Israel protests travel advisory

The embassy of Israel protested yesterday against the issuance of a travel advisory urging Filipinos to reconsider plans to visit Israel.

In a press statement, the Israeli embassy said that the state of Israel is taking all necessary steps to provide maximum security to all people living in Israel, "including overseas Filipino workers," in relation to the situation in Iraq.

"In this connection, the Embassy of Israel sees no reason to distinguish Israel from other countries in the Middle East by issuing a separate travel advisory for Filipinos staying in Israel," the press statement said.

Assistant Secretary Victoriano Lecaros, the spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs, however denied that the DFA had singled out Israel in a travel advisory.

Lecaros said that the statement issued by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration the other day did not single out Israel.

He pointed out that the OWWA statement merely called on Filipinos to "reconsider" plans to visit Israel and did not specifically ask them to stop visiting the country.

He added that Filipinos in Israel are probably the most security-conscious among Filipinos in the Middle East. – Efren Danao