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As European leaders agreed in principle a few days ago on vaccination certificates for Covid-19 no earlier than three months, Israel has already implemented its own “green passports.”
The country of nine million people, which has already vaccinated half its population, launched an app a week ago that shows whether someone has received both doses of the coronavirus vaccine, or is immune after being infected with Covid-19.
Shopping malls and museums are open to all, but only green passport holders have access to gyms, concerts, theaters, and hotels, with some restrictions. It is expected that next week will be included in the program and the entrance to restaurants and bars.
On the way back to normal Israel
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And while Israel is yet to return to “normality,” it appears to be on the way, as stores reopen, hotels are booked, and many vaccinated elderly have stopped wearing outdoor masks, though they remain mandatory. Almost every room at the Hagoshrim Hotel and Nature near the Sea of Galilee is filled with green passport holders. “They look happy and liberated”says the director of the unit, Armin grunewald, however, noting that things are not as they were before the pandemic, as some measures are still in force. Guests who tried to have their coffee in the lobby were advised to go outside as there are limits to the number of people that can be inside. “We offer our customers a prepackaged breakfast in their rooms or outdoors, because we still can’t open the restaurant,” says Grunewald, noting that there are some customer complaints about the measures. As for people under the age of 16 who have not yet received the vaccine, they must have a recent negative coronavirus test.
In the city of Rehoboth, in central Israel, the 50-year-old history teacher, Amit Dolev, he uses his green passport to go back to the gym after months. “You feel like a prisoner locked in the house all day”, He says. However, when he returned to the gym last week, there were few people there and the gym equipment was placed at longer distances than usual. “The people seemed sad.” Many of those who are trained there do it to have social contacts, which unfortunately do not exist at this stage. ”
The complex problems of green passports
The Israeli system is similar to a proposal announced last week in Britain for an app that would test whether someone has been vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19 and can visit pubs and theaters in England. The first Minister Boris johnson However, he noted that there were “deep and complex” issues that needed to be addressed, and the UK Human Rights and Equality Commission said vaccination certificates could lead to “unfair discrimination”.
The vaccination certificate proposals have already drawn strong reactions from privacy activists and human rights groups in other countries, such as Germany. In Israel, the concern is whether those who did not receive the vaccine for any reason will be left behind or snubbed, while small demonstrations have been held warning that green passports are creating a new hierarchy in society. New ethical issues emerged last week when the country’s parliament, the Knesset, agreed to provide local authorities with personal data of unvaccinated people in order to carry out more targeted vaccination campaigns.
In Israel, there has been a small but alarming increase in new cases, which could block green passport plans or even bring back the threat of a new blockade with the director of public health services at the Ministry of Health. Dr. Sharon Alroy Price Note that the reopening of restaurants and bars for people with green passports may be postponed after the scheduled date of March 7.
Israel’s agreements with Cyprus and Greece
The Israeli government is wary of delaying by far the most exciting feature of the green passport, international quarantined travel. It has signed agreements with Greece and Cyprus for a trial use of the vaccination certificate in the spring, while the EU and Britain are working out a similar plan.
However, these discussions raise other questions, the Guardian notes, as with already uneven international delivery of the vaccine, green passports, especially if linked to travel, will allow citizens of richer and more powerful countries to enjoy first the benefits.
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