Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on February 12, 2021

The Israeli Health Ministry is using its resources to fight a dangerous and quick spread of vaccine misinformation in the country's haredi (ultra-Orthodox) communities. The ministry's department for the education of the ultra-Orthodox public gave examples of the misinformation that is spreading which includes insisting that senior haredi rabbis who have publicly supported the vaccine do not support it 'in reality,' as well as presenting information to look medically accurate that advocates against vaccination.According to the department, the small, fringe group that is spreading the misinformation is denying infection rates, insisting that the virus is only a light flu, and that the pandemic is a conspiracy. The group also insists that those who are sick turn only to "doctors they can trust." To begin to combat this, the Health Ministry's department will publish and disseminate a book of halachic responses that will tackle each of the claims made by vaccine-deniers one-by-one, with reliable sources from the field. Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, told Jews everywhere to get the vaccine if they could, saying that it is obligatory according to Halacha. In December, Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, one of the leading Ashkenazi haredi rabbis, received his vaccine, and urged the public to follow. Just last month, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the most senior ultra-Orthodox rabbis in the world, called for the second time to the ultra-Orthodox community to seek out the vaccine. And, on Thursday, schools urged teachers and students over 16 to go get vaccinated.

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Posters & books: Health Min. fights vaccine misinformation among haredim - The Jerusalem Post

Category: Sephardic
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