Rosh Hashannah
Rosh HashannahISTOCK

Senior Israeli health officials say the Health Ministry is likely to instruct Israelis to limit the size of their holiday gatherings this fall, with only immediate family members who live together in the same household getting together for the holidays.

According to an Israel Hayom report Tuesday morning which cited senior Health Ministry officials, the ministry now predicts that the same limitations on gatherings imposed during the Passover holiday will have to be reinstated for the Rosh Hashannah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot holidays in September and October.

“The general estimate now is that there will be no choice but to celebrate Rosh Hashannah only with the nuclear family, and these estimates are based on an analysis of the data on the trends of the coronavirus’ spread in Israel and around the world, as well as on the basis of information and warnings issued by most countries around the world and the World Health Organization regarding the coming months,” health officials said.

This spring, Israelis were instructed to celebrate Passover and Israeli Independence Day only with their immediate family members who live in the same household with them, so as to reduce the chances of spreading the coronavirus.

Limited one-day lockdowns, including bans on leaving one’s home, were imposed nationwide to prevent larger gatherings.

No final decision has yet been made regarding the upcoming holidays, and it is unclear if any new instructions regarding limits to holiday gatherings will be enforced with nationwide lockdowns.

The officials quoted in Tuesday's report said it is possible that the ministry may simply advise against larger gatherings of extended families, but without legal prohibitions on such family gatherings.