The Israeli government is reaching out Monday to Trump administration officials for clarification regarding the implications of Friday’s sweeping executive order restricting refugees and the entry of citizens of seven countries into the United States.
According to the order, nationals of Yemen, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, and Somalia will be banned from entering the United States for 90 days, giving the administration time to assess terror threats and revamp the vetting process for entry into the US.
But it was unclear if this directive would impact tens of thousands of Jews living in Israel who were born in any of those seven countries.
Israel is home to around 140,000 people born in the seven countries covered by the decree, including around 45,000 Iranians and 53,000 Iraqis, according to official statistics.
The majority are over the age of 65 and many fled persecution. Their Israeli passports say where they were born.
The US Consulate in Jerusalem referred a question by AFP to the US State Department, which was still unable to clarify whether the ban includes Israeli Jews several hours after being asked to respond.
The Israeli authorities were also seeking clarification, Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon told AFP.
Michael Wildes, a partner at the Wildes and Weinberg immigration law firm in the US and a former public prosecutor, said the wording of Trump's order was unclear.
He explained that the order refers to "aliens from countries" but does not explain how citizenship is defined.
"Either Congress is going to legislate or the president is going to clarify the executive order but until then I advise anybody who hails from those countries against travelling."
David Bier, an immigration policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute, agreed it was unclear how the law would be enforced.
Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-born Israeli and professor of Iranian politics at Israel's IDC Herzliya University, said Israelis born in those countries were "concerned" by the uncertainty.
"It shows the chaos and lack of preparation (in the US)."
Some US allies say they have received partial exemptions, allowing their citizens to travel to the US regardless of their place of birth.
Britain announced late Sunday its citizens had been given a partial exemption from the ban, allowing them to travel even if they originally come from one of the seven countries.
The clarification came after Mo Farah, a Somali born four-time British Olympic gold medalist, was advised he might not be able to return to his home in the US despite not having Somali citizenship.
AFP contributed to this report