\u201cOur problem is people who don\u2019t get vaccinated. We need [to influence] them a bit; otherwise, we\u2019ll never get out of this,\u201d Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz tells Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(September 13, 2021 \/ JNS)<\/strong> Imposing \u201cgreen pass\u201d rules on certain venues is needed only to pressure members of the public to get vaccinated, and not for medical reasons, Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said on Sunday, ahead of the weekly Cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Horowitz was caught on a hot mic telling this to Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, who was also unaware that the conversation was being taped and would be broadcast on\u00a0Channel 12 News<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In response to Shaked\u2019s suggestion that the \u201cgreen pass\u201d could be removed as a requirement for outdoor seating at restaurants, Horowitz said: \u201cFor swimming pools, too, not just in restaurants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEpidemiologically, it\u2019s true,\u201d said Horowitz, adding, \u201cThe thing is, I\u2019m telling you, our problem is people who don\u2019t get vaccinated. We need [to influence] them a bit; otherwise, we won\u2019t get out of this [pandemic situation].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Currently, he said, \u201cthere is a kind of universality to the \u2018green pass\u2019 system, other than at malls, where I think it should be imposed, [because] now it\u2019s clear that it applies nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Horowitz went on to explain that the only way for there to be no exceptions\u2014since people wonder why if it\u2019s ok not to have a pass for pools \u201cthen why for water parks, outdoor facilities and sports?\u201d\u2014is to have the regulations be uniformly enforced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the one hand, he added, \u201cwe don\u2019t want to do things that have no medical justification. But I\u2019m telling you that we have a problem. The \u2018green pass\u2019 isn\u2019t even being enforced; certainly not in the Arab sector, where it doesn\u2019t exist at all. And I\u2019m seeing the effect on the hospitals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Horowitz and Shaked were joined by Intelligence Minister Elazar Stern, who, also unaware that the conversation was on tape, expressed disgust with the unvaccinated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s annoying that they\u2019re taking up the [hospital] beds,\u201d he said. To which Horowitz replied: \u201cThose in intensive care, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett subsequently told the Cabinet that tolerance towards those who choose not to get vaccinated has ended, according to\u00a0Channel 12<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n