US allows Israel into visa waiver program

The U.S. has added Israel to its visa-free travel program, allowing Israelis to travel to the U.S. without a visa process — a long-sought win for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Department of Homeland Security announced the previously speculated move late Tuesday, a week after Netanyahu met with President Biden at the United Nations in New York City.

“Israel’s designation into the Visa Waiver Program helps the United States and Israel meet key national security goals and enhances — including through the enhanced Israeli cooperation with the U.S. — counterterrorism, law enforcement, immigration enforcement, document security and border management,” a DHS spokesman said on a Tuesday call with reporters.

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) covers 40 mostly European and Asian countries and is reciprocal, meaning American citizens — including Palestinian Americans — can also visit Israel without a visa.

“This program not only benefits Israel and the United States, but also citizens who live in the West Bank and Gaza who can now visit Israel visa-free. This effort holds great promise for people-to-people ties between the United States and Israel,” the spokesperson said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen discussed the move before the announcement Tuesday. He said it will begin in November.

“This is a great achievement that testifies to the close relations between Israel and our great ally, the USA,” Cohen said in remarks in Hebrew.

Multiple Israeli leaders have sought admission to the VWP, which has strict requirements, including a high visa acceptance rate and low visa overstay rate. Reciprocity was a difficult requirement to meet, The Associated Press reported, due to Israeli concerns over Palestinian-American access to the country.

Israel has run a separate immigration and screening process for Palestinian Americans than other U.S. citizens, which raised complaints that the process is discriminatory and often results in Palestinian Americans not being able to use Israeli airports.

The political victory for Netanyahu comes as he faces significant backlash at home over proposed changes to the country’s judicial system, which have resulted in mass protests.

The DHS spokesman said the change enables easier travel for Americans, especially those who have been discriminated against in attempts to travel to the country, notably Americans with Palestinian heritage and Muslims.

“More Americans now have easier access to Israel, due to the recent change in long-standing Israeli policy and practices that barred or restricted access to certain U.S. citizens, dual nationals, and often subject to U.S. citizens of Palestinian or Arab heritage, or Muslim faith to significant difficulties and unequal treatment,” he said.

The move drew pushback from four Democratic senators on Wednesday, who said Israel has failed to meet the requirements of reciprocity for U.S. citizens with Palestinian residency, adding they have heard from Palestinian Americans who have been denied entry through Israel border entries.

“Adherence to this important American tenet of reciprocity and equal treatment of all U.S. citizens is critical to the integrity of the Visa Waiver Program, and we are deeply concerned with the Administration’s decision to move forward in violation of that principle,” they wrote.  

The statement was issued by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).

The senators said they are going to monitor whether Israel comes into full compliance with the Visa Waiver Program and “determine whether Americans continue to face discrimination based on their ethnicity, national origin, or religion.” 

“We will keep pressing for answers as to how the U.S. government will ensure that Israel ultimately comes into full compliance with VWP requirements as well as what mechanisms the U.S. has to monitor the implementation of one system for all U.S. citizen travelers by May 1, 2024.”

Palestinian American activists also criticized the move.

“There are so many problems with this decision,” Yousef Munayyer, the head of the Palestine-Israel Program and senior fellow at Arab Center Washington, told the AP. “The reciprocity requirement is clearly still not being met since Israeli policy continues to treat some Americans, specifically Palestinian Americans, differently.”

“The [Biden] administration however seems committed at the highest levels to overlooking this continued discrimination against American citizens to rush Israel into the program before the deadline,” he said.

Updated at 10:58 a.m.