Pastors’ trip to Israel hits a snag
MBABANE – The Ministry of Home Affairs has halted the processing of around 200 international passports for local pastors who want to visit Israel.
This was confirmed by the Ministry of Home Affairs Communication Officer, Mlandvo Dlamini.
He stated that the ministry received around 200 applications of these applications. He said after noting the increase in the applications, they noted that all the religious leaders attached a letter of a sponsor, who was inviting them for a trip to Israel.
According to Dlamini, the ministry had protocols that they followed when processing an international passport.
Some of the protocols was to check who was sponsoring that particular trip and if that organisation or person had the financial means to support the entire trip.
Ensure
He said this was to ensure that emaSwati were not exposed to dangerous situations or found them abandoned in foreign land without a means of returning home.
He stated that when they were conducting their verification exercise, there was scanty information about the sponsor, who claimed to be responsible for the religious leaders’ intended trip.
“We started questioning when we received around 200 applications from pastors who wanted to visit Israel, but not all the necessary documents about the sponsor were submitted,” he said. Dlamini said it was within their jurisdictions as a ministry to probe all applications of this kind. The communications officer said the invitation letter that was submitted by the leaders did not clearly state the reasons of the trip, hence they became suspicious.
Warned
Meanwhile, the President of the League of African Churches, Bishop Samson Hlatjwako, warned local pastors against the trip.
He said at first, the invitation was extended to 100 local pastors, but over time the numbers kept on escalating.
He said they engaged their pastors about the details of the trip, but some of them did not seem to have enough information about it.
Following the suspicions of the sponsor, the ministry will meet the tripartite of Christian bodies in the country, which are the League of African Churches, Conference of Churches and Council of Churches over the matter.
Apart from this invite, it is common for pastors and Christians in general to travel to Israel as part of their spiritual journey.
According to Google, Israel, a Middle Eastern country on the Mediterranean Sea, is regarded by Jews, Christians and Muslims as the biblical Holy Land.
Its most sacred sites are in Jerusalem. Within its Old City, the Temple Mount complex includes the Dome of the Rock shrine, the historic Western Wall, Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Israel’s financial hub, Tel Aviv, is known for its Bauhaus architecture and beaches.