Israel Headed Toward another Lockdown and Another Israel Tour Postponed
Israeli officials are now asking employers to switch to a work-at-home model and have tightened travel restrictions as new cases of COVID-19 have increased across the country, along with the Delta variant. Beginning on August 8th, masks will be mandatory at all outdoor gatherings and in government offices. Leaders are also asking the elderly population to visit health clinics and receive a THIRD booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. After the elderly are taken care of, boosters will be made available for younger people. "The Delta epidemic is extremely contagious, and is spreading all over the world," Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said. "Avoid crowds, and get vaccinated now. Otherwise, there will be no choice but to impose more severe restrictions, including a lock down."
You may recall that Israel was the first to jump on vaccinations, asking everyone to participate. 90% of the people of Israel have been vaccinated. However, Covid has increased along with the variant.
It seems that the entire world is preparing for more lock downs. Because travel is becoming more difficult and because Israel tightened their restrictions for entry into the country, our Song For Israel Israel/Greece tour that was scheduled for November 2022 has now been postponed. Again. This is our third postponement for this tour. We will now be looking forward to November 1-15, 2022. (In addition we have another tour scheduled for March 2022 to Israel and Petra, Jordan). Click here for more information.
One of Song For Israel’s partners, Thomas, is an Archaeologist and is working on a restoration project in Northern Israel. He headed this week to Israel from the USA. He had been vaccinated and had all of the health permits required by Israel. His plans had been postponed so many times and it happened again this week. He landed at the Ben Gurion Airport a few days ago and was denied entry into the country. He was told he needed a second health permit. What?!!
It’s a good time to refocus on the fact that God says He is still in control of all things. We are all living with frustrations and want things to return to the way they once were. They may not! So we have a choice to make. Will we trust God to provide for all of our needs including our emotional well being? Let’s practice an giving an extra dose of grace with everyone and do something nice for someone you love.