Under the United States’ Visa Waiver Program, nationals from certain designated countries can enter the U.S. as temporary visitors without first obtaining a visa. In order for a country to qualify for the Visa Waiver Program, by law it must meet a number of conditions, including offering reciprocal privileges to U.S. citizens – i.e., treating all U.S. citizens the same, without imposing restrictions based on national or ethnic identities. 

Months before Israel was admitted into the Visa Waiver Program, in July 2023, the United States and Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that established different classes of U.S. citizens subject to different treatment by Israel. In particular, the MOU singled out various categories of Palestinian-Americans based on their “residency” and authorized Israel to discriminate against U.S. citizens who are residents of the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Israel has since prevented Palestinian-Americans from entering Israel from the West Bank, raising new concerns regarding Israel’s non-compliance with the Visa Waiver Program’s requirements and even the terms of the discriminatory MOU.