Translated material
Visa-free land
The Israeli economy is waiting for Russian tourists
“Israel has done everything to introduce a visa-free regime with Russia. It’s up to the Russian side,” Zeev Elkin, a deputy from the ruling Kadima party, said yesterday in a conversation with a Vremya Novostey correspondent. On Wednesday, an Israeli interdepartmental commission approved a proposal to abolish the visa regime for tourists from Russia and instructed the Foreign Ministry to begin negotiations with Moscow to prepare a corresponding agreement. The first significant results on this issue are expected here in October, when Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov arrives in Israel on an official visit. According to the estimates of the most optimistic Israeli deputies, a visa-free regime with Russia can be introduced from the beginning of 2008.“The flow of Russian tourists to Israel, if visas are canceled, could triple and reach 300 thousand people a year. This will help create 10 thousand new jobs and bring millions of shekels into the country's economy. This is the beginning of a new era in Russian-Israeli relations,” said Israeli Tourism Minister Isaac Aronovich, the initiator of the idea of visa-free exchange. In 2005, 68 thousand tourists from Russia visited Israel. In 2006, the flow of people wishing to see holy places increased slightly and amounted to 73,416 Russian citizens. In 2007, 77 thousand tourists already visited Israel, and the Ministry of Tourism told Vremya Novostey that by the end of the year their number will apparently increase to one hundred thousand.
Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Mikhail Margelov noted that Russia is “one of the key participants in all Middle East settlement processes, and with the growing number of Russians visiting Israel, this role will only increase.” Mr. Margelov is confident that the abolition of visas will sharply increase the influx of Russian tourists to Israel. However, we are talking about trips to a troubled region, and this worries the Russian senator: “Ensuring the safety of our tourists is one of the most important priorities of Russian foreign policy, and in this regard, intensifying the processes of Middle East settlement and turning Israel into a tourist paradise is our top priority ". Mr. Margelov expressed confidence that strengthening Russian-Israeli relations will have a beneficial effect on the entire situation in the region.
The decision to cancel visas was not easy for Israelis. The Department of Homeland Security opposed it until the very last moment. “The change in visa policy will allow tens of thousands of prostitutes and criminals to freely enter Israel,” the ministry's head, Avi Dichter, said a month ago. This caused a wave of criticism among Russian-speaking Israelis. Minister of Tourism and Member of the Knesset from the Russian-speaking party “Our Home is Israel” Yitzhak Aronovich tried to reassure Minister Dichter, saying that the abolition of visas will not affect the number of criminals and prostitutes coming to Israel: “They come to Israel with and without visas , because you can’t stop selling cars because they cause accidents.”
One way or another, at a meeting of the interdepartmental commission, the Minister of Internal Security, like all other members of the cabinet, voted for the abolition of the visa regime with Russia. In his office, a VN correspondent was told yesterday that the minister had, in fact, always advocated the abolition of visas and the unhindered entry of Russian tourists: “The only thing that continues to worry him is the possible increase in crime in the country.” Regarding this change of position, the second channel of Israeli television noted: “The decision to cancel the visa regime with Russia is political. Dichter voted for him only in order to increase the rating of the ruling Kadima party among the Russian-speaking residents of Israel, which had dropped so much that it could not be lower.”
Despite the optimistic attitude of local politicians, the actual abolition of visas is still a long way off. “The decision of the inter-ministerial commission is advisory, not mandatory, and allows the Israeli Foreign Ministry to begin negotiations with the Russian Foreign Ministry on retaliatory steps,” the press service of the Israeli diplomatic department told VN. Although Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni supported this decision, the preparation of a final agreement between Russia and Israel may take from several months to several years, since it must first be approved by the Israeli government and then by the Knesset Legislation Committee. “There will be no obstacles from the Israeli deputies in making this decision,” Zeev Elkin said with confidence. Recalling that “Russia should also take mirror measures to abolish the visa regime,” the deputy expressed the hope that “Russian bureaucracy or possible short-sightedness in politics will not hinder progress.”
Ordinary Israelis are skeptical about the likelihood of introducing a visa-free regime. “Something will definitely happen at the last moment, and all preliminary agreements will be frozen. Russia is unlikely to cancel visas for financial reasons, because the Russian consulate in Israel annually receives huge amounts of money for visas,” Svetlana, an employee of a travel agency specializing in tickets and visas to Russia, told a VN correspondent. It costs more than $100 for an Israeli to get a visa to Russia, while an Israeli visa for a Russian costs only 550 rubles. “Do you yourself believe that Israel, obsessed with security, will introduce a visa-free regime with a country in which interethnic conflicts constantly flare up and synagogues are desecrated? I’m not,” noted Jerusalem resident Semyon Shimelfarb.