Israel didn't do anything particularly weird, probably less than other countries. The vaccine passport is less forceful than a mandate, which some countries did, and I personally think it's a very fair tool too.
Israel has rather radically chosen for (presumed) "security" over "privacy" and "freedom". Secret services engaged in phone tracking to make sure people having to quarantine did so, which is
very heavy-handed and sets a very dangerous precedent. (I believe this now requires approval, but for a long time it didn't.) What's more, Israel had an Australia-style entry ban to foreigners for more than a year. I also remember Israel had rather tight restrictions with regard to the range outside your house you were allowed to go (with drones flying around to enforce it). A few other countries did this too and I will criticize them just as much, but in the case of Israel, it was quite a heavy combination of all of these things. It's no surprise and I'll cut Israel some slack because it is understandable that every supposed threat is framed as a national security threat, but I do think that Israel has been among the most heavy-handed countries (talking about Western democracies here) in curbing fundamental rights and I am really disappointed by that.
From my experience, a very solid chunk of the population got vaccinated thanks to the passport.
It's the same here (I got vaccinated for this reason) - and it actually makes it a lot worse. Imagine taking an experimental vaccine whose long-term effects are unknown NOT because you think you need it for your health but because the government essentially forces you to do it by banning you from essential parts of society if you don't - while those who produce the vaccine refuse any and all responsibility when things go wrong.
A mandate is worse, but very few democracies have actually done this.
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