What I saw in one of Israel's crazy party hostels during COVID quarantine

TEL AVIV (JTA) - As we were reminded at the beginning of the latest lockdown, Israel's quarantine hotel situation throughout the COVID pandemic was a disaster.

The people sent there complained of haphazard arrangements made at the last second for guests and a galling lack of oversight or organization approaching anarchy within the hotels - all while half of incoming travelers managed to receive waivers from the government to instead quarantine at home.

In the latest round, the local media reported that some people tried to escape one in Jerusalem - pushing the government to finally outlaw the...