Israelis Stranded Abroad Losing Patience As Israel’s Aerial Lockdown Prevents Them From Returning

NEW YORK (VINnews) — The Israeli government conducted a liberal approach to travellers during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. People were allowed to leave Israel and return and were required to self-isolate for a period of two weeks after their return in order to ascertain whether they were infected with the virus. There was some initial enforcement of this procedure but many people were not able to maintain isolation for such a period and the courts did not allow the Shin Bet to continue its surveillance of people’s whereabouts in order to track those who had returned from abroad.

However the advent of new and more virulent variants of COVID-19 which arrived in Israel via travellers from abroad has led to a strict clampdown on all air travel in the country, meaning that there are no official departures but also no arrivals since January 25th. This has left numerous Israelis worldwide stranded overseas with no way of returning to their country. Even those who have been vaccinated or have multiple negative tests for COVID-19 have no means to return as the government has clamped down on returnees.

Exceptions are being made for cargo and firefighting flights, as well as trips for medical treatments, funerals and legal procedures, and a special panel of health and interior ministry officials is officially issuing exemptions on request “for humanitarian or personal needs.” However numerous people who have urgent reasons to return have not been able to get permission, prompting former Knesset member Dov Lipman to make a Facebook plea for nine Israelis, most of them Olim, who are stranded abroad.

At present all Israelis stranded abroad are being told to travel to Frankfurt to wait for rescue flights back, but El Al Israel Airlines Ltd has filed a request to operate special flights from New York for Israelis left stranded overseas by the closure of Ben Gurion airport. Knesset Constitution Committee chairman Yakov Asher (United Torah Judaism) has also requested that rescue flights be operated from the US to Israel.

Asher told the Knesset Constitution Committee that he had asked Minister of Transport Miri Regev and Minister of Health Yuli Edelstein to allow rescue flights from the US on the same form as the Israir Airlines and Tourism Ltd. rescue flights from Frankfurt.

Asher said, “We need rescue centers, one in Europe and one in the US. If there are daily flights now operating from Europe, then we should have one every other day from Europe and one every other day from the US. People have to go through crazy things at the moment. They get to Frankfurt and there isn’t a flight leaving the airport and they have to wait closed up in a small room.”

He added that “The Minister of Health has given his consent from a medical professional point of view to this matter. Now the ball is in the court of the Ministry of Transport. I spoke with the minister and the tender director. They are checking with the Israel Airports Authority, which also agrees on principle. They are checking it out and I hope and I am certain that there will be good news on this matter.”

El Al, which had wanted to fly to New York today, says that there are thousands of passengers stuck there. El Al’s request has yet to be approved.

United and Delta are flying daily cargo flights from the US to Tel Aviv but are prevented from taking passengers on their empty seats. The airlines hope that it will soon be possible to bring passengers in and out who have special exemptions.

Arkia Airlines Ltd. has also requested permission to operate rescue flights from Dubai where hundreds of Israelis are stranded.

The Israeli government has extended the closure until the coming week and may even extend further if the COVID-19 infection statistics do not improve. However there is no comfort yet for the thousands of Israelis waiting on their suitcases to continue their lives in Israel as before.