Christians Need Not Apply

On July 4 the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced the appointment of Meir Sheetrit as Israels Minister of the Interior. The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that shortly after taking office the minister complained about the quasi-Jews, Africans and illegal Palestinians living in Israel. Its time, he is reported to have said, to bring only Jews to Israel…. Entrance to the country should not be automatic. One consequence of this policy has been increased cancellation and denial of visas to clergy serving the Christian communities in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Once eligible for multiple entrance visas, Catholic priests of various rites are now granted only one-time entrance and must reapply each time they seek to re-enter, with a wait of many months for news of rejection or approval. This regulation has greatly impaired the pastoral work of the church, whose clergy are largely Palestinian or Jordanian. The latest restrictions follow frequent denial of church worker visas for religious and lay people from abroad and a stiffening of residency requirements that have forced the repatriation of elderly monks and nuns. The This article appears in October 22 2007.