As of mid-July, the policy regarding US visa waivers for Israelis will change permanently––it’s not a pilot, folks––so that Israelis who are not encumbered by a criminal record will be able to visit the US without a visa. On the other hand, any “Palestinian” with an American passport will be able to enter Israel and travel freely around the country as a tourist.
Fun.
According to Israel Hayom, which broke the news on Monday, one of the conditions for exempting Israeli citizens from a visa to the US was for Israel to offer free passage to “Palestinian=Americans”.
One of the reasons so many Israelis support the new program, never mind the obvious security risks, is that it’s very difficult for US citizens living in Israel to get appointments at the US Embassy to renew their passports, much more so for Israeli citizens looking for a US visa. So, come mid-July, Israelis will no longer have to beg for a US visa, their Israeli passport will be all they need.
Of course, at JFK, they will still be directed to the winding lines of thousands of huddled masses yearning to be free.
Gil Beringer, Deputy CEO of the Population Authority, who is the Czar of the visa waiver project, told Israel Hayom giddily: “Until today, when a Palestinian was interested in entering Israel, he would go through a certain process. But starting in the middle of next month, the policy will change in such a way that does not require legislation and every Palestinian holder of an American passport will be able to enter Israel for 90 days as a tourist.”
Should be a boost to tourism. Maybe a blast, too.
The final date set by the US for the start of the visa waiver program is September 30, but Israel wants to get it started a lot sooner, to be able to deal with the kinks in the system.
In reality, the Israeli security apparatus will now have to deal with potential threats the way security forces all over Europe and the US do it: by relying on the customs agent at the airport who must use his judgment in addition to intelligence information, online chatter, everything they are using today – with one safety barrier removed, namely the visa acquisition process.
And there’s a new law, the Authority to collect and diagnose the data of passengers entering Israel, 5783, 2023. It orders the establishment of a National Center for the Analysis of Passenger Data, which will operate at the Tax Authority but whose access will also be open to the Population Authority, the Health Ministry, and the Transport Ministry. In addition, the police, the Shin Bet, and the Mossad will be able to make copies of the database.
The US insisted that the law be enacted as a precondition for the program, and it was passed with 18 yea and zero nay votes on March 29.
It’s all part of an effort to make civil rights in Israel so small, they could fit in your change purse with room to spare.
