Secretary of State Blinken Warmly Welcomes Maldivian Foreign Minister to Washington With No Mention of Israeli Ban

Secretary of State Blinken’s pledge to support “a free, open, secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” during a meeting with the Maldivian Foreign Minister, Moosa Zameer, fell flat in the eyes of some observers because he failed to mention the island nation’s discriminatory ban on Israeli citizens. Mr. Blinken, however, did announce America’s plan to provide the Maldives with $2 million in hydrographic support to mitigate the impact of rising sea levels. Tuesday’s meeting comes just a few weeks after Mr. Zameer announced his plan to prevent citizens from Israel, America’s ally, from entering the Maldives because of the ongoing war at Gaza. Implementation of the policy, however, has been delayed due to the Maldivian government’s realization that two million Arabs live in Israel and hold Israeli passports. The ban was met with criticism from Israel and the global Jewish community for being discriminatory. The Maldives, a popular vacation spot which hosted some 11,000 Israelis last year, joins 27 other Muslim-majority countries with existing bans on Israeli tourists. Meanwhile, Congressman Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey has been drafting legislation to condition American aid to the Maldives on a reversal of the ban. “Taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be sent to a foreign nation that has banned all Israeli citizens from traveling to their country,” Mr. Gottheimer said in a statement. “Not only is Israel one of our greatest democratic allies,” he added, “but the Maldives’ unprecedented travel ban is nothing but a blatant act of Jew hatred. They shouldn’t get a cent of American dollars until they reverse course.”While the meeting with Mr. Blinken marks Mr. Zameer’s first visit to Washington D.C., America and the Maldives have maintained friendly diplomatic ties since the island nation established independence from the British in 1966. America has sent $36 million in bilateral assistance to the island nation since September 2018, according to the Bureau of South and Central Asian affairs. “For us, the Maldives is an important partner, and we want to make sure that we’re a good partner to the Maldives,” Mr. Blinken said before the meeting. An estimated 191,000 Americans with Israeli citizenship live in the United States, according to the 2020 census. It is unclear how the Maldives’ ban of Israeli tourists will apply to these citizens.

Secretary of State Blinken Warmly Welcomes Maldivian Foreign Minister to Washington With No Mention of Israeli Ban

Secretary of State Blinken Warmly Welcomes Maldivian Foreign Minister to Washington With No Mention of Israeli Ban

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