Feb 26, 2021 8:37 AM EDT
TEL AVIV, Israel Violet light bathed the club stage as 300 people, masked and socially distanced, erupted in gentle applause. For the first time since the pandemic began, Israeli musician Aviv Geffen stepped to his electric piano and began to play for an audience seated right in front of him.
“A miracle is happening here tonight,” Geffen told the crowd.
Still, the reanimating experience Monday night above a shopping mall north of Tel Aviv night was not accessible to everyone. Only people displaying a “green passport” that proved they had been vaccinated or had recovered from COVID-19 could get in.
Governments say getting vaccinated and having the proper documentation to prove it will smooth the way to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and such efforts have gotten a head start in Israel.
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A man presents his Green Pass, proof that he is vaccinated against the coronavirus, on opening night at the Khan Theater for a performance where all guests were required to show proof of vaccination or full recovery from the virus, in Jerusalem, February 23, 2021. (AP/Maya Alleruzzo)
AP Violet light bathed the club’s stage Monday as 300 people, masked and socially distanced, erupted in gentle applause. For the first time since the pandemic began, musician Aviv Geffen stepped to his electric piano and began to play for an audience seated right in front of him.
“A miracle is happening here tonight,” Geffen told the crowd.
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Still, the reanimating experience Monday night above a shopping mall north of Tel Aviv night was not accessible to everyone. Only people displaying a “green passport” that proved they had been vaccinated or had recovered from COVID-19 could get in.
The highly controlled concert offered a glimpse of a future that many are longing for after months of COVID-19 restrictions. Governments say getting vaccinated and having proper documentation will smooth the way to travel, entertainment and other social gatherings in a post-pandemic world.
But it also raises the prospect of further dividing the world along the lines of wealth and vaccine access, creating ethical and logistical issues that have alarmed decision-makers around the world.
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