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Last update - 00:00 15/02/2005
U.S. reevaluating Israel travel warning
By Irit Rosenblum, Haaretz Correspondent

The United States is considering lifting the travel advisory warning to Israel, amid growing pressure from Christian and Jewish groups.
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"We are now evaluating the travel warning [to Israel] because of the new political and security context," a U.S. official said, adding the United States was not yet considering lifting the travel warning to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"We are certainly looking at modifying the travel warning to Israel," the official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

The heads of evangelical organizations and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations sent a petition Monday to President George W. Bush to have the State Department cancel the warning against travel to Israel.

The leaders told Tourism Minister Abraham Hirchson about the petition at the National Religious Broadcasters' convention (NRB), the annual gathering of thousands of Christian broadcasters taking place this week in Anaheim, California.

According to the signatories, who included Christian radio personality Janet Parchall and evangelist Kay Arthur, changes for the better in security in Israel warrant canceling the warning, which causes severe damage to tourism in Israel.

Tourism Ministry officials note that the State Department advisory has existed since 2000 and has not been eased in spite of repeated appeals by senior officials of the tourism and foreign ministry.

Other countries also issue advisories, but they do not unequivocably recommend against visiting Israel, and they change in severity according to the circumstances. Hirchson, who praised the stand of the Christian and Jewish leaders, said his ministry's goal is to bring 3 million evangelical Christians to Israel within three years.

The World Tourism Organization (WTO) announced its intention to address the issue of travel advisories, which damage tourism to many countries, by formulating new procedures that would limit advisories to times of emergency
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