Birthright Cancels Dozens of Israel Trips Over COVID Quarantine Requirement

Birthright, which provides free 10-day trips to Israel for young Jews from the US and around the world, has canceled dozens of trips set to arrive this month, after the Israeli government ordered a seven-day quarantine requirement for visitors from the US due to the coronavirus. The 42 canceled trips had been scheduled to arrive beginning on Tuesday, the start of the quarantine requirement. Birthright resumed trips to Israel in May after they were halted for 14 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some 3,900 young people have visited Israel with Birthright since the trips resumed. There are no trips scheduled for September because of the Jewish holidays and no decisions have yet been made on October trips. The US Centers for Disease Control this week warned against travel to Israel due to the rise in cases of the coronavirus.