Dear Friend,

Since Wednesday's decision by the Biden administration to allow Israel into the Visa Waiver Program, I have been angry. I know you are too. Since reports circulated earlier this year of the Memorandum of Understanding, we feared this decision may come, even though administration officials assured us Israel would not be admitted into the program until they could honor reciprocity requirements—that is, treat all Americans equally upon entry and exist. You know how we are treated by Israel at the border, and you know that means they don’t belong in the Visa Waiver program.

Over the past few days we have heard from so many of you highlighting how insulting this decision is. Yesterday, we were joined by hundreds of people for an emergency town hall meeting with other Arab American leaders and organizations to discuss the potential way forward. We also heard from Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) at the town hall, who has been leading congressional oversight efforts demanding all Americans be treated equally. Everyone on the call agreed that the first step is to make our voices heard!

I need you to contact your members of Congress and the White House [[link removed]] to tell them that this cannot stand.

In an opinion piece published in The Nation, [[link removed]] I describe why this is not about Israel. This is about our rights, as Americans:

"As I have made clear to administration officials and members of Congress, this issue isn’t about Israel. It’s about whether our president will protect the rights of Arab American citizens; whether our government will honor the pledge found in our passports and enshrined in the equal protection clauses in the constitution; and whether our president will live up to his promise to fight against discriminatory policies and those that penalize the free speech of US citizens."

Right now, this administration and our members of Congress need to hear from you. Please join me today and contact [[link removed]] your senators, representatives, and the White House. Tell them to protect Arab Americans and affirm our rights under the Constitution.

As we move forward, we will be in touch with more action soon. And please let our office know of other ideas you have for how to push back against this decision.

Regards,

Jim

Arab American Institute Foundation
1600 K Street, NW, Suite 601
Washington, DC 20006
United States
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