INTERNACIONAL
Dispute over Christian groups’ visas to Israel resolved after Huckabee threat
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The diplomatic dispute triggered by a low-level clerk in Israel’s Interior Ministry over visa applications for Christian organizations was resolved on Monday through «fruitful cooperation,» attorney Calev Myers told Fox News Digital.
«The Evangelical Christian organizations active in Israel, which represent the vast majority of Zionists in the world today, will receive all of the visas they need through a streamlined and efficient application process,» he said.
The issue burst into the news last week when U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee publicized a letter he wrote to Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, in which he expressed «great distress» over a halt to the «routine granting of visas for Christian organizations and workers, as has been practiced for decades.»
HUCKABEE CONDEMNS EFFORTS TO ERASE JEWISH HISTORY TO THE HOLY LAND AS ‘ABSURD’
Christian pilgrims carrying wooden crosses walk through Jerusalem’s Old City toward the Holy Sepulchre church during the Orthodox Good Friday procession on May 3, 2024. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images)
According to Huckabee, beginning in early 2025, the Interior Ministry’s visa department stopped following the Ministry of Religious Affairs recommendations and began conducting its own investigations into each Christian organization to determine whether they should be recognized as «Religious Institutions» and remain eligible for visas.
He cited as examples the Baptist Convention of Israel, Christian Missionary Alliance and Assemblies of God, noting that members of these groups have been denied renewals of their A3 clergy visas and are instead required to complete lengthy questionnaires about their religious beliefs. Huckabee said the status of their applications remains «under investigation.»
«When support for Israel around the world – and in the U.S. – is under pressure, backing from our Christian friends is extremely important»
He also named the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem as another group whose visas were «being held up.»
He had threatened that unless changes were made, «I will have no choice than to instruct our Consular Section to review options for reciprocal treatment of Israeli citizens seeking visas to the United States.»
Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee speaks to Fox News Digital during an interview at the American embassy in Jerusalem. (Yoav Dudkevitch/ TPS-IL)
A source told Fox News Digital that the issue originated with a low-level clerk in Israel’s Interior Ministry who was «not particularly friendly» toward Christian visa applicants. As a result, the visa process for clergy and volunteers had become «increasingly problematic» and filled with «barriers for years.»
A second source told Fox News Digital that elements within the Israeli Interior Ministry «are not sympathetic, they don’t appreciate the relationship» with the Christian world.
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren told Fox News Digital that he has been involved with helping to get visas for Christian organizations that do «extraordinary and important work» and there’s no reason for them to be given a hard time.
POPE DEMANDS CEASEFIRE AFTER GAZA’S CATHOLIC CHURCH IS HIT IN APPARENT ISRAELI STRIKE
«When support for Israel around the world – and in the U.S. – is under pressure, backing from our Christian friends is extremely important,» Oren said. «They are there through thick and thin – including when bombs are falling on us – and they contribute in so many ways. Whether it’s picking grapes, attending to people in hospitals, or cooking meals for soldiers. We should do nothing but appreciate them and make them feel welcome.»
The Ministry of Interior, responsible for the Population and Immigration Authority, was led by the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, a member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, until it bolted from the government last week over the issue of conscription into the Israeli army of ultra-Orthodox men.
Attendees wave Israel and the United States flags at the Christians United for Israel summit on July 17, 2023, in Arlington, Virginia. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
According to the first source, leadership turnover at the Population and Immigration Authority has exacerbated the issue. Amos Arbel, the former head of the authority and the uncle of outgoing Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, stepped down some five years ago. His replacements rotated through the position in quick succession, and the role is currently vacant.
«The absence of stable leadership has allowed a lower-ranking official – the head of the visa section – to make unilateral decisions,» the source explained. «She routinely disregards recommendations, including those from the ministry’s own religious affairs advisor.»
«It’s a chronic problem, and it’s disheartening,» the source said. «It shouldn’t take the intervention of someone like Ambassador Huckabee to resolve what should be a routine bureaucratic matter.»
EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS, WHO HAVE LONG SUPPORTED ISRAEL, VISIT AS WARTIME VOLUNTEERS
In response, Moshe Arbel sent a letter to Huckabee, reaffirming his «commitment to reviewing such applications [for clergy visas] with the utmost efficiency.» He wrote that «immediately following our meeting, I instructed all relevant professional bodies to act in accordance with the understandings we reached, and I assigned advisors from my office – headed by the chief of staff – to ensure a personal, continuous, and effective response to such requests.»
Arbel’s office said in a statement to Fox News Digital: «There is no fear of diplomatic repercussions. The issue is being handled in a good and friendly manner.»
Orthodox Christians carry wooden crosses along the Via Dolorosa (Way of Suffering) in the Old City of Jerusalem during the Orthodox Good Friday procession on April 14, 2023. (Saeed Qaq/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
When contacted by Fox News Digital, the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem declined to comment.
As of the end of 2024, Israel’s Christian population was estimated at 180,300 – roughly 1.8% of the total population – reflecting a 0.6% increase from 2023, according to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where the local Christian population is growing.
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David Parsons, vice president of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, told Fox News Digital that he is «very grateful that the U.S. ambassador has intervened on behalf of all the Christian organizations.
«It’s a shame that it takes this sort of action when the government and the minister of interior should have reined in the head of the visa section and corrected her wrong decisions,» he said.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman told Fox News Digital that he had spoken to individuals on both sides of the issue and believed it «was a misunderstanding and the Christian groups will get what they need. This does not at all speak to the very important relationship that Israel has with the Christian community,» he said.
INTERNACIONAL
Democrats attempting to visit Brooklyn ICE facility reportedly ‘trapped’ after being rebuffed by agents
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Three Democratic New York City federal lawmakers attempted to gain entry to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn — where as many as 100 illegal immigrants are being held, according to one state lawmaker.
Images posted Wednesday by the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) showed Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Nydia Velazquez and Daniel Goldman walking toward the MDC with the Gowanus Expressway in the background.
The NYIC said the lawmakers were refused entry to the prison, which has a history of high-profile inmates, including currently Sean «P. Diddy» Combs and Luigi Mangione, and formerly ex-Trump attorney Michael Cohen and MSNBC host Al Sharpton after he was arrested for trespassing on a Puerto Rican bombing range in 2001.
«Masked agents refused [the lawmakers’] oversight access to Sunset Park [MDC] and have now trapped them between a fence and the facility,» NYIC tweeted.
SENATOR SAYS BALTIMORE ICE FACILITY HIDES ‘EVIL PERSISTING IN DARKNESS’ AFTER DEMS TRY NEWARK REDUX
«They can’t get out or get in.»
A spokesperson for Espaillat told Fox News Digital officials «closed the gate and ran away for about 20-30 minutes.»
«No one could get in or out – either way – locking the members in for that time period.»
Fox News Digital reached out to Goldman and Velazquez for further comment or response.
Fox News Digital also reached out to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security for their accounting of the incident.
GRAHAM MOCKS DEMOCRATS AS DEA CHIEF PICK CONFIRMS MS-13 GANG TATTOOS
The situation marks the third time in recent weeks that lawmakers have attempted to gain entry to otherwise secure federal holding facilities.
Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., was arrested for allegedly accosting federal agents outside a jail in her home city of Newark.
DEMOCRATS CELEBRATE RETURN OF SUSPECTED HUMAN TRAFFICKER KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., speaks at a rally. (Getty)
McIver had been joined by several other lawmakers, including Rep. Robert Menendez Jr., D-N.J., son of the former senator, currently imprisoned separately on bribery charges.
Reps. Kweisi Mfume, Sarah Elfreth, Johnny Olzewski Jr. and Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., were all similarly rebuffed at a Baltimore ICE office where a handful of detained immigrants were reportedly being held.
ICE said at the time that the building, near Charles Center in the city’s downtown, is not a true holding facility and only a processing center.
In the Brooklyn case, New York Democrats have railed against ICE for some time for their use of the jail as a detention facility for illegal immigrants.
State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, D-Bay Ridge, said in July that MDC Brooklyn recently began holding more than 100 detainees and claimed many have no criminal records.
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Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., ( Tom Williams/Roll Call/Getty Images)
«ICE is disappearing immigrants, many of whom have no criminal records, into a jail that a judge called ‘contemptuous of human life and dignity.’ That should appall all of us,» Gounardes said in a statement.
«This isn’t about public safety—it’s a show of force meant to instill fear in our communities and keep immigrants in the shadows. It’s incredibly dangerous, disturbing and un-American. It must end now.»
Prior to his visit Wednesday, Goldman – who served as Sen. Adam Schiff’s, D-Calif., lead attorney in the congressional impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump – lambasted the president for his administration’s decision to utilize the MDC.
«Rather than continuing the Biden administration’s efforts to boost staffing and reduce lockdowns at the MDC, the Trump administration has reversed those improvements and is now further overloading an already unsafe and understaffed facility with dozens of immigrants with no criminal history,» Goldman said.
According to ICE’s Office of Congressional Relations website, members of Congress need only submit a request via email at least seven days in advance of their desired visit.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson explained to Fox News Digital that the seven-day requirement is to «prevent interference with the President’s Article II authority to oversee executive department functions.»
The spokesperson also noted that «ICE law enforcement has seen a surge in assaults of 830%, as well as disruptions and obstructions to enforcement, including by politicians themselves» – in an apparent reference to McIver.
Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
immigration,congress,new york city,donald trump,new york,democrats
INTERNACIONAL
Russia, China practice destroying ‘enemy’ submarine in naval drill after Trump moves US nuclear assets
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The Russian and Chinese militaries practiced destroying an «enemy» submarine during joint naval drills Wednesday, just days after President Donald Trump moved a pair of nuclear submarines toward Russia, a report said.
The drills involved Il-38 planes from Russia’s Pacific Fleet and Chinese Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, according to Reuters, and came after Trump announced last Friday that he «ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions» following «highly provocative statements» made by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
«As a result of effective joint actions, the ‘enemy’ submarine was promptly detected and mock-destroyed,» Russia’s defense ministry said Wednesday following the naval exercises in the Sea of Japan, Reuters reported. «After practicing anti-submarine tasks, the crews of the Russian and Chinese ships thanked each other for their fruitful work.»
The White House and State Department did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
TRUMP LIFTS VEIL ON US SUBMARINES IN WARNING SHOT TO KREMLIN IN ‘CLEVER’ REPOSITIONING MOVE
President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shaking hands at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on May 8, 2025. (AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pavel Bednyakov)
White House envoy Steve Witkoff is preparing for a trip to Russia on Wednesday, two days ahead of Trump’s Aug. 8 deadline for Moscow to enter into a ceasefire with Ukraine or face stiff sanctions.
On Sunday, Trump told reporters that nuclear submarines he ordered to counter Russia are now «in the region.»
TRUMP CONFIRMS 2 NUCLEAR SUBMARINES ARE ‘IN THE REGION’ TO COUNTER RUSSIA
The Chinese Navy submarine rescue vessel Xihu takes part in joint search and rescue drills with the Russian Navy as part of the exercises «Maritime Interaction-2025», in the Sea of Japan, in this still image taken from video released on Aug. 5, 2025. (Russian Defence Ministry/Reuters)
Medvedev said earlier last week that Trump’s new deadline for Russia to end the conflict with Ukraine is an additional «step towards war.»
«Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,» Trump then said in a post on Truth Social on Friday.
Trump moved nuclear submarines to «appropriate regions» near Russia after provocative comments from Russia’s former President Dmitry Medvedev. (Left: Contributor/Getty Images; Right: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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«Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances,» he added.
Fox News’ Diana Stancey, Danielle Wallace and Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
russia,china,donald trump,ukraine,foreign policy,world
INTERNACIONAL
El enigma de los 11 días que Agatha Christie estuvo desaparecida: venganza, traición y una llamativa identidad falsa
En diciembre de 1926, la escritora británica Agatha Christie se desvaneció durante 11 días en lo que se convertiría en uno de los misterios más intrigantes del siglo XX. A los 36 años, con seis novelas ya publicadas, Christie abandonó su hogar en Sunningdale la noche del 3 de diciembre llevando únicamente una pequeña maleta, una fotografía de su hija y dinero en efectivo. Su automóvil Morris Cowley fue hallado al día siguiente en Surrey Downs, con las ruedas delanteras colgando sobre el borde de un precipicio, pero sin rastro de la novelista.
La desaparición desató una búsqueda masiva que movilizó entre 10.000 y 15.000 voluntarios, según reportó The New York Times. Los investigadores emplearon sabuesos entrenados, terriers Airedale y perros policía alsacianos en una operación que se transformó rápidamente en un circo mediático mundial. Los titulares especulaban sobre suicidio y asesinato, mientras la prensa internacional seguía cada desarrollo del caso.
El 15 de diciembre, Christie fue encontrada en el Swan Hydropathic Hotel de Harrogate, Yorkshire, registrada bajo el nombre “Teresa Neele”. Aparentemente sufría de amnesia y fue hallada leyendo un diario donde su propia desaparición ocupaba la primera plana. Su esposo, el coronel Archibald Christie, explicó a los medios que la escritora padecía un trastorno nervioso y pérdida total de memoria.
Una de las hipótesis más extendidas sugiere que Christie orquestó su desaparición como venganza contra su esposo infiel. La pareja llevaba 12 años de matrimonio y tenía una hija de siete años, Rosalind. Antes de desaparecer, la autora había dejado una nota que Archie admitió haber leído y posteriormente destruido.
El elemento revelador surgió con el tiempo: Nancy Neele no era solo el apellido que Christie utilizó en el hotel, sino también el de la amante de su marido. Durante el fin de semana de la desaparición, Archie había asistido a una fiesta de compromiso con Neele, información que omitió a los investigadores. De acuerdo con The New York Times, la misma mañana del 3 de diciembre, la pareja había discutido sobre la aventura extramarital, y el coronel había solicitado el divorcio para casarse con su nueva pareja.
Esta teoría plantea que Christie sincronizó perfectamente su desaparición para arruinar la celebración de compromiso de su esposo, forzándolo a regresar mientras se convertía en el principal sospechoso de su posible asesinato.
La biógrafa Laura Thompson exploró personalmente el lugar donde fue abandonado el vehículo y concluyó que Christie probablemente planeó quitarse la vida. Thompson describió el sitio como “un lugar espeluznante e inquietante, con agua por todas partes, en medio de la nada”, según detalló The Independent. A pesar de los daños visibles, el automóvil conservaba combustible suficiente para continuar circulando.
En 1926, Christie había experimentado múltiples traumas emocionales: la muerte de su madre y el alejamiento de su mejor amiga Charlotte. “Por primera vez en mi vida me encontraba realmente enferma”, escribió la autora en su autobiografía. En una entrevista de 1928, describió el momento del accidente: “El coche golpeó algo con un tirón y frenó bruscamente. Salí despedida contra el volante y mi cabeza chocó contra algo. Hasta ese momento yo era la Sra. Christie”.
La escritora admitió haber salido de casa “con intención de hacer algo desesperado”, aunque negó categóricamente intentos suicidas. Esta distinción resultaba crucial: en la época, el suicidio constituía tanto un delito como un pecado que podría haberle costado la custodia de su hija en un proceso de divorcio.
La historiadora Lucy Worsley propone una explicación médica para el episodio. Christie habría experimentado un “estado de fuga disociativa”, una condición psiquiátrica caracterizada por amnesia temporal derivada de trauma emocional intenso. Esta teoría, reportada por The Independent, explica cómo los afectados pueden deambular con aparente normalidad mientras sufren desconexión interna profunda.
Durante su estancia en Harrogate, Christie socializaba, bailaba charleston, cantaba y pedía el desayuno en la cama, comportándose como una huésped procedente de Ciudad del Cabo, Sudáfrica. Aproximadamente el 85% de quienes padecen trastornos disociativos experimentan dolores de cabeza intensos, síntoma que Christie había mencionado en correspondencia previa: “Me estalla la cabeza”.
Worsley rechaza las teorías de venganza o publicidad, argumentando que el uso del apellido Neele no constituía una estrategia calculada sino manifestación de una condición mental seria. “Eso no es incriminar a tu esposo infiel por asesinato, eso es vivir con una condición de salud mental realmente grave”, declaró la historiadora.
Una hipótesis alternativa sugiere que la desaparición formó parte de un experimento literario o maniobra publicitaria. Durante los 11 días de búsqueda, Archie Christie ofreció una entrevista donde explicó: “Mi esposa había discutido la posibilidad de desaparecer a voluntad (…) la ingeniería de una desaparición había estado rondando por su mente, probablemente con el propósito de su trabajo”.
Christie acababa de publicar “El asesinato de Roger Ackroyd”, su sexta novela, famosa por revelar al narrador como asesino. Si la desaparición fue una estrategia de marketing, funcionó espectacularmente: los diarios comenzaron a serializar sus novelas junto a los reportajes del caso, duplicando inmediatamente las ventas de sus libros.
La transformación de Christie en “autor-celebridad” se consolidó tras este episodio. En 1930 firmó un lucrativo contrato para seis novelas, abandonando los modestos pagos de pequeñas editoriales. Según Worsley, aunque la experiencia fue “accidental y profundamente desagradable”, se convirtió en “uno de los pilares de su enorme éxito”.
Un siglo después de los hechos, el enigma de los 11 días perdidos de Agatha Christie continúa desafiando a historiadores y biógrafos. La propia autora mantuvo silencio sobre el episodio durante décadas, creando un misterio personal tan fascinante como cualquiera de sus novelas detectivescas.
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