Maldives Bans Israeli Passport Holders, With Extreme New Law

The Maldives has just introduced what’s sure to be a controversial new travel ban. While the country has been working on introducing this for nearly a year, it has now been signed into law.

Maldives bans Israelis, in solidarity with Palestine

Mohamed Muizzu, the President of the Maldives, has just signed into law an amendment to the Immigration Act, which expressly prohibits entry into the country using Israeli passports. Note that this ban doesn’t apply to dual nationals, so this new restriction is specifically about which passport you use to enter the country, and not about whether you have an Israeli passport or not.

While the Maldives and Israel haven’t had diplomatic relations since the 1970s, travel has been permitted up until this point. The government states that these restrictions will remain in place until Israel halts its “actions” against Palestinians.

The press release from the government provides the following justification:

The ratification reflects the Government’s firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people.

The Government of Maldives reaffirms its resolute solidarity with the Palestinian cause and its enduring commitment to the promotion and protection of the rights of the Palestinian people. The Maldives continues to advocate for accountability for violations of international law and remains vocal across various international platforms in its condemnation of Israel’s actions.

President Dr Muizzu has consistently reiterated the Maldives’ principled support for the establishment of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine, based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions and international legal norms.

The government first announced its plans to introduce such a travel ban in June 2024, but the actual implementation has been quite drawn out. For what it’s worth, in 2023, just under 11,000 visitors entered the Maldives with Israeli passports, representing around 0.6% of the total number of visitors to the country. The country saw a steep decline in Israeli visitors in 2024.

It’s worth acknowledging that there are probably many people who have Israeli passports who enter the country with other passports, so I imagine the total number of visitors who also have an Israeli passport is significantly higher. Furthermore, I suspect many Jewish people with other passports will reconsider a trip to the Maldives in light of this policy.

My take on the Maldives banning Israeli passports

It goes without saying that the current Israel and Gaza conflict couldn’t be more polarizing. I find the dialogue surrounding it to be consistently disappointing, since people are just talking past one another.

The way I view it, multiple things can be true. Yes, Israel had a horrible terrorist attack committed against it on October 7, 2023, and Hamas is a terrorist organization. But it’s also tragic how many people have died in Gaza, particularly women and children, and it’s fair to question whether the military operation over the past 18+ months has been the path that minimizes the loss of life, and creates as prosperous of an outcome for all as possible.

With that in mind, I’ll just say a few things:

• I’ve always been opposed to travel bans based solely on which passport someone uses to enter a country; “punishing” ordinary citizens for the actions of a government just seems juvenile
• The Maldives is heavily reliant on tourism, which is why the country has compromised so much on its religious “morals,” by allowing alcohol and much more at resorts; it’s interesting that this is the place where the country draws the line
• This won’t be good for the Maldives’ tourism, as I’m sure the country will see more than a 0.6% reduction in tourism, as Jewish people with other passports avoid the country as well
• This kind of seems silly, since the only thing this will accomplish is reducing the Maldives’ own tourism revenue (which, in turn, could be used to support to Palestinians, if that was the goal); it’s not like this is what’s going to lead to a major revolt against Netanyahu
• The irony here is that many Israeli passport holders are Muslim; now, those aren’t necessarily the people visiting the Maldives, but it seems strange to ban them
• If the Maldives wanted to introduce such a policy, it seems like this should’ve happened some time back

Bottom line

The Maldives has introduced a new entry ban, whereby Israeli passports can no longer be used to enter the country. This has been under consideration since June 2024, but has now finally been implemented. I’ve always been opposed to travel bans that punish ordinary citizens for the actions of a government, and this is no different.

What do you make of the Maldives banning entry with Israeli passports?