I welcome the recent relaxation of certain elements of the travel ban announced by Israel’s government, unblocking travel to all non-“Red-list” countries. From the perspective of my own community, it is particularly gratifying that Israeli health authorities have walked back their blanket ban on South African visitors, enabling members of our community to return to Israel, to see family members, attend important life-cycle family events, and return to their yeshivot and universities at the start of their academic year.
At the same time, it is disappointing that no fundamental policy shift has been made: Jews from “red” countries still cannot enter the country. This affects the vast majority of Diaspora Jewry, including the great Jewish communities of the US, France, Canada, the UK, and many others.
That Israel persists in treating Diaspora Jews as strangers in our own homeland is deeply disconcerting, causing great suffering among families, continuing to do great harm to Diaspora-Israel relations, and undermining the very identity of Israel as a Jewish state. I reiterate my plea that all Jews, whether they hold Israeli passports or not, be permitted entry to the Jewish state, subject to the same health and safety requirements pertaining to Israeli citizens.
The situation as it stands is untenable. I call on the Israeli government to rescind these measures entirely, and to guarantee the future right of entry to all Jews, whether they are Israeli passport holders or not, on the same conditions that apply to its citizens. We cannot have a situation that at any moment if another variant emerges that a Jewish state will again ban fellow Jews from entering.
After this crisis passes, a process should begin to expand the Law of Return to include a clause
allowing the right of entry to every Jew.
Entrance into the land of Israel is not a right that is dependent on citizenship - it is the Divine birthright of any Jew.
Rabbi Warren Goldstein is the Chief Rabbi of South Africa