US withholding visa from far-right coalition MK over extremist past

Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot was denied a visa to the US earlier this month after he was flagged for his previous extremist activity, Channel 12 reports.

Sukkot was supposed to travel to the US two weeks ago, but when he filled out his Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) application, he acknowledged having been under a police investigation before entering politics for alleged involvement in settler violence against Palestinians and Israeli troops. He had administrative orders issued against him temporarily banning him from the West Bank, but Sukkot was never convicted of a crime.

After receiving his ESTA application, US consular authorities reached out to him to ask when the last time he was questioned by the police over alleged involvement in a crime. Sukkot responded: “yesterday,” referring to the questioning he underwent over his 2024 illegal break-in into a military base to protest the detention of reservists accused of brutally assaulting a Palestinian detainee.

The response raised alarm bells with the consular officials who decided to hold off on granting Sukkot a visa. In the meantime, Sukkot missed his planned flight to the US, Channel 12 says, without revealing the reason for the trip. Sukkot’s wife and parents are US citizens.

Two weeks have passed and Sukkot has still not been granted a visa, but Channel 12 says that the issue may soon be resolved.

The State Department does not respond to a request for comment on the matter but doesn’t typically weigh in on individual consular matters.