A paper showing an Israel visa stamp in front of a US passport. Photo: Flickr.

A bi-partisan group of 65 Senators sent a letter to senior Biden administration officials on Wednesday urging them to admit Israel to the US Visa Waiver Program before the end of the year.

Israelis have long pushed for admission to the program, which would substantially reduce hurdles for Israelis attempting to visit the United States. Israelis seeking a US business or tourist visa currently face months-long wait times for interviews at the Jerusalem embassy and Tel Aviv consulate, but would be admitted for 90 days visa-free under the VWP. Established in 1986, there are currently 40 countries included in the VWP, mostly in Europe.

“We write to express our support for efforts to include Israel in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and to encourage both the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize finalizing Israel’s accession this year,” the letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said. “Approximately 450,000 Israelis travel annually to the U.S., and that number has been increasing each year. With 93 weekly direct flights from Israel to U.S. airports, there is already significant demand for travel. As such, Israel’s participation in VWP would significantly increase the potential for both tourism and business travel.”

The letter, which was led by Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), notes that in January Israel met the VWP’s criteria that Israeli visa applications to the US have a higher than 97% acceptance rate and that the Israeli government has passed legislation required for data sharing under the program.

The American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on Wednesday welcomed the letter.

“Israel is a key US ally and trading partner,” AIPAC said in a statement. “Waiving the visa requirement for Israelis visiting America reflects these strong ties and will only deepen the relationship to the mutual benefit of both countries.”

In March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would be admitted to the program before the US September deadline at the end of the 2023 fiscal year. The State Department tempered expectations that same day, saying at a press conference that Israel did not yet meet all of the eligibility requirements and “still has significant work to complete on a short timeline.”

Critics of Israel’s admission to the VWP note that one of the requirements that Israel has not yet met is reciprocity of travel for all US citizens.

In May, 16 Senators led by Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) wrote a letter to Blinken and Mayorkas saying that while they support Israel’s eventual admission to the VWP, they oppose its accession so long as Israel maintains different standards for Palestinian-Americans and others who are subjected to discriminatory protocols traveling within Israel and at Israel’s borders.

Those protocols include requirements that Palestinian-Americans obtain a special permit to use Ben Gurion Airport, “occasionally hostile treatment at Israel’s borders and checkpoints” for Arab and Muslim Americans, and movement restrictions in the West Bank for US citizens who also hold a Palestinian ID, according to the letter.