10:30 The waiting room was empty. A man who waited outside told us about his friend’s problem and asked for advice. The friend, a 33-year-old, is unmarried, hence his chances of getting a permit to work in Israel are slim. In order to get married, he needs money. He has no money, so he wants to work in Israel and save an amount enough to marry, but to work in Israel he must be married and to in order to get married, he has to work in Israel. Catch 22! He said he could, buy a work permit for 2500 NIS, through the “permit industry.” But he says he doesn’t have the money nor the desire to do that. We referred him to Sylvia for advice.

A 65-year-old man, who actually does not need a permit to enter Israel, said that for a year already he had been barred from entering Israel. He obtained a request for clemency, Istrahan, and brought it to the DCL, hoping it would grant him a permit, but the soldier at the window refused to accept it. We gave him too Sylvia’s phone number.