Maldives Bans Israeli Citizens, Sends Message To The World ‘Jews Not Welcome’

The Maldives has banned entry into the country by Israeli citizens and will fundraise for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency which works directly with Hamas in Gaza and some of whose employees participated in the October 7th terrorist attacks.

If the Maldives were concerned with the plight of Palestinians,

  • They wouldn’t ban Israeli passports since ~ 21% of Israeli citizens are actually Palestinian.

  • They would take tourism dollars from Israelis and use it to fund aid for Palestinians in Gaza. Except, of course, that the aid would never reach the Palestinians because Hamas steals it and sells it.

The Government of the Maldives did not ban Hamas leadership residing in Qatar. They didn’t ban Syrian passports or Sudanese passports. They banned the Jews.

By law, all citizens of the Maldives must be Sunni Muslim. Yet resorts have alcohol and guests dressing immodestly. Since the nation relies on tourism they thread this needle by allowing resorts in ‘uninhabited areas’ and declaring that Islamic law doesn’t apply in those places. Of course all arriving luggage is screened as passengers exit customs. Don’t bring alcohol or other banned substances into the country, and don’t bring an Israeli passport.

The Maldives has not condemned combatants embedding themselves in hospitals and schools, the use of human shields, or rape of civilian hostages. Here by the way are Hamas weapons being uncovered in a UNRWA school.

Make no mistake, this isn’t banning world leaders with whom you disagree, it is banning all citizens of the Jewish state. American passports, of course, do not contain the bearer’s religion.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

More articles by Gary Leff »

Comments

  1. It is to be an evisa. Pre-travel permission being required in such context is a de facto visa requirement.

    Mak needs practice in understanding the implication of verb tense use in sentences since he can’t get his act together in properly understanding what was written and yet peddles falsehoods about what I stated. It’s not too late for you Mal to sign yourself up for remedial reading in English.

  2. Of the 11,000 or so Israeli passport users who would visit the Maldives on any Israeli passport in a given year, a lot of those Israeli visitors probably have an entitlement to a non-Israeli passport as Israelis with dual/multi-citizenship status and can use non-Israeli passports to go to the Maldives. So even with this ban hitting passports issued by the Netanyahu regime country, most Israelis with previously booked trips to the Maldives should still be able to get there anyway if they really care about going at this point.

  3. So the Maldives was fine to visit and peddle visits to the country until the moment the country again banned Israeli passport use for entry to the country? I guess it’s like the “values voters” who support the con man-in-chief to become President again even after being found guilty on 34 felony counts by a jury vetted by the lawyers hired by the “loaded” con-man.

    It’s rather interesting how people who highlight the lack of religious freedom in Maldives nowadays jumped on board this kick about religious freedom in the Maldives only after the Maldives gets around to again blocking Israeli passport use to visit their country. Even just two years ago, the USG was again highlighting the problem in the Maldives — a problem years before that too, but which not so ironically took off as an issue in reports after the Maldives had gotten a bit more into letting China and Pakistan play it against India.

  4. @GUWonder “It is to be an evisa. Pre-travel permission being required in such context is a de facto visa requirement.”

    There are big lies about Jews – the Protocols, blood for Matzohs, organ harvesting, lust for “Greater Israel,” and tiny lies like maintaining that an ESTA style filing is requiring American citizens to receive an “eVisa.” Though some are more harmful than others, at the end of the day, they all come from the same place and the same people and rolling back the hatred requires proper understanding of the perpetrators and their strategies of dehumanization and delegitimization of Jews and the only Jewish State.

  5. Oh my, g-u-r-a-clown… all that effort, and still nothing of substance to say. At least you’re still shrill lol. The seven countries that had the temporary ban, and again, from a list generated by Obama, represent about 8% of the world’s Muslim population.

    Don’t worry, I’ll do the math for you. That means that 92% of the world’s Muslim population were completely unaffected.

    But sure… “Muslim” ban.

    You are such a screeching, ignorant, fool.

    But good for laughs!

  6. ESTA is an electronic visa in all but name. I remember very much the semantics and hoop-jumping going on inside the relevant departments/agenices and some of the legislative committees in the US when this was in the works and even afterwards.

    Israel is headed in the same direction of having an evisa regime applicable for visitors from the US and Europe.

    Pre-travel permission being required in such context is a de facto visa requirement. It is not an antisemitic conspiracy, despite what Mak wants people to believe.

    About Magnifico, his Lord T-rump publicly called for a “Muslim ban” and then after inauguration in January 2021, he implemented his much-challenged “Muslim ban”. It was yet another example of Don the Con being a conman and incompetent at that. He even kissed the ring of the Saudis as President. What an ignorant, screeching, foolish loser that dude or those who support him but can’t get their facts straight about their Lord T-rump.

  7. Cry harder g-u-r-a-clown.

    Did people of any religion from the Obama-selected countries face the same restrictions?

    Hint: Yes.

    But sure… “Muslim” ban.

    You probably still wear a mask.

  8. Magnifico,

    The only tears I would willfully shed — and would willfully shed for different reasons — are for inhumane people and for those subject to inhumanity from brutal actors. Your misanthropy is both pitiful and sad. Just saying, especially since your example doesn’t inspire confidence in the species not being deserving of a proverbial Darwin Award.

  9. Sure clown. Funny how you’ve dropped the whole “Muslim Ban” thang in your reply now.

    You know, since there never was one.

    Don’t worry: I’ll let you have the last word.

    I know how important that is to children…

  10. January 2017*, not January 2021. January 2021 is when it was eliminated. January 2025 is when Don the Con is hoping to be in position to put it back in place.

  11. @Magnifico

    You are so right… I always cringe when I see that fool, GUWonder post anything since I know it will be nothing but a hollow, libtard diatribe. TRULY, what a clown!

Comments are closed.