14 DAY TRIAL // Travelers may now bring one iPad per person into Israel, several reports now reveal, following news of tablets being confiscated at customs. Any confiscated devices will be returned to their owners, while official sales of the iPad in Israel have yet to be announced by iDigital, the only Apple distributor in the territory.
The decision to lift prohibition of iPad imports in Israel doesn’t come as a surprise. The engineers who made their decision earlier this month had reportedly done so without notifying Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon in advance. Their fear was that iPads would strain networks. Later, ministry officials could confirm that the iPad’s wireless capabilities were not even compatible with Israeli standards. An uproar then emerged, prompting the ministry to take immediate action and give the device its categorical approval required for wireless devices.
According to TopNews.co.uk, Israel started permitting people to carry Apple iPads into the nation beginning Sunday, April 25th. The Communications Ministry said in a statement, "Following the completion of intensive technical scrutiny, Israel Minister of Communications, Moshe Kakhlon approved the import of the iPad to Israel."
Earlier this month, Softpedia informed its readers that the Ministry had prohibited the import of Apple’s device saying that its wireless capabilities did not compare well with Israel’s adopted standards. Citing a report by Haaretz.com, our site related that an Israeli returning to his home land from a trip to the U.S. saw his iPad confiscated when he tried to declare it at customs. He had spoken to the ministry, and was told, "It is forbidden to bring iPads into Israel; send it back overseas." He was instructed to apply to the Communications Ministry to have it returned. The person has since been charged money for every day that the device remained in a customs warehouse, according to the report in question.