2 years ago

US Admits Israel Into Visa Waiver Program

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The US on Wednesday officially announced that Israel has been accepted to its Visa Waiver Program and Israeli citizens will now be able to enjoy the benefits of the program • Full Story

The US on Wednesday officially announced that Israel has been accepted to its Visa Waiver Program and Israeli citizens will now be able to enjoy the benefits of the program.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas presented the certificate of approval.

On Tuesday, Axios reported that Blinken signed a letter recommending that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas allow Israel to join the US Visa Waiver Program.

It is estimated that implementation of the process will take a few weeks, and that during November, Israelis will already be able to enter the US without needing to present a visa, as they have been required to do until now.

Registration for the US Border Control’s ESTA system, which provides the visa exemption, includes a questionnaire (in English) in which the traveler is asked various questions. The exemption received is then valid for a period of two years.

The system is mainly intended for tourists and short-term business trips, and allows the traveler to remain in the US for up to 90 consecutive days.

Those who require a longer permit for purposes of study, work, or immigration will still be required to turn to the Embassy in order to receive a visa.

Recently, Israel’s Foreign Ministry published an announcement praising the exemption, sparking anger in the US State Department over the premature announcement.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote on X today: “Israel is now the 41st member of the Visa Waiver Program. This important achievement represents a critical step forward in our strategic partnership that will enhance freedom of movement for U.S. citizens.”

US Embassy in Israel Charge d’Affaires Stephanie Hallett remarked: “Let me be among the first to say congratulations. We are excited to welcome Israel as the 41st country into the Visa Waiver Program. At its heart, this program will further strengthen the ties between our two countries and, more importantly, between our people.”

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Efriem Wolpo

1. t’s a potential security risk. Although the Shabak has apparently signed off on the Visa Waiver Program, it’s likely that American pressure will cause our border control agents to be extremely reluctant to bar a significant number of Palestinian Americans who would ordinarily have been refused entry out of fear of angering the US. Indeed, according to published reports, we will only be permitted to stop around 3% of Palestinian Americans for security reasons before we will be forced to admit the remaining visitors regardless as to our concerns about them.

2. A another security problem associated with the Visa Waiver Program involves the danger of allowing so many Palestinian Americans into Judea and Samaria that they will have an inhibiting effect on our soldiers during security operations. This has already occurred and will only get worse as time goes by.

Basically, every Palestinian American who feels that they’ve been discriminated against by our troops can now escalate their complaints to the level of a diplomatic incident. Friends of mine who serve in the Territories have already been told by Palestinian Americans that if they stop them for a security check, they will lodge a discrimination charge against the soldiers with the US Embassy in Jerusalem.

3. Yet another security problem associated with the US Waiver program involves a situation in which more and more Palestinian Americans decide to purchase illegal property from the PA that is located within Area C. If it’s nearly impossible to get our government to demolish uninhabited illegal Arab structures in Area C, it will be totally out of the question if Palestinian Americans are listed as the owners.

4. Lastly, as for the EU, Canada, and Australia, I’m quite certain that if we don’t agree to the unimpeded admission of their Palestinian citizens into Israel, they’ll eventually impose harsh visa requirements on our tourists and business executives.