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Dear A.,
Earlier today, the United States formally accepted Israel into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP), a historic accomplishment that will further strengthen the partnership between America and Israel.
AIPAC has advocated for this important step for years and today’s announcement reflects what we can achieve together.
The Biden administration and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides made this a policy priority while bipartisan majorities in Congress supported Israel’s admission into this exclusive program. Just this summer, a majority of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate signed onto an AIPAC-backed
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letter supporting Israel’s inclusion in the VWP.
This achievement was hard-fought — the State and Homeland Security Departments worked hand-in-hand with the Israeli government to overcome significant policy and security challenges as well as
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vocal opposition from some in Congress .
As Secretary of State Blinken said in
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the announcement , “Israel’s entry into the Visa Waiver Program represents a critical step forward in our strategic partnership with Israel that will further strengthen long-standing people-to-people engagement, economic cooperation, and security coordination between our two countries.”
Moving forward, Israelis will be able to travel to America for business or tourism for up to 90 days without needing to go through a visa application process that was at best time consuming and often resulted in denials.
Israel’s admittance to the VWP will strengthen the important people-to-people bond between Americans and Israelis through deeper personal engagement, increased tourism, and improved business ties. The increased tourism alone is estimated to generate $3.6 billion in new economic output for the U.S. and support an additional 6,000 American jobs annually.
This historic achievement would not have happened without the support of pro-Israel Americans across the country. Thank you for your continued commitment to AIPAC and the U.S.-Israel relationship.
I look forward to providing you with more updates in the months ahead, as we continue our efforts in Washington to ensure the passage of full security assistance to Israel, funding for lifesaving missile defense programs, and the expansion of U.S.-Israel cooperative programs.
Sincerely,
Michael Tuchin
AIPAC President
The mission of AIPAC is to encourage and persuade the U.S. government to enact specific policies that create a strong, enduring and mutually beneficial relationship with our ally Israel.
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