In order for the US to permit citizens of a foreign country to enter
the
US without a visa, that country must agree to certain conditions.
Chief
among them is reciprocity: that country must allow Americans to enter
without a visa as well. There are 37 countries which have been
permitted
entrance into America's "visa waiver" program, and all of them - all
37
- reciprocate by allowing American citizens to enter their country
without a visa.
.
The American-Israeli Political Action Committee (Aipac) is now
pushing
legislation that would allow Israel to enter this program, so that
Israelis can enter the US without a visa. But as JTA's Ron Kampeas
reports, there is one serious impediment: Israel has a practice of
routinely refusing to allow Americans of Arab ethnicity or Muslim
backgrounds to enter their country or the occupied territories it
controls; it also bars those who are critical of Israeli actions or
supportive of Palestinian rights. Israel refuses to relinquish this
discriminatory practice of exclusion toward Americans, even as it
seeks
to enter the US's visa-free program for the benefit of Israeli
citizens.
.
As a result, at the behest of Aipac, Democrat Barbara Boxer, joined
by
Republican Roy Blunt, has introduced a bill that would provide for
Israel's membership in the program while vesting it with a right that
no
other country in this program has: namely, the right to exclude
selected
Americans from this visa-free right of entrance. In other words, the
bill sponsored by these American senators would exempt Israel from a
requirement that applies to every other nation on the planet, for no
reason other than to allow the Israeli government to engage in
racial,
ethnic and religious discrimination against US citizens.
.
As Lara Friedman explained when the Senate bill was first introduced,
it
"takes the extraordinary step of seeking to change the current US law
to
create a special and unique exception for Israel in US immigration
law."
In sum, it is as pure and blatant an example of prioritizing the
interests of the Israeli government over the rights of US citizens as
one can imagine, and it's being pushed by Aipac and a cast of
bipartisan
senators.
.
Israel's religious- and ethnicity-based entrance exclusions of
American
citizens are so well-documented and pervasive that even the US State
Department provides an official warning about it in its official
travel
advisory for Israel, noting:
Some US citizens holding Israeli nationality, possessing a
Palestinian
identity card, or of Arab or Muslim origin have experienced
significant
difficulties in entering or exiting Israel or the West Bank."
.
Friedman notes that the bill is specifically designed to protect
"Israel's regular and arbitrary denial of entry to US citizens . . .
in
particular US citizens of Arab descent or US citizens viewed as
sympathetic to the Palestinians".
.
As the former Director of the US Office of B'Tselem, Mitchell
Plitnick,
explained this week, concern over Israel's discriminatory exclusions
was
heightened by Israel's refusal this January to allow an American
teacher
of Palestinian descent, Nour Joudah, to enter Israel to teach English
in
the West Bank despite her holding a valid visa. As Plitnick noted,
"Israel, undoubtedly, is concerned that a reciprocal agreement would
compromise its ability to bar not only Palestinian-Americans, but
also
pro-Palestinian activists, from entering the country."
.
To accommodate this desire to discriminate, Boxer, Blunt and Aipac
are
now attempting to create a special exemption for Israel from the
requirement to which all other countries are bound, and by which the
US
will be bound vis-a-vis Israelis.
.
More amazingly, the only purpose of this exemption from these US
senators would be to allow Israel to discriminate against the
citizens
of the country these senators are supposed to represent.
.
As Mike Coogan of the US Campaign to End Israeli Occupation wrote in
the
Hill this week, "given that Israel views the mere existence of
Palestinians as a threat, the [Boxer/Aipac bill] would essentially
codify Israel's discrimination against Palestinian-, Muslim-, and
Arab-Americans into US law."
.
Indeed, Aipac is not even attempting to pretend this exemption has a
non-discriminatory purpose. He further explained:
. According to off the record accounts, AIPAC officials told
members
of Congress that there would need to be flexibility on this legal
requirement to accommodate Israel's ongoing discrimination against
Arab-
and Muslim-Americans who attempt to travel to Israel and the Occupied
Palestinian Territories."
.
So brazen is this bill in the special favors it showers on Israel at
the
expense of American citizens that even normally loyal factions in
Congress are balking. As Kampeas reported: . 'It's stunning
that you would give a green light to another country to violate the
civil liberties of Americans traveling abroad,' said a staffer for
one
leading pro-Israel lawmaker in the US House of Representatives.
.
Stunning indeed, but unfortunately far from surprising. Coogan
similarly
reported: . "Numerous public reports and off-the-record
accounts from legislators and staff signaled that the brazenness and
late release of the Israel lobby's legislative demands blindsided
both
individual members and various committees. Provisions appeared tone
deaf
and legally problematic, even among Israel's strongest
supporters. . . .
.
"Behind closed doors, members of Congress and legal counsel alike
balked
at the idea that Israel be allowed in the program but remain exempt
from
the reciprocity requirement. Attorneys for both individual members
and
committees privately advised that complying with the request would be
a
flagrant violation of certain US laws barring discrimination, and
would
undermine the US government's call for the equal protection of all
its
citizens traveling abroad."
.
Apparently, none of that is a concern for Barbara Boxer, Roy Blunt or
Aipac. Protecting the equal rights of their own country's citizens
quite
obviously has little significance when weighed against the supreme
mandate to serve the interests of the Israeli government. That's not
hyperbole: how else can this bill be fairly described?
.
The bill, formally named the United States-Israel Strategic
Partnership
Act of 2013, now has a total of 18 co-sponsors. That includes 9
Democrats and 9 Republicans, perfectly symbolizing how bipartisan is
loyalty to Aipac on Capitol Hill. Besides Boxer, the bill's chief
sponsor, that list of co-sponsors includes such progressive favorites
as
Ron Wyden, Amy Klobuchar, Richard Blumenthal, and Benjamin Cardin, as
well as reflexive right-wing GOP Israel supporters such as John
Cornyn
and Saxby Chambliss.
.
Perhaps most disgracefully, one of the co-sponsors is Democrat Debbie
Stabenow of Michigan, whose state boasts a large Arab-American and
Muslim-American population: exactly the people who would be targeted
by
this discrimination from a foreign government which she is seeking to
legalize.
Coogan notes that, even with 18 co-sponsors in the Senate, the bill
has
attracted an unusually low level of support for an Aipac bill, which
typically passes quickly and without much resistance.
.
Plitnick says that "it certainly seems like AIPAC reached a little
too
far with this bill" and notes that Coogan's reporting suggests "this
is
a sign that AIPAC's grip on Congress might be weakening". This all
follows an article in the Forward suggesting that Aipac's possible
attempts to have Israeli aid uniquely protected from the budget cuts
mandated by "sequestration" could "deprive aid to Israel of its
broader
support in the foreign aid community" by creating resentment in
Congress
and in the country generally.
.
Indeed, as AIPAC itself notes in touting Boxer's Senate bill, it
includes numerous other provisions to further bolster Israel's
special
status vis-a-vis US policy. The bill begins by reciting the standard
narrative favored by the Israeli government: "the Government of Iran
continues to pose a grave threat to the region and the world at large
with its reckless uranium enrichment program and defiance of multiple
United Nations Security Council resolutions." At a time when American
citizens are facing severe budget cuts, the bill vows "to continue to
provide Israel with robust security assistance".
.
The bill accomplishes its pro-discrimination goal by mandating
Israel's
entrance into the visa-free program provided that Israel "has made
every
reasonable effort, without jeopardizing the security of the State of
Israel, to ensure that reciprocal travel privileges are extended to
all
United States citizens'". That is the special exemption that no other
country in the program is permitted: Israel, alone in the world, is
not
required to reciprocate for US citizens but merely will make "every
reasonable effort, without jeopardizing the security of the State of
Israel, to ensure that reciprocal travel privileges are extended to
all
United States citizens."
.
Despite the unusually tepid reaction in Congress, this fight is far
from
over. Aipac rarely if ever loses when it comes to bills they want
Congress to enact. As Coogan notes, "even without a large number of
co-sponsors, it could pass under unanimous consent or other rules
used
by members of Congress to stymie debate or give the impression that
legislation has more support than is really the case."
.
Aipac and its supporters have long expressed righteous outrage at
suggestions that they prioritize Israeli interests over US interests
and
those of American citizens. Yet it is hard to imagine a clearer or
purer
example of exactly that behavior than this pernicious bill. If you're
a
US politician finding yourself working to allow a foreign government
to
discriminate against your own fellow citizens - by vesting that
foreign
country with a right that no other country (including your own) has -
then you're essentially broadcasting to the world that the interests
of
that foreign government take precedence over your own and over the
equal
rights of your own fellow citizens.
.
UPDATE .
.
Somewhat ironically, as Kampeas notes, what long kept Israel out of
the
US's visa-free program were "concerns in Congress' Homeland Security
and
Intelligence Committees that granting visa-free access to Israel's
Arab
minority could pose a security risk to the United States." So what
had
previously prevented this deal was that the US was long driven by the
same discriminatory mindset that is now driving Israel: we want to
keep
Arabs out of our country! Notably, the Boxer/Aipac bill accommodates
only the Israeli concern about Arabs in their country, but not the
identical US concern, as they provide this discriminatory exemption
right only to Israel but not to their own country.
.
UPDATE II. .
.
To illustrate how central the concept of reciprocity is in foreign
relations (and to seize the opportunity to highlight a story I love
so
very much): on Friday, the US announced it was banning 18 Russian
officials from entering the US due to human rights violations; today,
Russia, in response, announced a list of 18 US officials banned from
entering Russia due to their participation in the US torture regime,
including David Addington, John Yoo, and two former commanding
generals
at Guantanamo. The Russians did not hide the fact that they were
driven
by one consideration only: the principle of reciprocity.
.
In 2004, the US began photographing and fingerprinting upon entry to
the
country the citizens of various countries, including Brazil; in
response, a Brazilian court ordered the Brazilian government to begin
photographing and fingerprinting US citizens entering Brazil. I
recall
quite well that a separate line was then created at all Brazilian
airports under a huge sign that read: "for US citizens", where all
arriving Americans waited in a long line. It's likely that the
Brazilian
government - which had no real interest in fingerprinting people -
threw
the fingerprints and photographs away. They did it for one reason:
reciprocity.
.
This is the crucial, central principle which Barbara Boxer, Aipac and
friends are discarding in order to benefit Israel.
.
And what's most amazing is that they are discarding it not to the
benefit of their own country and its citizens, but rather to their
disadvantage, in order to benefit a foreign country. What they are
saying, in effect, is that they want to waive reciprocity so that
Israeli citizens can be treated better than US citizens in relations
between the two countries. It is hard to overstate just how
extraordinary that is.
--
--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"PoliticalForum" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
