A passenger arrives to a terminal at Ben Gurion international airport before Israel bans international flights, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

JNS.org – Israel should aim to let unvaccinated individuals under the age of 18 into Israel, accompanied by their vaccinated parents, by March 1, Israeli Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov tweeted on Sunday.

“This is done in many countries, and with the reproduction rate [of the COVID-19 virus] falling and with only a few countries in the world having vaccinated children, we must not be left behind,” said Razvozov.

Government decisiveness on this, he said, would “rescue” the Passover tourism season, during which many families are expected to visit the country.

Passover starts at sundown on Friday, April 15.

היעד: מה-1.3.22 יש לאפשר כניסת ילדים (עד 18) לא מחוסנים, מלווים בהורים מחוסנים.

זה נהוג במדינות רבות, וכשמקדם ההדבקה יורד ובעולם רק מעט מדינות חיסנו ילדים, אסור לנו להישאר מאחור.

החלטה נחושה שלנו היום תציל לתיירות את תקופת הפסח בה צפויות להגיע משפחות תיירים רבות לישראל.

— ?Yoel Razvozov | יואל רזבוזוב (@YRazvozov) February 6, 2022

Last week, the government voted to extend existing travel guidelines through the beginning of March, including allowing only people who meet Israel’s stringent vaccination criteria entry into the country.

Israel’s skies have been closed for the better part of two years since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

While the country has approved vaccines for all individuals over the age of 5 and is expected to expand vaccination to young children within the next two months — pending approval of the Pfizer shot for children from six months to five years by the US Food and Drug Administration—not all countries have approved children’s vaccines.

Moreover, Israel does not recognize non-electronic recovery certificates.