"PHILOSOPHICALLY SPEAKING...":

Israel is much farther ahead than other countries in vaccinating its population against COVID-19, which is making "the country into a live laboratory for setting the rules in a vaccinated society — raising thorny questions about rights, obligations and the greater good," according to this recent article from the New York Times.

"Under a new 'Green Badge' system that functions as both a carrot and a stick, the government is making leisure activities accessible only to people who are fully vaccinated or recovered starting Sunday. ... Customers and attendees will have to carry a certificate of vaccination with a QR code. ... “Getting vaccinated is a moral duty. It is part of our mutual responsibility,” said the health minister, Yuli Edelstein. He also has a new mantra: “Whoever does not get vaccinated will be left behind.” ... Dr. Maya Peled Raz, an expert in health law and ethics at the University of Haifa, defended some limits on personal liberties for the greater good. Employers cannot force employees to get vaccinated, she said, but they might be allowed to employ only vaccinated workers if not doing so could harm their business. ... Mr. Edelstein, the health minister, said on Thursday that vaccination would not be compulsory in Israel. But his ministry is proposing legislation that would oblige unvaccinated employees whose work involves contact with the public to be tested for the virus every two days. And he is promoting a bill that would allow the ministry to identify unvaccinated people to the local authorities. Local authorities and volunteers have been trying to lure people to vaccination centers with offers of free pizza, Arabic sweets and, in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, bags of cholent — a slow-cooked stew traditionally prepared for the sabbath. ... Concerts and restaurants are luxuries that people can more easily forgo. But the questions become more pressing and contentious when it comes to the rights of employers and workers. ... [T]wo rights organizations, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and the Worker’s Hotline, said they had already received complaints from other unvaccinated workers. The groups wrote a letter to the attorney general this month demanding that he issue a clear opinion and said that under existing law an employer may not demand information from workers regarding their vaccination status."
www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/world/middleeast/israel-covid-vaccine-reopen.html