Israel reopened its economy on Sunday morning, signaling a return to routine after almost half of its population has been vaccinated. The day comes a year after Israel confirmed its first coronavirus patient at the start of the pandemic.

All Israelis can now enter stores, malls, open-air markets, libraries, and museums but non-essential businesses such as gyms, pools, hotels, and cultural or sports events can only be accessed by those presenting a “green pass,” showing they are fully vaccinated or have recovered from the coronavirus.

So many Israelis tried to download their green pass on Motzei Shabbos that the Health Ministry website crashed.

“There are heavy loads on the service issuing the green pass, and therefore there may be difficulties,” the ministry said. “At the same time, most applications have been completed successfully and tens of thousands of people already have their green pass.”

Meanwhile, some Israeli parents are angered by the fact that stores and malls are reopening while tens of thousands of children are still at home as 7th -10th graders aren’t scheduled to return to their classrooms for another two weeks.

Some parents are protesting by boycotting Zoom classes and making plans to hold school sessions inside malls in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv later this week.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)