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In Israel, Shin Bet Security Services COVID-19 Contact Tracing Raises Privacy
Concerns

Linda Gradstein

   JERUSALEM - A second wave of COVID-19, the disease caused by the
   coronavirus, is hitting Israel hard, with thousands of new cases
   diagnosed every day. Many of those cases are discovered by the Shin Bet
   security services, which is tracking all Israelis' cellphones to see
   who has come into contact with someone diagnosed with the coronavirus.
   While some in Israel worry about privacy issues, most people say they
   are willing to give up some privacy in their efforts to fight the
   pandemic.

   For some Israelis, going into quarantine has become a new way of life.
   Justine Zwerling is the Israeli representative for the London stock
   exchange.

   "I've been, I think, in quarantine about four or five times, I'm
   starting to lose count. The first time is when I came back from the
   U.K. because obviously the airways closed, so I came back on almost the
   last flight from the U.K., so I went into isolation then, and then my
   husband came back on the second-to-last flight from the U.S., so then
   we were in isolation again, and then the whole country went into
   isolation, and then with the children, we were in isolation a couple of
   times," she said.

   While spending two weeks in isolation each time wasn't easy, she has no
   problem with the Israeli Shin Bet security service tracking her
   cellphone.

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