Bangladesh Took Big Step Against Israel
Bangladesh made headlines by reinstating a clause in its passports that restricts travel to Israel, reversing a brief change made in 2021. Bangladesh, a country with 170 million people, mostly Muslims, has never accepted Israel as a nation. Since it became independent in 1971, it’s stood by Palestine, refusing to have ties with Israel.
The Story Behind it
Until 2021, every Bangladeshi passport said, “This passport is valid for all countries except Israel”, making it clear travel there was not allowed. In May 2021, Bangladesh updated its passports and dropped the “except Israel” line, changing it to “This passport is valid for all countries.” People wondered if this meant a new approach to Israel.
The government, under Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, explained it was just to make passports meet global standards for machine-readable documents, set by an international group (ICAO). They stressed they still didn’t recognize Israel.
The Rule Comes Back
On April 13, 2025, Bangladesh’s new temporary government announced it was bringing back the “except Israel” rule. Passports will again say, “This passport is valid for all countries except Israel.” The news spread through outlets like Middle East Eye and The Hindu.
Wrapping Up
On April 13, 2025, Bangladesh decided to put back the “except Israel” line in its passports, stopping citizens from traveling there, just like before 2021. Sparked by pro-Palestine marches and anger over Gaza (41,000+ deaths, 2024), it affects 2–3 million new passports a year and shows 88% of the country standing with Palestine.
