US, Israel reach resolution on issue of visas for visiting Christians after row goes public

A solution was reached yesterday to the issue of visas for visiting Christian groups — which dominated headlines last week after a furious letter from US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee was leaked to the press — in a meeting yesterday between the Prime Minister’s Office, the Interior Ministry, and the US embassy, an Israeli lawyer who represents Christians in Israel tells The Times of Israel.

“Thanks to the hard work and fruitful cooperation between the US Ambassador, the Ministry of Interior and the Prime Minister’s Office, a solution has been reached to the satisfaction of all parties,” says Calev Myers. “The Evangelical Christian organizations active in Israel, which represent the vast majority of Zionists in the world today, will receive all of the visas they need through a streamlined and efficient application process.”

In his letter to Interior Minister Moshe Arbel last week, Huckabee 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.