The new Israeli government held a discussion Sunday afternoon on the likelihood that the nation will be approved for an exemption from visas to the United States, allowing Knesset Members, including Prime Minister Netanyahu and Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, to share their opinion on the matter.
In the coming days, the administration of US President Joe Biden is expected to publish the refusal rate for Israeli visa applications, and if it is lower than 3%, which by all accounts it should be, Israel will be able to be accepted into the no-visa-required program. At the same time, several more steps are required from Israel, primarily passing the appropriate legislation in the Knesset.
Israel’s 🇮🇱 entry to the visa waiver program would allow 2 million Israeli Arabs to visit the United States. Palestinian American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib @RashidaTlaib shamefully opposes allowing them to visit. pic.twitter.com/ERQM1JCHem
— Avi Kaner ابراهيم אבי (@AviKaner) November 1, 2022
Currently, despite the extremely close relations and cooperation between Israel and the US, Israeli citizens without American passports are required to be approved for a visa before traveling west. Naturally, most Israelis are approved due to a lack of any negative pointers in all the categories audited beforehand, but the process is extremely bureaucratic and time-consuming.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted at the beginning of the debate that this is an important move and could benefit the state of Israel greatly. Speaking about a key legislation that helped turn Israel into the economic powerhouse it is, Netanyahu said: "Take the currency reform for example. It was not possible to withdraw money from the state, nothing. We were told 'everything will flow out' if it is passed - and exactly the opposite happened, investments poured in. We will not protect Zionism by fencing ourselves in, by imprisoning citizens."
Except for 2020, Israel has had positive economic growth every year since 2003, including during The Great Recession. An expert tells us why.https://t.co/FYElXNIy1o
— United With Israel (@UniteWithIsrael) January 10, 2023
The Prime Minister added "Israel is getting stronger. It is expected that we will even pass the United States in our annual growth; we have already passed the European Union. We will bring about an influx of new residents from the west who are [looking to take advantage of the opportunities]. Indeed, there is also rising antisemitism [in the world], but this will not be the only reason for immigrating to Israel. There will be a large influx into Israel. The government's policy is to run forward, to try to take advantage of this window of opportunity."
#Exclusive Prime Minister @netanyahu predicts: Israel joining the Visa Waiver Program will cause a massive #Aliya of American Jews to Israel.
— Ariel Kahana אריאל כהנא (@arik3000) January 15, 2023
“We bypassed Europe economy. We’ll do the same with America” (Hebrew): https://t.co/HznS0L7BUG
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer also noted: "We have a small window of a few months, and it may be that after that we won't be able to do it. The [United States] ambassador here is determined to help us." Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich expressed concern that visa exemption would cause Israelis to leave for the US, and Netanyahu replied: "I oppose your objection. The ministers involved were impressed and think there should be much optimism for Israel’s likely acceptance into the American program." Acceptance into the visa waiver program does not grant residency rights in the US to the citizens of foreign countries and thus the objection by Smotrich was dismissed.
If the Knesset does pass the acceptance of the waiver it would enable easier collaboration between US and Israeli companies, and provide Israelis with relatively hassle free entrance into America. Currently, Israeli citizens must go to the US Embassy or Consulate prior to their trip and go through a simple, but a highly bureaucratic process that has been complicated since COVID-19.
