A government committee voted on Wednesday to lift visa requirements for visiting Russian tourists. Full cabinet approval of the decision is contingent upon Russia enacting a reciprocal policy. Minister of Public Security Avi Dichter, who expressed professional reservations, voted in favor of the proposal nonetheless.

Minister of Public Security Avi Dichter... expressed professional reservations.

The ministerial committee authorized Foreign Ministry officials to begin discussions with their Russian counterparts towards an agreement on the visa issue. Government officials estimated that an agreement could be finalized within months, possibly during or shortly after an upcoming visit to Israel by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov. During his visit, scheduled for October, Israeli and Russian leaders will formally review the preliminary results of the negotiations. In Israel, officials representing all relevant ministries have given their approval for lifting the visa requirements for Russian tourists.

Tourism Minister Yitzchak Aharonovitch called the ministerial committee's decision a triumph of "common sense." Minister Aharonovitch, who initiated the current proposal earlier this year, said that canceling the visa requirement would encourage tens of thousands of Russian tourists to visit Israel each year. An increase in tourism, he said, would also create "thousands of jobs."

In discussions about the visa initiative in July, Minister Dichter opposed the idea, saying that it would undermine Israel's fight against trafficking in prostitutes, which has been underway for years. Removing the visa requirement, according to Dichter, would make it easier for pimps and prostitutes to enter from Russia.

Minister Aharonovitch rejected Dichter’s argument, pointing out that fewer than 200 Russian prostitutes have been arrested in the past three years. He further argued, more broadly, that organized crime could be prevented without a lengthy visa application process. Dichter was also roundly criticized at the time by Minister of Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman, who saw the Public Security Minister's opposition to the proposal as an expression of bigotry against Russian immigrants. Knesset Minister Zahava Gal'on (Meretz) criticized Dichter as well, accusing him of giving a bad name to Russian immigrants and tourists.

Minister Dichter said Wednesday that, while he voted in favor of the measure, he continues to stand behind his original statements regarding the problems that may be created by the change in entry requirements.

The Globes financial newspaper quoted leading Israeli businessman Lev Levayev, who also heads the Israel-Russia and Israel-Ukraine Chambers of Commerce, as saying that lifting

Tens of thousands of Russian tourists to visit Israel each year.

the visa requirement for Russian visitors "will yield benefits in many economic sectors in Israel as soon as goes it into effect. This is an important move that could double trade between the two countries to more than $1 billion.... I hope that the decision taken by the ministerial committee will also mark a turning point in the attitude of the government and society in Israel towards businesspeople from Russia and the CIS countries, and towards tourists who will now be visiting Israel more frequently and in larger numbers."

Israel is now home to approximately one million immigrants born in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. In 2005, officials of the Immigration Police estimated that another 70,000 relatives of Israeli citizens were living in Israel illegally. The dropping of visa requirements will increase the ease of family visits from the "old country." On the other hand, it will facilitate trips to Russia by those Israeli Jews looking into their family roots in Europe.