No to American Visa Exemption for Israelis

Although the United States has told Israel repeatedly that Palestinian Americans must be treated as American citizens at border crossings or anywhere else, US State Department Spokesman, Sean McCormack, noted that "it's a continuing issue. It's a continuing problem."

During Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s upcoming trip to Washington later this month, he intends to once again request from President Bush and the American administration that the visa requirement be waved for Israeli citizens wishing to visit the US. This, despite the recent US decision not to include Israel in the visa waver program for reasons related to the current rejection rate of visa requests from Israel, the fear that Israelis will overstay their visas and the lack of new additions to the waiver program in recent years.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz noted that while Olmert will also raise issues related to the peace negotiations, arms deals and Iran in his upcoming visit, the issue of visas is “more important to most [Israeli] citizens.”

For far too long, the United States, European Union and its member states have facilitated and financed the desire of Israeli citizens to enjoy a high standard of living and live a life of normalcy amongst the global community of nations, of which travel abroad is an important part. Yet it has never been demanded of Israelis to take responsibility and be held accountable for their actions, crucial values underpinning any democratic system. With the active involvement or silent complicity of the US and Europe, Israel continues unimpeded to strengthen its occupation of the Palestinian territories, violate the most fundamental human rights of the Palestinian people and talk about peace while destroying hope for justice and security for Palestinians and Israelis alike.

In addition, the US State Department has raised its strong concerns with Israel numerous times over the past thirty years, about the latter’s long delays, suspicious attitude, and degrading security checks of Americans of Arab descent wishing to enter Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT). In 2007, Secretary of State Rice warned Israel that unless there was a change in this situation, the State Department would update its travel warning for Americans visiting Israel to include a statement that “Israel harasses American citizens of Arab and Palestinian origin.”

Despite this, in March of this year, the Arab American Institute (AAI) sent a letter to Secretary of State Rice on behalf of 29 organizations expressing continued concern over the Israeli government treatment of Americans at Israel’s border crossings. Although the United States has told Israel repeatedly that Palestinian Americans must be treated as American citizens at border crossings or anywhere else, US State Department Spokesman, Sean McCormack, noted that "it's a continuing issue. It's a continuing problem."

And in September of this year, it was reported that American dancer Abdur-Rahim Jackson of the Alvin Ailey dance company was repeatedly asked about his Muslim name by security officials at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport before being made to dance for them prior to being allowed into the country with his colleagues for scheduled performances.

The Alternative Information Center (AIC) encourages American citizens to contact their elected officials, demanding that Israeli citizens not benefit from the visa waiver program until the occupation and human rights violations of Palestinians are stopped, and Americans of all backgrounds and origins are treated fairly and equally at Israel’s border crossings. In this new age of hope in the United States, waiving visas for Israelis would be a throwback to failed politics as usual. It is time for a change.