Israel Matzav

State Department claims Israeli treatment of Arab Americans behind lack of visa waiver program

Three weeks ago, I reported on a dramatic increase in the number of Israelis being denied visas to the United States. One way to resolve the issue would be for Israel to become part of the United States' visa waiver program. Israel has been seeking acceptance to that program for years, but the Obama administration says Israel isn't getting in because it discriminates against 'Palestinian Americans.'

“The Department of Homeland Security and State remain concerned with the unequal treatment that Palestinian Americans and other Americans of Middle Eastern origin experience at Israel’s border and checkpoints, and reciprocity is the most basic condition of the Visa Waiver Program,” Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman, said March 21 in her daily briefing with reporters.

The State Department warns Americans of Arab descent that they may be delayed or even turned back when arriving at Israeli points of entry.

Israel says its rate of refusal of entry for Arab-Americans is not disproportionate and notes that under the Oslo agreements with the Palestinians, foreigners of Palestinian descent undergo a different entry protocol.

There have been a number of efforts in Congress over the years to exempt Israel from visa waiver rules; the most recent is stalled in the Senate.

Psaki’s remarks came after several weeks in which a number of lawmakers, led by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), have criticized US consular services for their rate of refusal of young Israelis.

The required maximum rate of refusal of entry for entering the US visa waiver program is 3 percent. Last year, Israel’s was at 9.7 percent, up from 5.4 percent the year before.

Given some of the riff raff to which Obama is granting citizenship, I don't think we really want them here. And besides, Israel must have the right every other country has to exclude people whom it feels are a danger. For example, just because the Obama administration is willing to admit the likes of Tariq Ramadan doesn't mean Israel has to.

And by the way, are we excluded from the visa waiver program because we don't let enough Arabs in or because the US doesn't let enough Israelis in?

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Tariq Ramadan, travel visas, US passports

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:06 AM