Plotting a quarantine hotel rebellion on Whatsapp: One traveler's story

• Date: 29 December 2020
• Published date: 29 December 2020
• Author: HANNAH BROWN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Currently, all Israelis returning from travel outside the country must be quarantined in a hotel for two weeks, or for 10 days if they have two negative coronavirus tests.

"The whole protest was organized through a Whatsapp group," he said. A bunch of the younger hotel residents went door to door and got everyone's contact information, then sent "about a million" messages back and forth to plan their protest. Eventually it was decided that the residents would just attempt to walk out of the hotel, even though they knew they wouldn't get far.

Chanting "Home (habayta in Hebrew)" and "We're not slaves, we're not prisoners," they were stopped by police as they tried to break out, just as senior officials such as Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Health Ministry Director General Prof. Chezy Levy and coronavirus commissioner Prof. Nachman Ash were saying that the coronavirus hotel policy needed to be reexamined.

"I'm trying to take it all in good spirits," said Breakstone, the outgoing deputy chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive and a Jerusalem Post columnist, speaking by phone just after the failed rebellion on Monday night. While he said he understood the importance of trying to curb the spread...