Hotel Hostages

Travelers from America and Britain were subjected to arbitrary or ill-considered directives at the airport, and in some cases government officials violated their own written procedures by quarantining people who had been vaccinated in Israel.

Mishpacha’s lengthy attempts to reach government representatives for a response or explanation were greeted by buck-passing and denials, raising suspicions that the public health state of emergency is masking significant operational deficiencies. Even as Israel prepares to dial back entry restrictions on non-red countries, the latest restrictions underline the haphazard nature of the country’s Covid policy making.

This was definitely not the welcome that Chaya Berger was expecting when she arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport as a Nefesh B’Nefesh olah with her fiancé two weeks ago. Sarit Schonberg, her fiancé’s mother, spoke to Mishpacha about what happened.

“They arrived at the airport on Thursday, December 23, around 5 p.m., and were transferred to the Dan Panorama quarantine hotel in Tel Aviv, to wait for their results,” Mrs. Schonberg said. “Chaya got her PCR results at around 1:30 p.m. Friday via her phone, but the hotel staff told her she couldn’t leave until she got a formal email stating that she was allowed to leave. So she waited and waited for this email. She didn’t know what to do.