Overview

• U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee warned he may publicly label Israel unwelcoming to Christian organizations and impose reciprocal visa restrictions if religious worker applications remain stalled.
• Interior Minister Moshe Arbel defended his ministry’s prompt review of flagged evangelical visa requests and criticized Huckabee’s broad letter as exceeding standard diplomatic norms.
• On July 19, Huckabee visited the Christian village of Taybeh, condemned a July 8 arson at a fifth-century church as “an act of terror,” and pressed for full prosecution of those responsible.
• He has similarly urged investigation and prosecution of extremist settlers behind the beating death of a Palestinian-American Christian in the West Bank earlier this month.
• The dispute underscores the political weight of U.S. evangelical Christians in the bilateral relationship and unfolds as Interior Minister Arbel prepares to resign after his party’s exit from the ruling coalition.