NGO visas restricted by Israeli government
Aid agencies and peace groups concerned about changes
Aid agencies and peace groups have expressed concern about the future of international work in Palestine and Israel, following an Israeli government decision to restrict visas for workers from non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Instead of providing NGO staff with working visas, the Israeli authorities now plan to issue many of them with tourist visas, which tend to have a duration of three months. If working in the occupied Palestinian territories, they will need to register with a unit that is subordinate to the Israeli Ministry of Defence.
Quaker worker Patricia Sellick found herself issued only with a tourist visa by Israel when she recently took up a post with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).
A spokesperson for Oxfam told the Friend that the situation was ‘of great concern’, as the organisation’s employees are waiting to see how the changes will affect them. Other NGOs say that they have struggled for years with Israeli reluctance to issue visas.
Anna Seifert, of Surrey and Hampshire Border Area Meeting, who previously worked as an Ecumenical Accompanier in Palestine, said she felt ‘anger and sadness’ when she heard the news. She was moved to write to the Israeli ambassador on the issue.
Anna told the ambassador that Quakers ‘work for peace with justice and witness to “that of God in everyone”’. She asked him if he could envisage how ‘Quaker work could be harmful to Jewish people, or in any way a threat to the state of Israel?’
AFSC’s work includes a youth leadership and community development programme in the occupied territories and support for conscientious objectors in Israel.
The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), which in Britain is administered by Friends on behalf of the World Council of Churches, is not expected to be affected by the change as it does not rely on long-term working visas.
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