Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai warned on Tuesday that Israel’s relations with Jewish communities worldwide are at a breaking point due to its COVID travel bans, Yisrael Hayom reported.

Shai called on Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to work toward a solution to the issue, saying: “We are approaching a crisis point in Israel-Diaspora relations. We have the means to maintain the public’s health even without closing the country’s borders to world Jews. It is time to also consider the overall damage that may be caused to our relationship with Diaspora Jewry.”

In a recent letter to Eric D. Fingerhut, the President and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, Bennett wrote that he regretted “any grief caused to the members of the community, who are a precious asset to the global Jewish family we are all part of. The close connection between Israel and the Jewish community around the world is a fundamental value in Israel.”

“We understand the importance of visits to Israel by North American Jewry, and we are also aware of the thousands of civilians who planned to visit their families, hold bar mitzvah events, weddings and more, and for them, the step taken [suspending air travel] was a severe blow.”

Meanwhile, government officials are saying that a solution may not be needed, depending on if travel bans will be extended or not based on how the Omicron crisis unfolds. And due to the sensitivity of the issue of debating whether all Jews around the world have the right to visit the Jewish state, it is best to let the situation play itself out.

“In two or three weeks it will be clear whether we’re going to reopen the sky or pursue measures for a longer-term,” a senior official said. “If we return to a state of open skies, as it was before the Omicron outbreak, it will resolve the issue for everyone, including Diaspora Jews. If not, we will have to look for an equal solution for everyone, Jews and non-Jews alike.”

“If it is not necessary to do so, it is better not to get into a situation where the Nation-State Law and the Law of Return are up for public discussion and scrutiny by the Supreme Court” he added. “No one knows what the results of such a debate will be, and it is better to think ahead.”

The report added that the World Zionist Organization on Tuesday announced it would lobby for an “open sky” policy for Diaspora Jews even during travel bans.

WZO Chairman Yaakov Hagoel said, “Many Jews have family and property in Israel and they cannot visit the country just because they have a foreign passport.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)