In about two weeks, US President Joe Biden will land at Ben-Gurion Airport. He will be greeted by incoming Prime Minister Yair Lapid. At the end of his visit, the President will take off to continue his journey in Saudi Arabia in the city of Jeddah, where he will take part in a regional Arab summit with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan.
Israel was not invited to the meeting, but in recent days President Yitzhak Herzog has met with Jordanian King Abdullah at his palace. This preliminary meeting played a significant role in Biden’s pre-visit to Saudi Arabia. The goal of the outgoing government is to create significant political change for Israel in the region, based on promoting regional strategic depth, including expanding the circle to previously non-partner Arab countries, while deepening ties and normalizing relations for continued cooperation and political dialogue with Arab countries.
A visit to Biden in the region will be considered a success for Israel if it succeeds in reaching agreements with the Arab states’ summit on the following issues: an Arab-Israeli defense alliance under American auspices against Iran’s aggression against Israeli targets; Non-lifting of sanctions on Iran; And maximum coordination between the countries. One issue that is in the common goal basket of Biden and Israel and that is not related to the summit of the Arab states in Jeddah is the issue of the US Visa Act for Israelis.
The Visa Law, which fell with the government, was supposed to open entry to the United States to Israeli citizens without a visa. This is an Israeli dream of many years: to get to the United States as to Europe, without complex forms, standing in queues, conducting interviews at the American embassy and paying hundreds of dollars for a visa.
President Biden was also supposed to expedite the promotion of the issue and see it as a matter of principle in order to anchor the relationship of friendship, trust and cooperation between the two countries. The US Ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, has in recent days addressed the chairman of the opposition, Benjamin Netanyahu, in order to persuade him to support the passage of the law before the dissolution of the Knesset because it has a common political interest in the two countries.
According to reports, Netanyahu refused to advance the enactment of the law, the opposition voted against, and the law fell. But there is still hope that it will be possible to pass the law in the Knesset’s consensus committee, which consists of two senior representatives of the two major parties and can reach a joint agreement on advancing the issue.
It is time to prepare for Biden’s visit and mark it as a regional political summit with the understanding that this is an overall Israeli goal, regardless of party affiliation.