Israel’s tourism industry and would-be travelers have been waiting with eager anticipation for the country to reopen its doors to vaccinated tourists, and that day finally arrived Monday.
For more than 18 months, entrance to the country has been tightly restricted to Israeli citizens. A limited number of vaccinated first-degree relatives of Israeli nationals and other special cases were permitted to enter, in a complicated process requiring approval weeks in advance.
But anyone expecting Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to rapidly fill with pre-pandemic level crowds of visitors in the weeks and months ahead should adjust their expectations.
The stringent rules put in place by the government and its narrow definition of “fully vaccinated” still prevent the entrance of millions who may otherwise wish to visit.
For example, anyone who received their vaccine more than six months before the time they want to spend in Israel and is unable to get a booster shot in their country is out of luck.
The same applies for most children, who, until they can be vaccinated, will be barred from entering. Even kids with immunity because they recovered from COVID-19 won’t meet the criteria – with the exception of a small minority of recovered children hailing from European Union countries and 18 additional countries signed onto a EU pact, where their COVID cases were recorded digitally and they can produce a “digital recovery certificate.” Although Britain is part of this arrangement, children under the age of 16 there are not given these certificates.
The same problem faces adults who have recovered from COVID – with or without a vaccine – and hail neither from the 27 EU member states nor Britain. Without the digital recovery certificate, they may not enter under current rules.
The situation remained fluid and confusing in the hours leading up to implementation of the new policy, which underwent several last-minute changes.
‘A nightmare’
On Sunday night, hours before the policy change was about to go into effect, passengers arrived at international airports carrying what was supposed to be sufficient documentation for their landing in Israel on Monday – yet they were turned away and not permitted to board.
“It’s a horror show,” said Ariella Bernstein, who administers the Facebook group Reunite Olim With Their Families, volunteers with the Yad L’Olim organization (which lobbies on behalf of new immigrants) and maintains an updated page on her personal website with the latest information for confused travelers.
“The last few hours have been a nightmare,” she said on Sunday evening. “Loads and loads of people were not able to board flights, even though they met the criteria for entry the next day.”
One of them, Alan Gross, a 48-year-old Brooklynite, spent hours waiting at the United Airlines service desk at Newark Airport on Sunday evening, while his travel agent worked the phones to try to persuade the airline to allow him to check in for his flight.
Since he does not have first-degree relatives in Israel, he was unable to visit throughout the pandemic. Gross said he had a narrow “window” to visit, which under the new regulations closes next Monday – six months since his last vaccine.
“I have a cousin in the hospital in Israel who is really sick who I need to see,” he said.
Before COVID, Gross flew to Israel eight or nine times a year, to visit his father’s grave in Jerusalem, see family members and pray at the Western Wall.
The new entry rules were published by the Health Ministry last Thursday. The following day, Gross took his PCR test, booked his flight on Saturday night and completed his paperwork, planning to leave the U.S. on Sunday and land in Israel on Monday, returning home three days later.
But when he arrived at Newark, he said he was told he was eligible to travel. “They said you need the permits that had been given to first-degree relatives. The airlines have not been updated on the new rules.”
Ultimately, the pressure from his travel agent worked and Gross was permitted to check in and board. However, other would-be travelers were forced to cancel their flights.
From the experiences of Gross and other travelers, it appears that despite the new guidelines being published by the Israeli government last Thursday, airlines were unaware of the changes.
Writing on the Reunite Olim with their Families Facebook page, Yad L’Olim founder Dov Lipman wrote: “I am sorry to announce that the Israeli government has failed us all.
“Despite making it clear that people can fly [Sunday] to arrive [Monday] under the new rules, the government has not notified the airline companies of this change and many people were refused boarding. From my assessment, the blame for this lies with Health Minister Director General Nachman Ash, who seems to have changed many of the rules at the last moment, leading to mass confusion.”
Lipman said he had reached out to Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz to rectify the situation and that he was “likely” to be organizing a demonstration in front of Ash’s home.
On Monday morning, in an online press conference for foreign journalists, Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum called the rollout of the new rules a “disaster.” Her remit includes tourism and foreign relations for the city.
The new entry rules for tourists
So what exactly are the new rules that came into effect at midnight on Monday? Everything you need to know is outlined below...
Who is now permitted to enter Israel as a tourist?
Fully vaccinated or recovered tourists may enter the country if they fall into any of the following categories:
■ People who have received a second dose or a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccines, or a single Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The vaccine must have been taken at least 14 days before they enter the country (not including the day of the vaccination), and their entire stay in Israel must take place within six months (180 days) of the last shot.
■ People who have recovered from COVID and can show a “digital recovery certificate” – online proof of their positive PCR test taken more than 11 days before arriving in Israel (currently available only in the EU and countries that have signed a cooperation agreement with the EU, including Britain). As with vaccinated tourists, they must not remain in the country beyond six months of their recovery.
■ People who have recovered from COVID at any time, with a digital certificate, who have been vaccinated with a dose of a vaccine that has been approved by the World Health Organization within six months of the last day of their stay in Israel.
■ Under a special arrangement, tourists vaccinated with the Sputnik V vaccine will be allowed into Israel but required to take a serological test at the airport upon arrival, and isolate until their test comes back positive.
■ Only foreign citizens arriving by air at Ben-Gurion Airport will be permitted into the country. No land crossings are approved for entrance, and tourists must not have visited a country designated as “red” in the past 14 days.
Who won’t be allowed to enter Israel as tourists?
■ People who had their first and second vaccine shot, or single Johnson & Johnson shot, more than six months ago and do not have a booster shot, even if they are willing to undergo quarantine in Israel.
■ People who have recovered from COVID, whether or not they were subsequently vaccinated, unless they live in the EU. The reason: Israel is requiring that proof of recovery from COVID – a previous positive test – be digital. Currently, only the EU and Britain digitizes this information.
■ Children under the age of 15 – until vaccinations for children ages 5 to 11 are approved and administered, unless they can show a “digital recovery certificate.”
Will tourists be granted a Green Pass, permitting them to stay at hotels, eat indoors at restaurants, and enter other spaces? How will that happen?
According to the government, a Green Pass will be granted as part of the approval process for entering the country from Monday, though travelers have reported difficulties receiving theirs.
Currently, numerous fully vaccinated non-Israeli citizens permitted into the country to visit first-degree relatives have been unsuccessful in their efforts to get a Green Pass from the Health Ministry. Additionally, people who filled out forms ahead of flights landing in Israel on Monday and afterward were not given a Green Pass..
What is the procedure for entering the country as of now?
Tourists entering the country will be required to fill out an entry declaration form online ahead of their flight and receive confirmation of their approval before they are allowed to board their plane. The process will be smoother for those coming from countries in the EU, Britain or other countries with digital vaccination records. They will be able to upload their vaccination or recovery information and be approved for travel quickly. Those without digital records will submit their vaccine records by uploading copies of the documents on PDF files. Their approval will take longer.
Like returning Israelis, all tourists must show a negative PCR COVID test taken within 72 hours of their departure for Israel. They must undergo another PCR test after landing at the airport, and isolate until they receive the results of this test or up to 24 hours, whichever comes first.
What happens if an overseas visitor fails the PCR test at the airport?
Tourists who test positive will be take to a “coronavirus hotel” for isolation by the Israeli army’s Home Front Command: their stay and medical treatment will be at their own expense. Those who are vaccinated with the Sputnik vaccine, test negative for COVID but do not pass their serological test for antibodies will be given the choice of quarantining or returning to their country. The quarantine period will be 10 days.
Are there any exceptions to these rules?
Currently, the only stated exceptions are for extreme “emergency” cases and for the entrance of parents of Israeli brides or grooms, in order to attend their child’s wedding. The official route for requesting exceptions is from the visitor’s nearest Israeli embassy or consulate overseas. The government has said there will be an “exceptions committee” to consider such cases, but that committee has yet to be formed.
What happens if you break the rules?
Anyone entering Israel with forged documentation or violating quarantine rules, or staying in the country beyond the period in which they are officially “fully vaccinated,” may be barred from entering the country for five years. Foreign citizens who test positive and refuse to quarantine at a hotel will similarly be punished by not being permitted entry for five years. Foreigners who are caught not observing isolation rules before their airport PCR test comes back will be barred from entering the country for three years.
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