The iPad was released three weeks ago today. Released only in the USA, the device quickly made its way to many a distant shore. It was, however, immediately placed into cherem (ie banishment) and prohibited from visiting Israel’s shores. This was the case whether the device was accompanying an Israeli citizen or a tourist.
Well, just three weeks later word comes that Israel has now welcomed the wonder-device to its shores. According to Business Week, Israel’s Communications Ministry just issued a statement reversing the ban that had thus far prevented the device from making its way to Israel. As the Business Week article notes,
The ministry earlier this month requested that Israeli customs confiscate iPads brought in to the country at Ben-Gurion Airport, saying the product’s Wi-Fi transmittor did not confirm to local standards.
“After intensive technical scrutiny,” the ministry said in today’s statement, it has concluded “that the device which could be operated in various standards will be operated in Israel according to local standards.”
This does not, however, do anything for the lack of native Hebrew support on the device which, while it can display the Hebrew language currently requires a keyboard “app” in order to type in Hebrew rather than natively supporting the language the way the iPhone does.
