Travelers at Ben Gurion Airport, Dec. 22, 2021. (Photo/JTA-Flash90) News Israel Israel to allow unvaccinated tourists to enter beginning March 1 Facebook Twitter Email SMS WhatsApp Share By Shira Hanau, JTA | February 22, 2022 Sign up for Weekday J and get the latest on what's happening in the Jewish Bay Area. Israel will allow unvaccinated tourists to enter the country beginning March 1 as the county’s Covid case numbers continue to decline, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz announced Sunday. Tourists will still need to produce negative PCR tests before and after their flights, while Israelis will only need to take a test upon landing. The more lax rules mean that children under the age of five who are ineligible to be vaccinated can now enter the country. Only fully vaccinated tourists have been allowed in since January. The changes came as Israel’s government also ended its Green Pass program, which allowed only those who have been vaccinated or recovered from Covid to enter public venues. The government decided last week not to renew the program when it expires March 1 due to the country’s declining COVID rate. “This wave is breaking,” Bennett said, according to The Times of Israel. “We are seeing a decline in the number of severely ill.” Shira Hanau Shira Hanau is a reporter at JTA. She was previously a staff writer at the New York Jewish Week and has written for the Forward, Columbia Journalism Review and the Harvard Divinity Bulletin. JTA Content distributed by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency news service. Also On J. U.S. JFNA puts gun reform and LGBTQ advocacy back on priority list From the Archives Forward-looking Beth Sholom looks back at 100 years of progress California Our TV writer, Esther D. Kustanowitz, wins LA Press Club award Letters The 'Maus' hole; Sexual abuse at Camp Arazim Subscribe to our Newsletter I would like to receive the following newsletters: Weekday J From Our Sponsors (helps fund our journalism) Your Sunday J Holiday Bytes