(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/2/22) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed the 20-congressional-member letter led by Congressman Don Beyer (D-CA) to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanding Israel end its “discriminatory” treatment of Palestinian-Americans who often face severe entry restrictions or outright travel bans when attempting to enter Israel, including when visiting family members in the occupied West Bank.
The letter was publicly released in a tweet by Congresswoman Marie Newman (D-IL), who stated that “Israel has imposed discriminatory restrictions on people traveling to the Palestinian West Bank, a move that impacts families in my district, especially Palestinian Americans who will find it harder to see family. This is wrong and must end. Proud to join my colleagues on this.”
The letter also instructs the U.S. Department of State to “develop a reporting mechanism, including a hotline, to tally the number of Americans who are impacted by Israel’s travel restrictions, including those turned away at Israel controlled ports of entry and those that are denied visas when applying in advance.”
The letter further stipulates that Israel must withdraw any “regulations for the West Bank that are discriminatory, to assure the reciprocity that America requires for our citizens, as a requirement for Israel’s entry into the Visa Waiver Program.”
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“We welcome members of Congress taking a firm stance in urging the Biden administration to not admit Israel into the Visa Waiver Program until it ends its discriminatory treatment of Palestinian-American travelers.
“Admitting Israel into the Visa Waiver Program without it first ending its discriminatory profiling and treatment of American travelers would create an unequal system that benefits Israel while harming the United States.
“It would be unprecedented for the United States, let alone any other nation, to diminish the rights of its own citizens in order to facilitate the discriminatory practices of a foreign government.
“The U.S. Visa Waiver Program is built on reciprocity and no nation should be granted an exemption to the equal treatment of American citizens regardless of faith or ethnicity.”
The Visa Waiver Program enables *most citizens or nationals of participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. To join the Visa Waiver Program, the entering country must allow Americans to enter without a visa as well.
For the past several years, Israel has sought access to the United States’ Visa Waiver Program despite discriminating against Palestinian-Americans and American Muslims trying to enter Israel. The congressional letter notes that Israel’s Coordinating Office for Government Affairs and Territories issued new regulations this year that do not ensure reciprocal travel privileges are extended to all United States citizens traveling to Israel.
BACKGROUND ON ISRAEL’S ONGOING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST AMERICAN TRAVELERS
Israel routinely refuses to allow Americans of Arab ethnicity or Muslim backgrounds to enter their country or the occupied territories it controls. According to the U.S. State Department’s website:
- Some U.S. 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.
- U.S. citizens who have traveled to Muslim countries or who are of Arab, Middle Eastern, or Muslim origin may face additional questioning by immigration and border authorities.
- U.S. citizens who do not possess other nationality but are married to dual national Palestinian-Americans have been denied entry when information for their spouse has not been updated prior to travel.
- U.S. citizens have been denied entry to Israel and the West Bank for involvement in and/or expressing support on social media for the BDS movement.
- A number of other travel restrictions apply to U.S. citizens who do not possess other nationality or duel Palestinian-American citizens traveling to the West Bank or Gaza.
Last year, CAIR called on President Joe Biden and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to reject Israel Envoy to the U.S. Gilad Erdan’s request for a U.S. Visa Waiver Program due to Israel’s discriminatory treatment of American travelers.
In 2013, CAIR and other American Muslim and Arab rights organizations defeated an attempt in the U.S. Senate that would have permitted Israel to join the Visa Waiver Program while keeping its discriminatory and restrictive immigration policies.
SEE: Barbara Boxer, AIPAC seek to codify Israel’s right to discriminate against Americans
*Note: On December 18, 2015, the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 became law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2016. Today, the act continues to impact travelers that are nationals of Visa Waiver Program countries who have traveled to or been present in Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen on or after March 1, 2011 (with some limited exceptions). The act also impacts mainly Muslim nationals of Visa Waiver Program countries who are also nationals of Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria. The act was adopted when more than half the nation’s governors declared Syrian refugees were not welcome in their states as the U.S. rejected those fleeing war and persecution in Syria. The act is viewed by many as the legal foundation for the prior administration’s now defunct Muslim travel ban. CAIR continues to urge Congress and the Biden administration to repeal this discriminatory act.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La ission de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair