Tell the State Department & DHS not to admit Israel into the Visa Waiver Program 

To: U.S. Department of State 
Office of Visa Services 
2201 C Street NW Washington, DC 20520

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
Office of Policy 
245 Murray Lane SW Washington, DC 20528

Subject: Petition to Deny Israel’s Inclusion into the US Visa Waiver Program

Dear Mr. Blinken & Mr. Mayorkas,

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the potential inclusion of Israel into the US Visa Waiver Program. Last week the U.S. and Israel signed a MOU to facilitate Israel’s entry into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Upon signing the MOU, a 30-45 day trial period began to test Israel's eligibility to enter the program. If Israel fulfills the statutory requirement to extend “reciprocal privileges to [US] citizens and nationals,” it will be admitted into the VWP program. Israelis would then be eligible to enter the U.S. visa-free for 90 days. 

The MOU does not provide reciprocal visa-free entry for all US citizens and nationals to Israel and all ports of entry controlled by Israel. Therefore, this MOU cannot be the basis for admitting Israel into the VWP.

As a concerned citizen, I believe that Israel should not be included in the Visa Waiver Program for the following reasons:

FIVE PROBLEMS WITH THE US/ISRAEL MOU    

1. The MOU has yet to be made public. Congress and civil society must have access to the official version of the MOU for transparency, accountability, and oversight. It is inconceivable that the US would not make public a document that negatively impacts the rights of many US citizens. The following analysis is based on an unverified, unofficial copy of the MOU.

2. The MOU does not provide reciprocal, visa-free access for all US citizens and nationals to all ports of entry controlled by Israel. The MOU explicitly exempts the Israeli-controlled port of entry (Erez) to the besieged Gaza Strip from the VWP. Palestinian Americans with West Bank IDs are also excluded from visa-free access to and from the West Bank. Instead, they are required to obtain a special permit from an Israeli military authority, and they are not allowed to rent Israeli cars. These examples demonstrate that the MOU does not achieve reciprocity and cannot be the basis for Israel’s entry into the VWP.

These regulations have created discriminatory travel rules that unjustly exclude Palestinian Americans registered in the Gaza Strip population registry from visa-free entry to Israel. This discriminatory policy is clearly stated on the official Israeli government website where the rules were published (Entry of Palestinian American tourists into Israel EN), under the section titled "Entry into Israel from abroad" and other sections. We have also confirmed this through direct communication with multiple Israeli consulates in the U.S., including the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco, where the consular officer explicitly stated in their response that "No, you cannot enter [Israel], the policy change does not apply for Americans with Gaza ID.".  In another official travel policy document sent to us by the Israeli embassy in Washington DC (Reciprocal privileges for US citizens at border control | Population and Immigration Authority), the document includes a definition for a “U.S. citizen” that explicitly and unequivocally excludes from that definition “US citizens whose documents identify them as residents of the Gaza Strip”!

3. The MOU acquiesces in Israel’s racist rule over and fragmentation of the Palestinian people, potentially violating the US Constitution. The MOU reinforces separate-and-unequal Israeli practices for Americans visiting or residing in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, who face no restrictions, and Palestinian-Americans with West Bank IDs visiting or living in the same territory. And by excluding the besieged Gaza Strip from the VWP, the US reinforces Israel’s illegal collective punishment and contributes to its fragmentation of Palestinians. By concurring with Israel’s apartheid policies toward US citizens in the West Bank and denying access to Gaza, the MOU may violate the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. In addition, by acquiescing in the usage of the Israeli terminology for the occupied Palestinian West Bank (“Judea and Samaria”), the US is abetting steps the Israeli government is taking to annex additional portions of the West Bank illegally.

4. The MOU contains no metrics for verifying Israeli compliance. The trial period to determine whether Israel has ended discrimination toward US citizens does not allow for adequate assessment of Israeli entry policies, nor would it deny Israel entry to the VWP for failure to meet particular metrics. Though the State Department insists “yardsticks exist,” they are not in the MOU. The MOU does not require Israel to submit data on whether a decision to deny entry was based on a legitimate security concern or on a prohibited, discriminatory basis. It is important to note that Israeli government officials have already violated the MOU in continuing to discriminate in its entry policies toward Palestinian Americans.

5. The MOU requires Palestinian Americans residing in the occupied West Bank to use an Israeli military app, Almunasseq, which may violate their privacy rights and security. Google Play provides developer contact information and a privacy policy that links the app to Israel’s Coordinator Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), a military authority governing the West Bank under martial law. The policy notifies users that their information may be accessed, including contacts and GPS tracking. The app, which has been in use for some years, has already been subject to privacy complaints. Requiring Palestinian Americans to use the app compromises their security.

I kindly request that the State Department and Department of Homeland Security conduct a thorough and transparent evaluation of these factors before making any decisions regarding Israel’s inclusion into the Visa Waiver Program. The decision should be based on objective and verifiable criteria to uphold the values of democracy, human rights, and national security.

Your attention to this matter is of utmost importance, and I hope that my fellow citizens and I can be involved in the decision-making process to ensure a fair and informed outcome.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Signed,