A wide-ranging exclusive interview published by Globes on Tuesday (Oct. 17) with Israel Aerospace Industries CEO Joseph Weiss, revealed the curious news that the head of the largest defense company in Israel is banned from entering the United States.
Journalist Yuval Azulai writes that Weiss has been in the U.S. “hundreds of times” and in the past even lived in California while serving as a senior Israel Navy officer, raising his seven children there.
Weiss admitted the story, which apparently began two years ago, is odd. He also claimed not to know why he is banned. “I have never been given an explanation for it – neither I nor other relevant parties,” he told Globes.
The ban does not interfere with his ability to conduct business, of course: “I meet with whomever I need to, when I need to, and where I need to. We talk on the phone and meet them at exhibitions around the world.” But he says it “amounts to a personal insult” and thinks he deserves an explanation. “Someone should tell me what’s going on here, but I respect the U.S. administration,” he says.