(International Business Times-UK) Gaurav Sharma - Several Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East, including the seven expressing outrage at a U.S.-entry ban for their nationals, have had a ban on Israeli nationals for over five decades. These include Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, UAE and Yemen. Bangladesh, Brunei, Malaysia and Pakistan also have similar bans on Israeli passport holders. Is this not a de facto ban on people from another faith? Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen do not even allow entry to people of any nationality with evidence of travel to Israel. This means that business travelers such as myself needed a second passport to travel within the Middle East if the first passport happened to have an Israeli stamp. But European governments didn't protest about the stance of Middle Eastern governments, and willingly issued second passports to their nationals requiring frequent travel to Israel and its Arab neighbors.
2017-02-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive