American rights advocates oppose Israel’s participation in the Visa Waiver Program over its treatment of Arab Americans.
Washington, D.C. – US President Joe Biden’s administration will allow Israeli citizens to travel to the United States visa-free, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has said, despite concerns about Israel’s treatment of Palestinian and Arab-American travelers.
In a post on social media on Monday, Cohen said Israel’s impending acceptance into the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP) was “great news” for the country.
Cohen said that, “as we promised,” Israel would join the program in November.
The United States government has not formally announced that Israel will join the VWP, but State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday that a decision would be made in the coming days.
This was echoed by a spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), who told Al Jazeera in an email on Monday afternoon: “We have nothing to announce publicly at this time, but DHS and the State Department will make a final decision. the next few days.”
The prospect of Israel joining the VWP has faced widespread condemnation from Arab-American civil rights advocates.
That’s because one of the key elements of the program is what is known as “reciprocity”; countries in the VWP must allow visa-free travel for US citizens in exchange for a similar relaxation of visa requirements for their own nationals traveling to the US.
However, dozens of American and other foreign nationals of Palestinian and Arab descent are routinely turned away by Israeli authorities, who control all entry into the occupied Palestinian territories.
In 2019, Israel did not allow US Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib to visit the country and the occupied Palestinian territories, citing “their boycott activities against Israel.”
While US officials have pledged that in order to be accepted into the VWP, Israel must treat Americans equally – insisting that “blue is blue” in reference to the color of the US passport – rights advocates have cast doubt on whether Israel would live. to his obligations.
In July, U.S. and Israeli officials signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate Israel’s participation in the program. This marked a trial period before the Biden administration made a final decision by the end of the month.
But even if it is fully implemented as intended, experts have said Israel’s admission into the program could still violate the U.S. Constitution, which requires equal treatment under the law.
For example, the memorandum, a copy of which was shared with Al Jazeera, recognizes Israel’s right to deny entry to Americans based on “legitimate security concerns,” a reservation that advocates say Israel could easily abuse to target Palestinian rights supporters to attack.
Furthermore, it remains unclear whether American citizens in Gaza would be able to leave the besieged area under the new regulations.
“If this decision is upheld, it will be devastating,” Abed Ayoub, executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) advocacy group, said in a statement to Al Jazeera on Monday.
“By allowing the creation and recognition of different classes of American citizens, our government has endorsed and embraced Israeli discrimination and apartheid. With this decision, the US government will send a message that not all US passport holders are equal.”