coronavirus restrictions

In this file photo travellers line up at Miami International Airport (MIA) on August 2, 2021. (Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP)

US to open doors to vaccinated foreign travelers from November

New rules will replace restrictions barring non-citizens from Europe, much of Asia; will also tighten negative COVID testing requirements for Americans

A father tests his daughter with a COVID-19 rapid antigen home kit test ahead of the first day of school, in Jerusalem on August 31, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Schoolkids required to show negative COVID antigen test after Sukkot vacation

By Amy Spiro

September 20, 2021, 7:21 pm

US to open doors to vaccinated foreign travelers from November

New rules will replace restrictions barring non-citizens from Europe, much of Asia; will also tighten negative COVID testing requirements for Americans

By Zeke Miller

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Education Minister Dr. Yifat Shasha-Biton sit with children at the Eli Cohen Meuhad School in Yeruham, at the start of the new school year, on September 1 , 2021. (Haim Zach / GPO)

September 20, 2021, 11:20 am

‘Let them fight’: Bennett slammed for pushing parents to vax-shame each other

PM reportedly wanted to pit parents against each other in effort to encourage vaccination of kids; National Parents Association urges him to rescind ‘shocking’ statements

By TOI staff

View of a classroom in a girls school in Tzfat, August 30, 2021. (David Cohen/Flash90)

September 20, 2021, 12:40 am

Education Ministry: Half of teachers haven’t received COVID booster shots

Ministry source says no intention to relax regulations, unvaccinated school staff will be required to perform COVID tests twice a week in order to enter educational institutions

By TOI staff

Kids at a school in Tel Aviv hold up antigen coronavirus testing kits on August 30, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

September 19, 2021, 5:53 pm

Teachers’ unions blast COVID-19 test requirement for schoolkids after Sukkot

Union chief says it isn’t educators’ job to be ‘coronavirus inspectors,’ threatens High Court appeal over new measure; only half of teachers in Israel have had vaccine booster

By Amy Spiro and TOI staff

September 19, 2021, 1:41 pm

Schoolkids required to show negative COVID antigen test after Sukkot vacation

Teachers vow to fight measure; serious coronavirus cases hit a high not seen for almost three weeks, 10 days after the end of Rosh Hashanah

By Amy Spiro

Rabbi Eric “Yitz” Frank addresses the City Council of University Heights, Ohio, on Sept. 9, 2021, saying women and children were traumatized by the presence of an unmarked SUV outside a local Orthodox synagogue on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. (Screenshot via Cleveland Jewish News/JTA)

September 18, 2021, 5:48 am

Ohio synagogue outraged as city officials use PI to investigate COVID violations

University Heights sends hired detective to monitor Orthodox congregants entering and leaving Aleksander Shul during Rosh Hashanah services

By JANE KAUFMAN

Travelers wear protective face masks inside Ben Gurion International Airport on August 5, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni/FLASH90)

September 5, 2021, 9:22 pm

Israel to reopen borders to some vaccinated tourist groups in two weeks

Incoming tourists from select countries must be fully vaccinated with a recent negative COVID test; must also undergo antibody testing upon arrival in order to skip quarantine

By AFP and TOI staff

Jewish youth from across the world attend the main annual Taglit Birthright event at the International Conference Center in Jerusalem. Taglit-Birthright is a free 10-day educational trip offered to Jewish young ages 18 to 26. December 24, 2017. (Hadas Parush/FLASH90)

September 4, 2021, 6:40 am

Birthright trips to resume in October without quarantines for the vaccinated

Tours will likely restart on October 3; visitors will still need to take PCR and serological tests

By Gabe Friedman

Illustrative: A protester holds a Yellow Star reading 'Not Vaccinated = Jew' as protesters take part in a demonstration in Milan on July 24, 2021, against the introduction of a mandatory 'green pass' for indoor dining and entertainment area, in the aim to limit the spread of the coronavirus. (MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP)

September 4, 2021, 5:44 am

Montreal anti-vax leader drops yellow star, stands by Holocaust comparison

Director of city’s Holocaust museum Daniel Amar says many activists aren’t antisemitic and share a sense of victimhood — which is why further education is so important

By Ben Sales

Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton speaks at a press conference at the Education Ministry in Tel Aviv, in preparation for the opening of the school year nationwide, on August 31, 2021. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

September 1, 2021, 6:45 am

Full text: The Education Ministry’s rules for opening schools

Ministry publishes full set of regulations for the opening of the new school year amid the COVID surge on September 1

By TOI staff

A woman takes a selfie photograph with the Dubai Marina behind her at The View at the Palm observation deck in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, July 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

August 29, 2021, 6:58 pm

UAE to allow in tourists fully vaccinated against COVID

With coronavirus infections on the decline, the Gulf nation is set to host the Expo 2020 trade fair next month

By AFP

Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton at a handover ceremony at the Education Ministry in Jerusalem on June 14, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

August 28, 2021, 11:05 pm

Education minister revises comment branding COVID-19 shots in schools a ‘crime’

Shasha-Biton says initial statements opposing vaccines during school hours were ‘too harsh,’ vows to ‘unreservedly’ help Health Ministry implement inoculation plan

By TOI staff

Israeli students going to school in Tel Aviv, on April 18, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

August 27, 2021, 11:24 pm

Officials will back return to classrooms on September 1, reports say, and expect serious cases to drop to some 500 by mid-September

By TOI staff

Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem, on July 21, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

August 25, 2021, 6:04 pm

Liberman comes out against further COVID restrictions: ‘Let the economy work’

Citing ’cause for optimism,’ finance minister says government must wait to see full impact of recently imposed regulations before deciding to tighten them

By TOI staff

Preparations at the Western Wall in Jerusalem for the resumption of group prayers, October 15, 2020 (Western Wall Heritage Foundation)

August 25, 2021, 12:34 am

Western Wall curbs re-imposed amid COVID spike, but up to 10,000 still allowed

Holy site’s management to bring back section dividers, limit entrance at a time when tens of thousands expected for Selichot services ahead of High Holidays

By TOI staff