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Israeli prime minister cracks down after pilgrims falsify test results

New rules will be enforced after some Israelis with COVID-19 returned to the country from Ukraine using forged negative test results.

Orthodox pilgrims at airport
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men arrive at the Israeli Ben Gurion airport near the coastal city of Tel Aviv on Sept. 9, 2021, after spending the Rosh Hashanah celebrations in the central Ukranian town of Uman. — JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Israel’s prime minister is cracking down on people entering the country with COVID-19 after some infected Rosh Hashanah pilgrims used phony test results. 

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s directives followed Israeli media reports that dozens of COVID-positive people flew back to Israel on Thursday from Uman, Ukraine, using fake negative test results. Every Jewish new year, thousands of Hasidic Jews go to the Eastern European city to visit the grave of the influential Rabbi Nachman. Bennett’s statement specifically referenced the travelers from Uman. 

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