The Interior Ministry is holding up thousands of requests for entry permits by foreign nationals and must process them faster. It is time for Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked to step up and make sure that the permits are processed at a faster pace.
According to a report by The Jerusalem Post’s Jeremy Sharon, there are 3,000 unanswered requests waiting to be reviewed, and thousands more open applications have been sent to various Israeli consulates around the world. These requests are coming ahead of this unique period on the Jewish calendar, as we prepare for the High Holy Days for the second time during a pandemic.
While Israel’s attempt to manage the crisis has sometimes been at the forefront of the global response, we have also lagged behind in other areas.
For instance, while millions now have received booster shots of the vaccine, our policies continue to be chaotic. Closed borders, quarantines for some travelers, and mixed messaging on what the plan is for the future leave many wondering whether we can ever get back to normal, and why Israel so often seems to simply lurch from one crisis to the next.
This situation has also affected those who want to come to Israel, such as Israelis’ relatives abroad. New immigrants, in particular, have family outside the country. They were willing to wait last year because of the pandemic’s uncertainty, but now Israelis know a lot more about corona and the challenges it presents. We also know how to mitigate the pandemic and live alongside it. However, Israeli bureaucracy has not caught up with the times.
Why is it that on the eve of the holidays, so many requests do not get a response?
Israel has some socialist legacies in how it deals with bureaucracy. Far from being the Start-Up Nation that makes us pat ourselves on the back, some aspects of the Interior Ministry have citizens wondering whether they are living in Israel or in some third world country.
Israel is not the only country that makes it difficult to visit. Australia and New Zealand and some other states have shut their borders, even to their own citizens. But we are not just any other country. As a Jewish state, we understand the importance of family and aliyah and giving people answers and possibilities to meet loved ones.
Nevertheless, many people have once again been left in uncertainty by changing policies. Tour guides are out of work, and many trips to Israel have been canceled. Even people who purchase tickets to Israel often wait and wait.
The failure to provide a timely response is not the only problem. So are the changing regulations about quarantines and tests. Families are left waiting ahead of trips to see what will be the rules, and are often forced to change tickets at the last moment.
Our new government that came to power after years of chaos and four elections was supposed to bring more professionalism to these issues. It is not too much to ask that people receive a quick, efficient and timely answer.
Shaked is a competent and good minister, and she has performed well in the past in the Justice Ministry and in leadership roles. It is time she shows the leadership that is necessary to help ease the pain of families who have put up with so much over the last two years.
We understand the complexity. Israel does not want to bring in new infections. On the other hand, if the government is allowing foreigners to visit, then it needs to know how to process their requests. One simple way is to hire additional people to process these requests. Officials in the Interior Ministry openly admit that they do not have enough staff. Well, why not get some?
Moses wandered in the desert for 40 years while the people of Israel waited to see the Land of Milk and Honey. In 2021, we need to stop stranding people in the desert, and provide them with a way to safely enter the gates of Israel.