Monday, March 14, 2016
Elder of ZiyonIt really is the official US visa site, though, and a number of US embassy and consulate webpages point there. This one says explicitly that it is "the ONLY authorized website for the payment of visa fees."
The reason this is interesting is the page from this official visa site that offers individuals to choose which country they are from:
Three of the entries don't have flags associated with them.
Two aren't even a country, but two cities without any apparent link to any country.
It is offensive enough to have the US not identify Jerusalem - any of Jerusalem - as being inside Israel.
But Tel Aviv?
Are they that afraid of offending Arabs and Israel-haters that they cannot even mention the name Israel?
When you click through to either the Tel Aviv or Jerusalem links, both take you to the same page - a page that again cannot say the word "Israel."
It is true that the US consulate in Jerusalem is mainly concerned with Palestinian Arab affairs. But it is more offensive to eliminate Israel altogether than it would be for the site to say "Israel and the Palestinian territories."
But if Israel would be mentioned, then Palestinian Arabs would be far more upset than Israelis would be for pretending Israel doesn't exist. So this site used by the US embassies and consulates worldwide decided it is better to offend Israelis by pretending it doesn't exist than to offend Palestinians by saying Israel does exist.
This is also apparently the logic behind not putting a flag for Cyprus. Sure it offends Cypriots, but when Turkish people get upset, they get far more upset. Better to eliminate the flag rather than risk the wrath of the Turks.
This website is a perfect example of Western dhimmitude - so sensitive to the possibility of upsetting Muslims that it pro-actively offends non-Muslims to head off even the slightest chance of ugliness.
(h/t sshender)
UPDATE: The Blaze asked the State Department about this:
The site is presented as “the official U.S. Visa Service for foreign citizens travel to the United States” where applicants can get information on the visa application process and pay the application fees.
Though U.S. embassies refer applicants to the site and link to it on their websites, the site is outsourced to a private company, and is not run by the State Department, the Department confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
The State Department emailed TheBlaze a response to a request for comment, which read in part, “The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, outsources many of our non-governmental visa processing services, including general information, appointment scheduling, fee collection, and document delivery services.”
The statement went on to say that the website “is run by a private company on behalf of the U.S. Government” and that “graphics on these sites are not designed to represent U.S. policy toward any individual country or population, rather they are provided to visually guide customers toward relevant visa information.”
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