Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Report: Israel reopens its skies with caveats

Israelis can fly to Greece, Bulgaria and Croatia, but must be tested for COVID-19 before flying and remain in quarantine upon arrival until receiving the results.

The departures hall at Ben-Gurion Airport, Aug. 16, 2020. Credit: Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.
The departures hall at Ben-Gurion Airport, Aug. 16, 2020. Credit: Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.

Israel on Sunday partially reopened its skies to incoming and outgoing flights, following months of closures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a plan published by the Israeli government last week, those entering Israel from “green countries” will no longer be required to quarantine upon entry.

Israelis will be permitted to fly to Greece, Bulgaria and Croatia, but will need to be tested for COVID-19 before flying and will have to remain in quarantine upon arrival until the test results are received, according to Israel’s Channel 12 News.

Israelis and foreign residents will be allowed to arrive in Israel without the need to quarantine from Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Rwanda, Slovenia and the United Kingdom. However, entry to these countries will not be allowed with an Israeli passport.

In accordance with the plan, the list of countries accepting Israelis will be updated every two weeks. In addition, passengers from Israel must fill out a health declaration and details on both departure and return to Israel.

“It’s yet another example of the Wikipedia editors’ anti-Israel bias,” Alyza Lewin of the Combat Antisemitism Movement told JNS.
“We feel that we made one huge achievement and that is to move the conversation from whether these crimes happened to what are their consequences,” Israeli legal scholar Cochav Elkayam-Levy told JNS.
“I hate injustice,” Catherine Hanaway told JNS. “That’s a big part of why I’m attracted to public service, and to law enforcement specifically.”
“The charging documents help show how social media applications have lowered the bar to facilitate money and support to Hamas,” Seamus Hughes, a University of Nebraska terrorism expert, told JNS.