Biblical sheep to flock to Israel after visa battle

A Canadian couple raising an ancient breed of sheep said to feature in the Biblical story of Jacob and Laban say they expect to bring the flock to Israel within the year, after a breakthrough in the bureaucratic impasse preventing their import.

Gil and Jenna Lewinsky tell Reuters they are close to a deal that would allow them to bring some 100 sheep “back home” to Israel.

“It would be a very important and historic moment when the sheep return after basically 2,000 years,” Jenna Lewisnky says.

Eitan Weiss, the spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in Canada, says he facilitated a dialogue between the couple and the Israeli Agriculture Ministry and sent along “strong recommendations” for the sheep to be allowed entry.

Due to concerns over diseases, Israel only permits the importation of live livestock from a limited number of countries where there is no evidence of such illnesses as the bluetongue virus or the mycoplasma bacteria, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said.

“When Jenna and Gil talked to me, I thought it was a very beautiful story,” Weiss says. “Why not promote it? Why not bring the valuable sheep to Israel, especially when we know about rarity of sheep in Israel? That was before we knew of limitations.”