After Health Minister Yuli Edelstein announced that he was withdrawing the proposal for tourism in Eilat and the Dead Sea, the city fears a fatal economic blow from which many will no longer be able to recover • Deputy Mayor: "Ego battles hurt entire city" • Hoteliers: "It is inconceivable, must change The evil of the decree "
Will remain closed.
The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Eilat, last month
Photography:
Yehuda ben Itach
After Health Minister Yuli Edelstein this evening (Monday) withdrew the bill declaring Eilat and the Dead Sea area as "tourist islands", the southern city fears continued economic damage due to the Corona restrictions, which prevent the opening of hotels.
Eli Lankri, Deputy Mayor of Eilat, said that "it is sad that ego battles and political struggles are hurting the entire city and its residents, threatening to bring it to a real collapse. I call on the Israeli government and the Knesset to recover quickly "The constitution is already tomorrow and will be approved this week in the second and third readings. Every passing day, dozens more businesses in the city are collapsing and many families are falling below the poverty line."
Hani Rubin, a member of the Eilat City Council who works as the commercial director of the city's underwater observatory park, commented on the removal of the bill from the agenda: "It is contempt for the residents of Eilat "We expect politicians to help women in the city and not suffocate it."
Her father Mizrahi-Magen, CEO of the Fattal hotel chain, also attacked the government for the decision to remove the bill: “This is a very sad day for our country.
It is inconceivable that the Green Islands Act, which could have allowed thousands of people to return from the cycle of unemployment to the cycle of work, has not passed.
I have nothing to say beyond the fact that it is irresponsibility that has caused such a dismal outcome for the residents of an entire city, who are being held hostage and all in the name of the ego.
I very much hope that those who need it will recover soon and change the evil of the decree that landed on thousands of people tonight. "
Ran Balbus, VP of the Nakash Group, which owns and manages three hotels in Eilat and one hotel in the Dead Sea, called the decision "unfortunate": "Decision-makers in Jerusalem are destroying the tourism industry.
We hoped to receive approval today for the opening of hotels in Eilat and the Dead Sea.
It is difficult to prepare for opening hotels in terms of recruiting employees and purchasing appropriate equipment when we live in a state of complete uncertainty. "