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    "Zaha Hassan",
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Event

“Blue Means Blue”: Reciprocity, Israel, and the Requirements for Entry to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program

Tue, February 14th, 2023

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Middle East

The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

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Israel’s application to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program has caused a stir as Palestinian Americans and supporters of Palestinian rights have long experienced difficulties traveling to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. A recently published unclassified version of an Israeli military order reveals that while most people visiting Palestinians in the West Bank would be prohibited from entering, those staying in Israeli settlements would face no similar restrictions. 

Please join us for a discussion led by Carnegie’s Zaha Hassan on the challenges faced by foreign travelers to the West Bank. The discussion will feature Samar Asad Hawari and Kamal Nawash, two Americans personally affected by the entry rules; Leora Bechor, an Israeli immigration law expert; and Jessica Montel, executive director of HaMoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual based in Israel. 

North AmericaUnited StatesMiddle EastIsraelPalestineDemocracyForeign PolicyGlobal Governance

Event Speakers

Zaha Hassan
Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Zaha Hassan
Samar Asad Hawari

Samar Asad Hawari is a Palestinian American married to a resident of the West Bank. Previously, she was the executive director of the Jerusalem Fund in Washington, DC, and a journalist for the Associated Press, Jerusalem Bureau.

Samar Asad Hawari
Leora Bechor

Leora Bechor is an Israeli attorney representing Americans and other foreign nationals in a case challenging Israel’s foreign entry restrictions.

Leora Bechor
Jessica Montell

Jessica Montell is the executive director of HaMoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual. She has been a leading figure in Israeli civil society for over two decades.

Jessica Montell
Kamal Nawash

Kamal Nawash is a Palestinian American attorney based in Washington, D.C.

Kamal Nawash

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

Event Speakers

Zaha Hassan

Senior Fellow, Middle East Program

Zaha Hassan is a human rights lawyer and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Samar Asad Hawari

Samar Asad Hawari is a Palestinian American married to a resident of the West Bank. Previously, she was the executive director of the Jerusalem Fund in Washington, DC, and a journalist for the Associated Press, Jerusalem Bureau.

Leora Bechor

Leora Bechor is an Israeli attorney representing Americans and other foreign nationals in a case challenging Israel’s foreign entry restrictions.

Jessica Montell

Jessica Montell is the executive director of HaMoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual. She has been a leading figure in Israeli civil society for over two decades.

Kamal Nawash

Kamal Nawash is a Palestinian American attorney based in Washington, D.C.

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