Israel is beginning a pilot program to allow students from the U.S. who hold a valid student visa to  fly from the U.S. to Israel on nonstop flights only without an entry permit, according to information from the Interior Ministry, Amudim and Chaim V’Chessed • Full Story

Permanent residents in Israel (toshavei keva) must now present entry permits to board flights to Israel, a change made by the authorities without any prior notice, according to the Chaim V’Chessed organization on Thursday • Full Story

Chaim V’Chessed has learned that, effective immediately, entry permits to Israel will no longer be issued to student visa holders. This sudden decision by the Israeli authorities is due to the discovery of fraudulent activity involving entry permits. Several non-students have been caught in recent days entering Israel under the guise of students • Full Story

After deliberating on whether or not to ban air travel into Israel as fears of a new coronavirus variant grow, the Israeli government has indeed decided to shut down Ben-Gurion airport with very few exceptions from midnight Monday and not reopen it for at least the next week. This poses a big dilemma for those who need to return from New York, as they now scramble to find a flight that will arrive back home before said deadline. • Full Article