptable.
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