Prime Minister Netanyahu is demanding the immediate closure of Ben Gurion Airport due to fast spreading variants of COVID-19.
This isn’t the first time that the Prime Minister has requested the airport close down, but support for this move is much stronger than it was previously as the country looks to vaccinate all adults within the next 2 months.
An agreement was reached to halt all flights for at least 2 weeks, except for one-off humanitarian flights. A cabinet vote on the measure will be held Sunday and it may go into effect immediately.
The closure may remain in place until 5 million Israelis have been vaccinated, which may take until March.
There are also fears of a new Israeli strain of COVID-19. Due to uncertainty about whether the vaccine is effective against it, those who have recovered or been vaccinated may still be required to test negative for COVID-19 before returning to Israel. Israel previously said those people would be exempt from having to provide a negative PCR in order to enter the country.
I’m somewhat skeptical that the airport will be closed, but if you do need to leave or enter the country, you may want to do so ASAP!
Do you think that Israel will close Ben Gurion airport?
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29 Comments On "Will Israel Close Ben Gurion Airport Until March?!?"
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Nah, not gonna happen.
Exactly why not????
“This post was deleted” 😉
Netanyahu does not need to “ request “ he decides and acts protecting his country like always
He’s not a king.
He has requested it multiple times over the past year and it hasn’t happened yet. But this time he got it moved forward to a vote.
This time, I think it’s more of a political move than a medical or necessary move.
Netanyahu is facing a fourth election and is falling behind….
Sadly this move is not really to “protect the citizens” but rather to “protect his seat”
Bingo!
The successful vaccination effort will reduce Covid death rates close to zero by March. Closing TLV will have minimal impact. Netanyahu should just run on the vaccine effort
I can understand incoming, but what’s the logic of closing it to people leaving?
No airline would fly one way empty.
Why wouldn’t they do that for double the price?
Actualy I assume that legaly they cannot prevent citizens from returning…but they can refuse exit.
Talks are for a 14 day closure. Are you just assuming it’ll be extended?
Speculation on when it would be lifted:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/government-to-vote-on-suspending-all-passenger-flights-for-two-weeks/
Anyone who is still comfortable making a prediction needs to rethink why this is the case. So far, no one ever predicted the madness that has seized the Israeli govt. when it came to Covid (or any govt. for that matter). It’s a fools errand. The only think I’d say with confidence is that they’ll continue to act like this is the worst thing to ever happen and wreck their economy.
Isreal needs to stop hashem is the boss stop with all the lockdowns need to get back to business all isreal economy is doing very bad not fear for the people,
Maybe we should stop driving cars ?? They are crazy enough is enough
I think you should try to make use of the period (.). Lots of funny sentences can be made from the above.
On a similar note, I remember last year United moved some flights to Israel from Newark on Motzei Shabbas to a later time. I want to take a round trip flight out of Newark for only $767, but the flight leaves at 10:45 and Shabbas is over at 8:30. I tried reaching out to United via Twitter but I’ve gotten nowhere – any other suggestions?
I used to love the man. He did many a good thing for Israel and Jews worldwide. But he has politicized this virus too much. And taken advantage of an Israeli public that is either primitive (and considers him King) and/or believes everything they read in the media (and that the government tells them). His time is up. The opposition will trash him with the Lincoln Project. And even if he wins again, he won’t win forever. And the Lincoln Project will do untold damage to the State of Israel.
In a country where peoples’ “freedoms” are regularly trampled on, don’t be surprised if their freedom of movement is taken away too. Communists.
I have a flight to ewr on Feb 10 for my brother’s wedding is that good enough humanitarian grounds?
Dan, You don’t listen to the news here (if your Hebrew is fluent, happy to send you a link to listen).
Unfortunately, it looks like the airport will be closed. The official announcement will say two weeks, but it’s been reported several times since last night that the airports authority has been told to prepare to close until March 1 (I. E. After Purim M’shulash).
Tempted to go anyway and try to return through Jordan, but not sure that would work.
Last I heard, Jordan has long closed her borders to non-citizens. Plan C?
And what will be with all yeshiva and seminary students etc.?
Would leaving for a siblings wedding be blocked too? How does that make sense if an American wants to go back to the US?
Knesset just voted to close the Airport until the 31st
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israel-approves-closure-of-ben-gurion-airport-to-all-arrivals-until-next-sunday/
They’re not closing the airport. The story says, “suspend all passenger flights.” Freight will still be allowed.
Same thing, closed to passengers, but open to cargo.
Just wondering if anyone has an answer to this question I have asked countless others over the past 9 months.
Has there been a time in your life when a person who said they were an expert on any topic you saw on TV, heard on the radio, or read on the internet made a prediction about the future (more than 8 hours in advance) that came true exactly as that expert said it would?
We are looking for predictions about the future that will be accurate, however, regardless of the topic I can not site one expert whose predictions of the future benefited me.
If something never occurred in the past or seldom occurred….what are the odds any expert will be right this time?