QUESTION:<\/strong> Can I go back to Israel for a second \u2013 non nuclear? Well, actually it\u2019s \u2013 actually it\u2019s somewhat nuclear. There\u2019s a report in an Israel newspaper that says that the U.S. is denying visas to Israeli nuclear scientists who want to come to the States. Can you say anything about that?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n MR. CROWLEY:<\/strong> Without commenting on individual visa determinations which are governed by the Privacy Act, we continue to issue visas to Israeli scientists, including nuclear scientists, on a regular basis. We\u2019ve actually improved processing times for visas for scientific exchanges with Israel. So there\u2019s been \u2013 it has been suggested there\u2019s been a policy change. There has not been a policy change. And we continue to support exchanges with the Israeli scientific and academic communities.
\n <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nQUESTION:<\/strong> So this report is wrong?<\/em><\/p>\nMR. CROWLEY:<\/strong> To the extent the report is that we\u2019ve stopped providing visas to Israeli scientists as a whole, that report is wrong.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThis mis-states the problem.<\/em> It’s not <\/em>‘Israeli scientists as a whole,” or even “Israeli nuclear scientists,” it’s Israeli nuclear scientists working at Dimona.\u00a0 The former would be unmistakably a generalized academic and professional boycott.\u00a0 The latter would be a specific, unmistakable message about Israel’s nuclear program.
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