September 27, 2023 — New York
American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, today welcomed the U.S. Government’s announcement that Israel has been admitted to the United States Visa Waiver Program. Israel joins more than 40 other countries in this program that allows for simplified, automated approval for 90-day tourist and business travel to the US.
“Israel’s admittance to the Visa Waiver Program will allow for even stronger ties to grow between the U.S. and Israel and is a key step in advancing American and shared U.S.-Israeli interests,” said AJC CEO Ted Deutch. “Our countries, and our people, are already intertwined and this will allow individual Israelis and Americans to more easily experience this relationship themselves. This is an important expansion of the U.S.-Israeli relationship, and will directly benefit Israeli citizens and Israeli-American and Palestinian-American families.”
AJC has previously urged the State Department to admit Israel into the Visa Waiver Program, with AJC Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer Jason Isaacson writing in the Jerusalem Post that “[e]xpanding people-to-people contact will advance both national and communal interests, and the ability to travel should not be held hostage to political disagreements.”
AJC is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. With headquarters in New York City, 25 offices across the United States, and 14 overseas posts, as well as partnerships with 38 Jewish community organizations worldwide, AJC's mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel, and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world.
