The UAE shouldnt be any problem, as Israelis themselves have been there for biz

Thanks. GUWonder, yes I'm a US citizen; maybe the second passport wouldn't be that much help if it is in itself a red flag. And I gather I shouldn't wear any shalwar kameez I bought in Peshawar or Kabul, or bring my copy of Lonely Planet Guide to Afghanistan.

The multi-entry visas were 1) harder to get and 2) the security concerns for going back and forth across the Khyber Pass were somewhat onerous, so I thought they might arouse more suspicion. It seems to me that a two week short term aid mission (and I carried a letter from the NGO documenting that) corroborated by entry and exit dates two weeks apart is more self-evident than shuttling between a Kabul hospital and refugee camps near Peshawar.

I'd still like to tour Israel, so maybe I will ask the trip sponsor (Sabeel) what their thoughts are. They support the rights of Palestinian Christians, so they probably know something of the nuances of dealing with Israeli security. The trip would likely involve visits to the West Bank with still more security checkpoints.

When I left TLV, the security people took one look at my UAE and Jordan stamps and started asking all sorts of questions about why I had been to those countries (visiting friends and sightseeing). I know both those countries set them off, because in talking to each other the one guy said to the other "blah blah blah UAE, blah blah blah Jordan".

And JOrdan is nominally a friendly country to Israel these days.

In the end, just go. The Israelis are remarkably cool with these things - just expect some questioning if it comes up. In the end, they just want to make sure you have no bombs or friends with bombs. Muslim countries, on the other hand, will be irritated if you show up with Israeli stamps in your passport. Best to get a new passport or use a second one for Israeli travel.

AFAIK, the only Muslim countries that don't care if you have Israeli stamps in your passport are Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Onlyair check with your tour group or the Israeli embasyy in Washington. I know that in the past Israeli passport control will stamp a piece of paper that you can paperclip to your passport and remove when you exit the country. They have done this in the past for people who travel to arab countries that do not recognize or deal with Israel.

Seems Sabeel is no ordinary Tour Group as Onlyair would like us to believe;http://www.fosna.org/SabeelStatementGazaMarch4-2008.htm

You're right craz, they are not an ordinary sightseeing tour group, as they are Jerusalem based but seem to serve primarily American church groups. The value seems good - 6 nights in Nazareth, 4 in Jerusalem with all lodging, meals and ground transportation to/from TLV as well as day trips, all for US $1,331. I would book my own overseas air separately and travel that part of the trip as an individual.

I have not been to Israel since the 70's, but this seems like a very good buy (assuming I can get through security at TLV with the Afghan visa on my passport). Is that impression wrong? The trip was recommended by a friend who went on a similar trip with Sabeel last year, sponsored by her church. But you don't have to be a member of any church, or of Sabeel, in order to participate in this trip.

Onlyairfare, if you have a choice, I would skip the Israeli passport stamp. We didn't because we like stamps and then discovered we wanted to see more of the Middle East and our passports were now a problem. Live and learn. Husband already has a new one and I will get a new one next year so error remedied. But don't skip Israel and especially the territories, especially on a pilgrimage!

Even with an Afghanistan stamp, you'll get through passport control and airport security (sooner or later) at TLV as long as you don't have prohibited items on your person or in your belongings. Odds are that they will ask you a lot more questions and spend more time on you and your belongings than is ordinarily the case for most other passengers in and out of TLV, but if the ducks line up and no prohibited items are in your possession or located on person or in luggage, then you'll get on your way eventually.

Thanks for all the advice. It sound like I should go ahead but expect questioning (gfunk survived with Jordan stamps and UAE is less of a problem ) and avoid getting an Israeli stamp on my passport as LLM suggests, since I probably will return to Afghanistan next year for another aid trip.

Just to make sure - so a Dubai stamp will lead to longer questioning, but by itself not be a reason not be admitted, right? I'll be going there next week with a football team - pretty much all and every one of them has been to Dubai because this is where they held their training camp...

You might not even get the longer questioning. If you travel as a group, you can have the leader of the group answer all the questions about Dubai and, after that, the other people will get only the routine questions asked of every traveler.

At least I have the choice to never visit. It doesn't seem like a very warm welcome or nice place unlike its neighbors. Lebanon, Syria and Jordan were all wonderful and had none of the suspicion.

They would not like all my stamps (UAE resident, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Tunisia, Malaysia)... plus possibly Afghanistan and Pakistan too.

Try entering Lebanon or Syria with an Israeli stamp in your passport.

For that matter, try entering Syria with anything Israeli in your possession (including a pack of cigarettes).

the security is more thorough in tel aviv airport than most other airports except maybe in germany.

in tel aviv, you can expect that your hand luggage will be searched. they will inspect a travel clock or look at your shoes, jewelry etc. they do not pass you through as quick as tsa.
they will also seperate you from the party(ies) you are traveling with and ask you questions about why you came to israel / what you saw / did there, etc. random questions, where are you from ? how do you know the person you are with etc. then they talk in little huddles and compare stories. if you don't pass the muster, you can be called for further questioning. it is very effecient though , they seem to handle it quickly for the most part and the extra questioning seemed to go okay. the second time i went i payed more attention to the procedures , and almost everyone was asked additional questions.

Try entering Yemen, Oman, Iran, and Syria...plus possibly Afghanistan and Pakistan with an Israeli passport stamp and see how warmly you are welcomed.