Ben Gvir said to cancel US trip in last moment after failing to get travel visa

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has canceled his upcoming trip to the United States after he was required by the US embassy to give fingerprints as a condition for receiving a visa and was asked about his previous criminal convictions, multiple Israeli media outlets report.

The unusual move signaled that Washington was not going to give him a diplomatic visa, for which he is supposed to be eligible, as a government minister who holds a diplomatic passport.

Ben Gvir had reportedly planned to attend an associate’s wedding and to hold an unspecified diplomatic meeting.

Responding to Channel 13, which first reported the cancellation, Ben Gvir’s office claims that Ben Gvir decided to voluntarily give up the option of a diplomatic passport since most of his trip was planned to be personal.

The response fails to address why Ben Gvir has ended up not traveling at all, and falsely claims that all Israelis asking for a US visa are required to give their fingerprints. In fact, Israelis are eligible for a visa waiver under the ESTA program, provided they meet conditions that include not having a criminal record.

Additionally, Israeli journalist Chaim Levinson, who has an ongoing legal case against Ben Gvir, notes that the minister had asked the court to delay a scheduled hearing due to his US trip, presenting it as a visit with “diplomatic importance,” and not, as he later claimed, as a primarily personal visit.