Thanks for sharing this Plain Ol'; interesting, and I was unaware of this.
On Fri, Jun 7, 2013 at 1:21 PM, plainolamerican <[email protected]>wrote: > The United States and Saudi Arabia have signed > an Open Skies agreement that will "permit unrestricted air service by > the > airlines of both countries > --- > A legislative effort led by the American Israel Public Affairs > Committee to enable Israelis to enter the United States without visas > may be stymied by the government – Israel’s government. > > The hitch is Israel’s inability or unwillingness to fully reciprocate, > something required for visa-free travel to the United States. Israel, > citing security concerns, insists on the right to refuse entry to some > U.S. citizens. > > AIPAC is pushing for an exemption for Israel from this rule. But > congressional staffers say Israel is unlikely to get such an > exemption, which U.S. lawmakers view as an attempt to bar Arab > Americans from freely entering Israel. > > “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 U.S. House of > Representatives. > > The exemption AIPAC is pushing for appears in the Senate version of > the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act, one of the key issues for > which AIPAC urged supporters to lobby after its policy conference last > month. > > The language in that bill, proposed by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), > requires that the Homeland Security secretary grant Israel visa waiver > status after certifying with the secretary of state 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.” > > House staffers say that lawmakers, pro-Israel leaders among them, have > raised objections to the clause, “without jeopardizing the security of > the State of Israel,” because it appears to validate what they see as > Israel’s tendency to turn away Arab Americans without giving a reason. > > None of the other 37 countries currently in the visa-free program has > such a caveat written into law. > > Israel’s government has made clear that it likely would not join the > visa waiver program without such language in the law, JTA has learned. > Israeli officials told JTA that U.S. citizens already are free to > travel to Israel and that there is no need for holders of American > passports to obtain a tourist visa before traveling. > > But there have been numerous reports in recent years that Israel > routinely turns away or makes difficult the entry of Americans with > Muslim and Arab names, often without explaining why. The State > Department, in its Israel travel advisory, warns that “U.S. citizens > whom Israeli authorities suspect of being of Arab, Middle Eastern, or > Muslim origin” may be denied “entry or exit without explanation.” > > James Zogby, the president of the Arab American Institute, which has > lobbied against the Senate language, said passage of such a law would > codify discriminatory treatment. > > “It is ratifying Israel's position of creating two classes of > citizen,” said Zogby, who said he has been subject to long waits when > entering Israel. > > One recent case that made headlines was that of Nour Joudah, a > Palestinian American who was teaching at the Friends School in > Ramallah. Joudah, who had traveled to Jordan for Christmas, was denied > reentry to Israel although she had a one-year multiple entry visa, and > despite the fact that the Israeli Embassy in Washington had advocated > for her reentry. > > The Ramallah school receives U.S. funding, promotes non-violence and > teaches about the Holocaust, noted a congressional staffer. “This is > the model of coexistence,” the staffer said. > > Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, told Haaretz earlier > this year that Joudah had not cooperated during security questioning. > Joudah told Haaretz that the encounter with Israeli security at times > had been argumentative but said she answered all questions. > > Critics of Israel’s entry practices say authorities appear to turn > away Americans for political, not security reasons. Joudah told > Haaretz that Israeli security officials had asked her about her > published writings. While in Ramallah, she had blogged for Electronic > Intifada, an anti-Zionist website. In one post, she sharply criticized > Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for intimating that it > was time to relinquish a Palestinian “right of return” to Israel. > > Pro-Israel insiders said it’s still too early to tell how this bill > will fare in Congress. > > The House version of the same bill, initiated by Reps. Ileana Ros- > Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), stops short of an > exemption, asking only for reports from the secretary of state on what > steps Israel has taken to comply with inclusion in the visa waiver > program. > > The exemption language in the Senate version is borrowed from a > separate stand-alone House bill initiated by Rep. Brad Sherman (D- > Calif.), called the Visa Waiver for Israel Act. > > It’s not clear whether the Senate language or the House language will > prevail as the bills progress through committees and then into > conference. Spokespeople for Boxer and AIPAC declined to comment. > > For years, top pro-Israel lawmakers in Congress have been stymied in > efforts to add Israel to the visa waiver program, and not just by the > reciprocity issue. Other reasons have been Israel’s failure to stay > under the maximum 3 percent threshold of denied visas, and 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. > > Sherman and other advocates of granting Israel visa waiver status > dismiss those concerns. > > “There are far more Arab Frenchmen than there are Arab Israelis and > there are far more Muslims in Brunei than there are in Israel,” > Sherman told JTA. Both countries are on the visa waiver list. “It is > not our intention in the visa waiver program to discriminate on the > basis of religion.” > > Sherman and other backers of the bill also noted that at least five > nations that exceeded the 3 percent visa refusal threshold were > allowed into the program in recent years, and those nations’ refusal > rates were higher than Israel’s 5.4 percent refusal rate. > > Julie Fishman, an assistant legislative director at the American > Jewish Committee, which backs both versions of the bill, said that > Israel’s relatively low visa refusal rate under current visa > procedures – which include heavy screening -- suggest that concerns > about Israel’s Arab minority were overblown. > > Sherman said that adding Israel to the visa waiver program would end > discrimination, not advance it. He described the opposition as part of > the attempt to delegitimize Israel. > > "There are thousands of people with Arab American backgrounds who > visit Israel each year and they face far less hassle than Israeli > Christians, Jews or Muslims trying to visit the United States," he > said. > > > On Jun 7, 12:11 pm, Travis <[email protected]> wrote: > > [[ Motto for Saudi Airlines: "We do not fly OUR planes into YOUR > > buildings." ]] > > ** > > creeping posted: "via U.S. Gives Saudi Airlines ‘Unrestricted’ Access > to > > American Skies | CNS News. The United States and Saudi Arabia have signed > > an Open Skies agreement that will "permit unrestricted air service by the > > airlines of both countries between and beyond the o" Respond to this > > post by replying above this line > > New post on *Creeping Sharia* > > <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/author/creeping/> U.S. Gives Saudi > > Airlines ‘Unrestricted’ Access to American > > Skies< > http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/u-s-gives-saudi-airlin...> > > by > > creeping <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/author/creeping/> > > > > via U.S. Gives Saudi Airlines ‘Unrestricted’ Access to American Skies | > CNS > > News. The United States and Saudi Arabia have signed an Open Skies > > agreement that will "permit unrestricted air service by the airlines of > > both countries between and beyond the other’s territory." The agreement > > means Saudi airlines may fly from any point in the […] > > > > Read more of this > > post< > http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/u-s-gives-saudi-airlin...> > > *creeping <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/author/creeping/>* | > June > > 7, 2013 at 11:30 AM | Tags: Barack > > Obama<http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?tag=barack-obama>, > > Creeping Sharia < > http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?tag=creeping-sharia>, > > law <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?tag=law>, > > Legal<http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?tag=legal>, > > Life <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?tag=life>, > > Media<http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?tag=media>, > > Muslim <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?tag=muslim>, > > News<http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?tag=news>, > > Obama <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?tag=obama>, > > Politics<http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?tag=politics>, > > Random <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?tag=random>, > > Religion<http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?tag=religion>, > > Sharia <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?tag=sharia>, > > travel<http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?tag=travel>| Categories: > > Alerts <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?cat=10378>, Creeping > > Sharia<http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?cat=4115925>, > > Immigration <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?cat=4363>, > > Legal<http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?cat=2283>, > > Media <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?cat=292>, Middle > > East<http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?cat=3250>, > > News <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?cat=103>, > > Obama<http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?cat=376320>, > > Politics <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?cat=398>, > > Religion<http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?cat=116>, > > Sharia <http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?cat=29069>, Stealth > > Jihad<http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/?cat=10735225>| URL: > http://wp.me/pbU4v-ePe > > > > Comment< > http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/u-s-gives-saudi-airlin...> > > See all comments< > http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/u-s-gives-saudi-airlin...> > > > > Unsubscribe or change your email settings at Manage > > Subscriptions< > https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=80d8873ee52adffe4e178d01c25562cf...>. > > > > *Trouble clicking?* Copy and paste this URL into your browser: > http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/u-s-gives-saudi-airlin... > > Thanks for flying with WordPress.com <http://wordpress.com> > > -- > -- > 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. 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