VZCZCXYZ0002
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJM #4632/01 3001511
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 271511Z OCT 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5560
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 004632 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR 
WILLIAMS/SHAMPAINE/STEINGER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAO KWBG KPAL IS
SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS WORKERS FACE VISA DENIALS 
 
REF: A. JERUSALEM 4511 
 
     ¶B. JERUSALEM 4472 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: American religious workers from Christian 
organizations in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza are 
finding it increasingly difficult to obtain visas from the 
Government of Israel (GOI). Of those issuQ visas, many 
receive only a 3-month tourist visa or a one-year 
&humanitarian worker8 visa. END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. (SBU) American religious workers, representing a variety 
of Christian denominations, are finding it increasingly 
difficult to obtain or renew visas to work in Jerusalem, Gaza 
or the West Bank, a problem shared with Palestinian-Americans 
from all aspects of society. Many are faced with leaving the 
country every three months because they were issued only a 
tourist visa, and some of those who leave are denied re-entry 
or given only one-week visas. In general, these workers have 
employment contracts with recognized churches and religious 
organizations. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Foreign Christian religious workers in Jerusalem, 
Gaza and the West Bank comprise four broad categories: staff 
of churches recognized by Jordan prior to the 1967 war; staff 
of churches or religious organizations defined by the GOI as 
&evangelic8; staff of churches not defined as &evangelic8 
and not recognized prior to 1967; and volunteers.  The second 
category of foreign religious workers often register as 
humanitarian NGO staff. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Americans working for churches that were recognized 
by Jordan before 1967 are eligible to apply for a one-year 
renewable religious visa. These churches include all of the 
Orthodox churches, such as the Armenian Apostolic, Greek 
Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, and Ethiopian 
Orthodox, as well as Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, 
Mennonites and Quakers. 
 
¶5. (SBU) A second category includes organizations defined by 
the GOI as "evangelic." According to Hanan Nasrallah, Senior 
Administrative Officer with Catholic Relief Services, these 
organizations include the U.S. based NGO's World Vision and 
Catholic Relief Services (CRS). They must register as 
humanitarian NGOs rather than as religious organizations 
regardless of whether they were recognized prior to 1967. 
She said staff may apply for one-year NGO visas with this 
registration. (Note: A 1977 Israeli law prohibits any person 
from offering or receiving material benefits as an inducement 
to conversion or from proselytizing to minors. End note.) 
According to Rev. Mark Brown, the regional representative for 
Lutheran World Federation, both World Vision and CRS have 
recently been subjected to a five-year limit on renewals to 
these visas, and Nasrallah confirmed that one CRS employee 
had recently been denied renewal of his visa. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Americans working for churches and religious 
organizations that are neither identified by the GOI as 
evangelic nor were recognized by Jordan prior to 1967, 
including Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists, are not 
eligible for any type of work visa, according to Dr. Cathy 
Nichols, a member of mission personnel with Sabeel, the 
Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem. Instead, 
Nichols said, these Americans receive single-entry, 
three-month tourist visas and must leave the country every 
three months and risk not being readmitted, regardless of 
their employment contracts. (Note: Those in this category who 
register with the Ministry of Social Affairs are 
theoretically allowed to convert their tourist visas to work 
visas once they are in country, but are rarely allowed to do 
so. End note.) Nichols has worked with Sabeel for the past 
five years, entering and leaving every three months on a 
tourist visa. (Note: Nichols is married to an Israeli and 
could receive legal permanent status here, but would then be 
prohibited from working in the West Bank. End note.) 
 
¶7. (SBU) Volunteers receive a one-time option of a six-month 
volunteer visa and then are prohibited from ever volunteering 
again. Nichols said most churches advise their volunteers not 
to say they are volunteers when they enter the country. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) ConGen Jerusalem has received various reports of 
American religious workers being denied even the types of 
visas they are eligible. Last month, two representatives to 
Jerusalem for the American Friends Service Committee (the 
Quakers), who are permitted to apply for religious visas, 
were given one-week visas despite their stated intention of 
working several years in Jerusalem. An employee with a 
two-year contract to Global Ministries similarly received 
only a one-week visa rather than a three-month tourist visa. 
Brown said that while he receives the one-year religious visa 
with multiple entries, his wife and children are given 
single-entry visas, meaning they must reapply and pay each 
time they leave the country and return. The associate pastor 
of Christmas Church in Bethlehem was recently denied a visa 
altogether, and the representative for the Presbyterians in 
Bethlehem rents space from CRS in order to obtain a one-year 
humanitarian NGO work visa under CRS auspices. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Note: The USG issues to religious workers from 
Israel, the West Bank and Gaza R1 visas, which are valid for 
five years and multiple entries and may be renewed. 
Dependents of those on R1 visas receive an R2 visa, which is 
also renewable and valid for five years with multiple 
entries. The refusal rate for such visas is extremely low, 
with ConGen Jerusalem issuing 96 of the 102 R1 visas applied 
for in 2005 and 104 of the 108 applied for so far in 2006. 
End note. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Post is requesting that all Americans who have been 
denied or given limited entry into the country register with 
the ConGen so that information can be shared with the 
Department and Embassy Tel Aviv. 
 
DUFFY