Tag Archive for Passport

| June 17, 2021
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UK Home Office switches ‘Jerusalem’ to ‘Occupied Territories’ on new UK passport

Policy Sabotage Inside the UK Visa and Immigration Department – UK Home Office apologizes, saying, ‘We are urgently investigating how this has occurred and will contact Ms. Balaban about the issuing of a new passport.’

By  JNS and ILH Staff

 

The Foreign Ministry is investigating a report that an Israeli woman had her birthplace changed from “Jerusalem” to “Occupied Palestinian Territories” upon renewing her UK passport.

Ayelet Balaban, a dual Israeli-British citizen who has held a UK passport all her life, said she was shocked upon receiving the new document, according to the Kan public broadcaster.

Ayelet Balaban’s expired passport, which lists her birthplace as ‘Jerusalem’ – Israel’s Kan Broadcasting

According to Balaban, she sent her old passport to England about two weeks ago and received the new one on Monday. Continue Reading »

Category: The Diaspora | Tags: , , , ,
| September 5, 2019
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Palestinians furious as US to list Passports births in “Jerusalem, Israel”

Palestinian Authority’s “foreign ministry” enraged after notice that US set to allow US citizens born in Jerusalem to list “Jerusalem, Israel” on their US passports, calling President Trump’s decision as taking another step to antagonize the ‘Palestinian people.’

By Elad Benari

 

The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) “foreign ministry” on Wednesday blasted the US administration’s intention to allow US citizens born in Jerusalem to list “Jerusalem, Israel” on their US passports.

The ministry said, according to the Xinhua news agency, that it considered the step “an emphasis by the administration of President Donald Trump to antagonize the Palestinian people and undermine any chance for peace on the basis of a two-state solution.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| November 7, 2018
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Nabbed: Bulgarian officials arrest 3 Iranians with fake Israeli Passports

Once again it remains unclear how Iranians successfully traveled throughout Turkey unnoticed with counterfeit Israeli Passports or why they too sought to gain entry into Bulgaria posing as Israelis.

By SETH J. FRANTZMAN, JULIANE HELMHOLD

 

Three Iranians traveling with fake Israeli passports were detained in Bulgaria over the weekend, according to a report at The Sofia Globe.

According to the report, the men were detained at the Bulgarian border as they were attempting to cross the Kapitan Andreevo crossing into Turkey, which is the major transit point for entering Europe.

Fake Israeli Passport

The three men, aged 21, 28 and 32 arrived on October 31 and carried Israeli passports that had been “falsified,” the Interior Ministry told the Bulgarian media. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| August 12, 2018
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Pakistani Jew seeks Passport to allow him passage to Israel

Fishel Khalid, a Pakistani Jew, appeals to his government in an op-ed asking for valid passport to travel to Jerusalem, since Pakistani passports are restricted: “Valid for all countries except Israel.”
• In Khalid’s op-ed, he points out how travel ban to Israel violates his religious rights afforded in the Pakistani constitution.

Dan Lavie and Israel Hayom Staff

 

Fishel Khalid, a Pakistani Jew, is asking his government to allow him to travel to Israel

A Jewish man in Pakistan has appealed directly to local authorities to allow him to travel to Israel.

Fishel Khalid’s Twitter profile Photo: @Jew_Pakistani

On Saturday, Fishel Khalid, who also goes by the name “Fishel Benkhald,” tweeted his request at senior government officials, along with images of his Pakistani passport showing his religion listed as Judaism and the specification that “this passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel.” Continue Reading »

Category: The Diaspora | Tags: , , , ,
| May 7, 2017
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U.S. Congressmen seeking to reverse State Dept policy on Jerusalem

 

52 Congressional lawmakers ask the Secretary of State in their letter to enforce a law passed by Congress in 2002 that requires the State Department to record Israel as a Jerusalem-born citizen’s birthplace on his/her passport.

By Erez Linn & Israel Hayom Staff

 

Almost seven years after the parents of Menachem Zivotofsky, an American born in Jerusalem, unsuccessfully sued the State Department to have “Jerusalem, Israel” listed as his place of birth on his U.S. passport, 52 members of Congress are calling on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to reverse long-standing policy on the issue.

Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.)

Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| March 24, 2017
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Renewed interest of Palestinians seeking Israeli citizenship in Jerusalem

 

Israeli officials: With the path to citizenship having always been open, Interior Ministry notes renewed interest in formal requests, with those applying citing pragmatism as their reason.

By The Associated Press & Israel Hayom Staff

 

More Palestinians in east Jerusalem are applying for Israeli citizenship in hopes of swapping their vulnerable status as mere city residents for the rights and ease of travel that come with an Israeli passport.

But after long touting its offer of citizenship to them, Israel is now dragging its feet in granting it, said those who track Palestinian applicants. Lawyers said their Palestinian clients now wait months for an appointment with the Interior Ministry and an average of three years for a decision. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| April 20, 2016
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Palestinian Authority Again Announces Intent to Issue State of Palestine Passports

 

First announced in Dec 2015 by PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Athens, Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs says he informed Israel that his gov’t was no longer using “Palestinian Authority” on official documents.

By  Noga Tarnopolsky | The Media Line

 

Hussein al-Sheikh, the Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs, informed Israel on Wednesday that his government intends to issue passports stamped with the name and seal of the State of Palestine.

PA Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh & Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordecai - IDF

PA Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh, right, and Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordecai sign a ‘memorandum of understanding’, on November 19, 2015.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| November 2, 2014
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US Supreme Court to end decade long drama on Jerusalem passport case

The Justices will determine whether “Israel” can appear on U.S. issued passports of Americans that were born in Israel’s capital.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB

 

The US Supreme Court is expected on Monday to make its final historic decision on whether Americans born in Jerusalem can have “Israel” written on their passports as their place of birth.

US Passport - Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

US Passport – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

The case, Zivotofsky v. Kerry, has been winding through the US courts for years with major setback decisions followed by unexpected decisions putting the case back on track.

The policy of the US, both under Republican and Democratic presidents, since the founding of the State of Israel has been that passports of Americans born in Jerusalem will read merely “Jerusalem” as place of birth, not “Israel.” Continue Reading »

Category: The Diaspora | Tags: , ,
| October 2, 2014
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Iranian couple sentenced by Kenyan court for possessing forged Israeli passports

Kenyan court sentenced a man & woman to either 2 years in jail or payment of $45,000 total, after pleading guilty to using fake Israeli passports to enter Kenya.

Reuters

 

 

A Kenyan court on Wednesday ordered two Iranians held under anti-terrorism laws to serve two years in jail or pay a hefty fine after they pleaded guilty to using fake Israeli passports to enter the East African country last month.

The man's fake passport
The man’s fake passport

Kenyan anti-terrorism police arrested the two on suspicion of plotting an attack in Kenya as they prepared to board a flight at Nairobi airport on Sept. Continue Reading »

Category: The Diaspora | Tags: , , ,
| September 19, 2014
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Kenya Arrests 2 Iranians with Fake Israeli Passports

Tourism or Terror attack gone wrong? Mystery deepens after 2 Iranians attempt to board flight to Tel Aviv with stolen, and forged Israeli passports.

By Tova Dvorin

 

Two young Iranians in their early twenties were arrested a few days ago in Nairobi, Kenya, Yediot Aharonot reports Friday, carrying forged Israeli passports with the Jewish names “Adi” and “Avshalom.”

Israeli Passport (illustrative) - Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Israeli Passport (illustrative) – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

The two men were caught after attempting to board a Brussels Airlines flight from Nairobi to Brussels, authorities said, with the intention to travel from there to Tel Aviv.

The two were arrested at the airport in Nairobi and transferred to Kenyan immigration authorities, who quickly alerted Jerusalem. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| April 23, 2014
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ADL Chief: Washington believes US Jews are not loyal

Anti-Defamation League head: Washington’s concerns about Israeli tourist espionage are “almost irrational… It’s a prejudice”, since both countries co-operate at the highest levels of new security/military technologies.

By SAM SOKOL

 

 

The Anti-Defamation League has reacted harshly to reports that several members of US Congress and representatives of the country’s intelligence community have cautioned against admitting Israel into the State Department’s visa waiver program due to concerns over espionage.

Israeli Passport - Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Israeli & US Passport holder – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

During an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, ADL National Director Abraham Foxman said he could not square such worries with the “special relationship” and high level of intelligence cooperation between the two nations. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| April 22, 2014
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U.S. Supreme Court reviews president’s refusal to abide by Jerusalem birthplace law

 

The U.S. Supreme Court will review the State Department’s refusal to enforce a 2002 law that allows U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem to have Israel listed as their birthplace.

By Reuters

 

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to weigh the constitutionality of a law that was designed to allow American citizens born in Jerusalem – the historic holy city claimed by Israelis and Palestinians – to have Israel listed as their birthplace on passports.

Jerusalem

American passports do not recognize Jerusalem as being in Israel. – Photo; AFP

The case concerns a long-standing U.S. foreign policy that the president – and not Congress – has sole authority to state who controls Jerusalem.

Continue Reading »
Category: The Diaspora | Tags: , , , ,
| April 18, 2014
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State Dept. working to add Israel to U.S. visa waiver program

Israel is working with U.S. so Israelis will no longer be required to apply for entry visas before visiting the United States.

By JTA

 

The United States and Israel are creating a working group to help Israel advance toward joining the visa waiver program.

Israel Passport - Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Israel Passport – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

“This is a goal of both the United States and Israel, and it would make travel easier for citizens of both countries,” Julia Frifield, the assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs, said in a letter sent Thursday to Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.).

The Department of Homeland Security is also part of the working group, Frifield said. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| October 13, 2013
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Yet another Iranian nabbed holding forged Israeli passport

 

3 travelers, one an Iranian citizen, were caught in Brussels with forged stolen Israeli passports.

By Yori Yalon

Three passengers were caught in early September with forged Israeli passports at Brussels airport in Belgium, officials have said.

The three forged passports, with the mistaken word for Tel Aviv in Hebrew – Photo Courtesy: Belgian authorities

The passports belonged to Israeli citizens living in Israel, and are suspected of having been stolen from their owners and doctored. Two of them were reported lost or stolen, but there was no such report concerning the third passport, possibly because its owner was not aware it was missing.

Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| July 25, 2013
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Iranian family buy Israeli passports to emigrate

 

 

7 family members detained in Vancouver after amusing faults in Israeli passports reveal they are actually Iranians carrying fake papers.

Itamar Eichner

An Iranian family, wishing to immigrate to Canada with no visas, bought stolen Israeli passports in the black market and added false information. The Canadian airport uncovered the fraud and quickly arrested the seven suspects.

Israeli Passport - Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Israeli Passport – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

The family – either a couple or siblings, and five children – were arrested at the Vancouver International Airport. The Iranian family used the name “Solomons”, while pretending to be an Israeli family supposedly residing in Rehovot. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,