New exemptions to the ban on non-Israeli citizens entering Israel were announced on Sunday night by Israel’s Interior Ministry.
The exemptions were obtained through the extensive efforts of Chaim V’Chessed, an organization that assists olim, as well as the staff of MK Yisrael Eichler (UTJ) and other politicians.
The exemptions include the following:
- Grandparents can enter Israel for the birth of a grandchild one month before the expected birth and up to one month after the birth.
- Grandparents can enter Israel for the Bar/Bat Mitzvah of a grandchild.
- Spouses of siblings of a chassan and kallah can enter Israel for the wedding. (Parents, grandparents and siblings of the chosson or kallah are already allowed to enter for a wedding.) Additionally, due to the frequent occurrence of a sister of a chassan or kallah not being allowed to enter Israel with a nursing baby, the new rules allow children under 12 months to enter with a parent.
All travelers to Israel must still enter quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.
Anyone who fulfills the criteria for entering Israel must obtain official permission to do so by applying to the closest Israeli embassy or consulate. Applications must be accompanied by:
- Copies of passports
- Travel itineraries (which attest the traveler is staying enough time to quarantine)
- ID of the chassan or kallah, bar or bas mitzvah celebrant or expectant mother
- Proof of relation to the chassan or kallah, bar or bas mitzvah celebrant or expectant mother
- Medical insurance which clearly states that COVID-19 is covered
- (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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One Response
Assuming there are no “work actions” by the ehrliche employees of the Foreign Ministry and various other Israeli government agencies who will process and approve these applications and allowing for the vaunted efficiency of the bureaucracy in the best of times, Bubbe and Zayde should probably start getting their all this paperwork together as soon as they return from the Bris to assure they will be allowed into EY for their Anikyl’s bar mitzvah.