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"I've never liked the idea of saying to people you must show your papers or something to do what is just an everyday activity, but we were right to properly look at it.
"We've looked at it properly and whilst we should keep it in reserve as a potential option, I'm pleased to say that we will not be going ahead with plans for vaccine passports."
The world's most "ultra-vaxxed nation" Israel is continuing to struggle to keep its coronavirus infections down, despite enacting some of the most stringent rules and requirements on its population, including rolling out one of the earliest versions of a vaccine passport to visit public venues, which has to be "updated" each six months or so based on a booster shot timeline.What could go wrong?
Now Israel will go so far as to conduct "genetic scanning" for travelers arriving in the country. It's considered a huge and experimental high tech step in screening inbound passengers for coronavirus infections at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.
"Israel will thus become the radar for the virus," he [Bennett] added. However, no further details on how the 'genetic scanning' will work were given, nor whether there might be an opt-out mechanism. Thus a Covid passport, which Israel calls its "green pass" - may be linked to an eventual regimen of forced genetic testing at international travel points.
The technology, which will no doubt be hugely controversial given privacy concerns, is being discussed as part of Israeli efforts to keep further Covid variants from entering the country.
Conventionally since the start of the pandemic airports have often monitored passengers' temperatures with a quick and simple thermometer scan of their foreheads, but Israeli health officials are now seeking a method which might given greater certitude over whether someone has the virus or not, and especially whether they are carrying a variant.
Again though it remains unclear precisely how the genetic scanning will work, it brings up the question over just what genetic data/DNA will be preserved on each individual. The initiative suggests that for any foreign traveler entering Israel, they will have to agree to hand over their personal genetic data to potentially be stored by the Israeli government for all time.


Comment: See also:
- 'They are children of the same foul spirit': George W. Bush compares 9/11 terrorists to 'domestic extremist' threat at home
- Hearts and minds? 'F*ck Joe Biden' chants reported again at college football stadiums
And check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Covid-19/11