Baffling and Insulting

Washington Watch

June 26, 2023

Dr. James J. Zogby © 

President 

Arab American Institute

That some Biden administration officials appear to be in a rush to admit Israel into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which allows for mutual, short-term entry between participating countries and the U.S., is both baffling and insulting.  

It’s baffling because both the Departments of State (DOS) and Homeland Security (DHS) know that Israel doesn’t meet one of the essential conditions for entry into the program. Any country seeking admission into the VWP must guarantee full reciprocity, that is “equal treatment and freedom of travel for all US citizens regardless of national origin, religion, or ethnicity.” Israel has continually failed to meet that standard by blatantly discriminating against Arab Americans at its border.  

Civil rights groups have collected hundreds of stories from Arab Americans, especially Palestinian Americans, who have been harassed for hours by Israeli border control or outright denied entry and forced to return home to the U.S. The DOS has even issued a travel advisory noting that “US citizens of Arab or Muslim heritage (including Palestinian Americans) have experienced significant difficulties and unequal and occasionally hostile treatment at Israel’s borders and checkpoints.” In 2014, the last time that there was a push to admit Israel into the VWP, DOS rejected their application precisely because of their discriminatory treatment of Arab Americans.  

Not only has the situation remained unchanged, but with Israel’s issuance of new rules specifically targeting Palestinian Americans, entry has become even more restrictive. So why is the Biden administration now attempting to rush through Israel’s admission into the VWP? 

An Israeli newspaper recently described the steps some U.S. officials are taking to help Israel overcome the reciprocity issue. They will begin—most likely in July—a 30-day trial period in which Israel will implement a new process for entry screening. As described in the article, during this month, “Palestinian Americans will be able to apply for a 90-day travel authorization… [during which] the U.S. wants Israel to demonstrate that a critical mass of Palestinian Americans are able to apply online…[receive a visa] and successfully use it to enter” Ben Gurion Airport. 

While the ability to apply online and enter through the Tel Aviv airport (instead of being forced to use the Allenby Bridge from Jordan) is an improvement for some Palestinians, the design of the trial is, at best, inadequate. At its worst, it’s deeply insulting. 

In the first place, as described by some U.S. and Israeli officials, the trial only applies to the roughly 70,000 Palestinian Americans who currently possess Palestinian IDs. This excludes the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Americans who either do not have Palestinian documents or do not want them, only wishing to travel on their U.S. passport. And of those with Palestinian IDs, the trial only appears to require Israel to admit an undefined “critical mass” of those who apply. 

Additionally, the trial excludes other large groups who have reported serious discrimination at entry or exit. This includes other Arab Americans or American Muslims, especially those who have traveled to Arab or Muslim countries. The trial also says or does nothing to address the problem of harassment experienced at checkpoints or on departure. And finally, the design of the trial doesn’t speak to the actual operation of the VWP, which is supposed to allow entry without application or pre-authorization. For example, Israelis have been told that if their country is admitted into the program, they will be able to enter the U.S. without a visa. Reciprocity is supposed to mean that all Americans, including Arab Americans, should be able to enter Israel in the same way—without a visa.  

Instead of demonstrating Israel’s ability to meet the terms of the VWP, this trial, as designed, simply provides Israel with a “work-around” to allow access to a limited number of Palestinians. This is not the meaning of reciprocity. “Dumbing down” the terms to which Israel must comply to gain entry into the VWP because they cannot otherwise  meet them both violates the statutory requirement of full reciprocity and is an insult to the citizenship rights of those Arab Americans who may still be subjected to discriminatory treatment at entry and exit.  

While Israel argues that its border policies are dictated by security concerns, there are too many recorded instances of discriminatory treatment or denial of entry that put lie to this claim. The refusal to accept the U.S. passports of Palestinian Americans (even those born in the U.S.) and their treatment of Arab Americans who have traveled to Lebanon or Egypt speak more to harassment than security. In any case, if Israel insists on continuing its behavior, the U.S. simply should not and cannot honor Israel with the privilege of the VWP. 

Because this issue has been so deeply troubling to so many Arab Americans, I have been collecting affidavits from those who have encountered harassment or denial of entry at Ben Gurion Airport. I have been able to share their experiences with the Secretaries of State with whom I dealt over the past 30 years, all of whom made it clear that Israel’s conduct was unacceptable. On hearing some of these stories, Secretary Condoleezza Rice expressed her outrage and issued a statement noting that “An American is an American” and there should be no discrimination based on ethnicity or national origin. 

This affirmation of our citizenship rights is what we should expect from our government. Allowing Israel to designate certain Americans as second-class citizens is insupportable. We cannot allow Arab Americans to be “thrown under the bus” so that the administration can do an election-year favor for Israel.  

Arab Americans aren’t alone in our insistence that our rights be protected. Letters by a number of US Senators and members of Congress, and six prominent liberal American Jewish organizations have supported us by calling on the Biden administration to put the brakes on Israel’s admission into the VWP until Israel can demonstrate the capacity and willingness to honor the reciprocity requirement.