Scoop: Maldives faces fight with Congress over Israeli ban
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Rep. Josh Gottheimer. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
U.S. lawmakers are crafting legislation aimed at stopping the Maldives from banning Israeli passport holders from entering the country, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The tiny, Muslim-majority archipelago and luxury tourist destination this week became the first country since the Oct. 7 attack to announce plans to institute such a passport ban in response to the war in Gaza.
Driving the news: Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) is developing legislation that would condition U.S. aid to the Maldives on allowing Israeli passport holders into the country, a source familiar with the matter told Axios.
- Gottheimer, one of Israel's most steadfast defenders in Congress, is working with colleagues in both parties on the bill, which will be called the Protecting Allied Travel Here (PATH) Act, the source said.
Catch up quick: The office of President Mohamed Muizzu said in a statement Sunday that the Maldives would impose the ban on Israeli passport holders following a recommendation from his cabinet.
- Muizzi also appointed a special envoy to "assess Palestinian needs" and set up a fundraising campaign to provide aid to Gaza called "Maldivians in Solidarity with Palestine."
- Nearly 11,000 Israelis visited the country last year, accounting for 0.6 percent of the Maldives' foreign tourist arrivals, according to the Times of Israel.
- The Maldives joins 27 other Muslim-majority countries with longstanding bans on Israeli passport holders.
What he's saying: "Taxpayer dollars shouldn't be sent to a foreign nation that has banned all Israeli citizens from traveling to their country," Gottheimer said in a statement.
- "Not only is Israel one of our greatest democratic allies, 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."
By the numbers: The U.S. sent roughly $36 million in financial assistance to the Maldives between 2019 and 2023, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department.
- The funds are to "strengthen democratic institutions, civil society, fiscal transparency, maritime security, counterterrorism, and law enforcement," per the State Department.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with Gottheimer's statement.
