Have Passport, Will Travel

April 18, 2007 - 10:00 AM by Stephanie

The first few years of living in Tel Aviv were filled with surprises. The usual ones – “It takes HOW MANY HOURS at the Interior Ministry to get (fill in the blank)???” – and the pleasant ones -”These are REAL Cuban cigars ??”…

Yesterday’s Hebrew press carried a story akin to the Cuban cigar surprise. A 2-page spread on North Korea included a little travel guide section for Israelis who might be feeling the urge.

“Although Israel doesn’t officially have ties with North Korea and there is no communication between the two countries (pause for throat clearing), N.K. isn’t considered an enemy state. And although Israel is suspicious of N.K. for selling ballistic missiles to the Arab world, Israelis are free to travel there.

The foreign ministry says there is no reason for Israelis not to go – no travel warnings or restrictions. But IF you go and get into trouble, noone will be on hand to bail you out. There’s no consulate.

Incidentally, these countries are officially off limits to traveling Israelites…Iran, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Algeria, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, The UAE and Tunisia.
-

Share with others