Biden Administration Requires Americans in Israel to Sign Travel Cost Promissory Notes for Rescue

In a time when Americans in Israel depend on their government for support and protection, the U.S. State Department’s Consular Affairs Crisis Management System (CACMS) has left numerous American citizens in a precarious situation, requiring them to sign promissory notes as a precondition for receiving any assistance in evacuating from the chaotic region.

The email sent to American citizens stranded in the Middle Eastern nation outlined what they termed “assisted departure options,” and it conveyed that the U.S. government was prepared to provide transportation loans.

The Biden administration’s aid for Americans looking to leave Israel will involve a financial expense.

Specifically, the email states that “departure assistance is provided via a loan from the U.S. government, which requires travelers to sign a promissory note (an agreement to repay) prior to departure.”

Here’s the email:

The situation in Israel is still unpredictable; mortar and rocket fire may take place without warning. Please continue to follow the instructions of security and emergency response officials. Commercial flights are available but limited.

If you wish to leave Israel, we encourage you to take advantage of those options now. U.S. carriers have temporarily suspended flights to Israel, if you choose to depart, you will need to fly to an intermediate location and book onward travel from there to the United States.

We understand there is high demand from U.S. citizens wishing to depart and the flight options are reduced. In the coming days, we hope to assist U.S. citizens with transportation options to depart Israel. Due to the large number of U.S. citizens indicating interest in departure assistance, we will plan to offer transit over several days.

If you choose to take this departure assistance, transportation may be by air or sea and will be to a nearby safe location and not to the United States. Travelers should be prepared to arrange their own lodging at the safe location and pay for their own onward travel from the third country to their chosen destination.

Departure assistance is provided via a loan from the U.S. government which requires travelers to sign a promissory note (an agreement to repay) prior to departure.

This isn’t the only time the Biden administration has left its citizens behind. According to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee report, in 2022, as many as 9,000 Americans were stranded in Afghanistan, fending for themselves against the Taliban.