JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel reportedly has refused to allow the cousin of singer Barbra Streisand to make aliyah.
The Interior Ministry, via The Jewish Agency, rejected Dale Streisand’s request because it saw on his Facebook page that he had been previously involved in Christian missionary activity, Haaretz reported Thursday.
Streisand, 57, has lived in the Philippines for the last year, since he moved there to get married. His wife is pregnant and he told Haaretz that he wants the baby to be born in Israel.
Streisand said he was told originally that there was a problem because he was marrying a Philippines citizen, and then was told he was rejected because there was a link on his Facebook page to a Christian Missionary website. He has since created a new Facebook page that features an Israeli flag as his profile picture, and is friends with Chabad of the Philippines.
Streisand told Haaretz that he is newly religious and is studying Jewish texts.
The interior minister can prevent a Jewish person from making aliyah under the Law of Return if they "work against the Jewish people" or have been proven to have converted.
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