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Anti-Semitism is on the Rise – The Measles Has a Vaccine, Anti-Semitism Doesn’t?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9Xn6WCj0K8
Updated 4.19.19
The Measles, Uniquely Jewish, anti-Vaxxers, Anti-Semitism and the Moral of the Story….
There are reasons for not getting vaccinated, legitimate reasons. Children with compromised immune systems often cannot be vaccinated. People with specific allergies sometimes cannot be vaccinated. And there are religions wherein it is forbidden to vaccinate. That last one raises questions, but it might be possible to understand. And we have been told that people who practice those religions limit access to their children and to others, a virtual self-quarantine.
Judaism is not one of the religions that forbids vaccinations. In fact, it is arguable that Pikuah Nefesh – the notion that saving human life trumps all else – demands that Jews vaccinate our children. Yet, here we are known world over as a community that has helped spread, if not fostered and advocated for the spread of, an all but extinct virus, the measles. Historically Jews have been blamed for plagues. Never before, however, has the causal correlation between religious insularity and the effect of spreading an all but extinct disease been quite so clear.
Organizations like the anti-Defamation League (ADL), the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC), the Simon Wiesenthal Center and others wonder why there is a rise in anti-Semitism. We do not wonder. When ultra-Orthodox rabbis are out advocating for the right to spread disease, there is little question. It is reprehensible that the revered leaders of the ultra-Orthodox community could be telling parents that vaccinations are dangerous (barring unique circumstances) and moreover that it is okay to spread disease. Yet many outspoken ultra-Orthodox Rabbis are advocating anti-vaxxing. And, as such Jews are the public face of a renewal of an all-but-extinct virus’s spread.
Even as Jews it is difficult not to feel resentment for a community that is now defining by implication, even the principles of moderate Judaism, through the very public spread of a virus. Is it not the season of the Ten Plagues? Is that the association we want? To be the cause?
With a full generation of people who have been vaccinated, there is little known about what is in store for the children (and adults) who are currently getting sick. Survivors of the German measles (Rubella), who got sick before the vaccine was mainstream, many of whom are now in their late fifties to early seventies, are finding significantly earlier onset age-associated vision loss. There appears to be a causal effect between the two. Many survivors of the second wave of polio, again before the vaccine was used worldwide, suffered second polio syndrome.
Because the measles was all but wiped out of existence in the United States in 2000, we do not know for certain what follow-up syndromes will befall the children who are now getting sick. We do not know what is the chance for the virus to mutate. We do not know if the strains of the disease that are spreading are the same as those for which there is a vaccine or if there are groups of vaccinated individuals whose vaccines are not effective, either because they had only one dose or because the vaccine in circulation at the time is not working against this virus. We are in a world of unknowns, one associated with being an observant Jew, with being Jewish, one that has mutated. And if perspective is everything, it’s hard to wonder why now is not a great time to be Jewish.
And, with a far more crowded world, a far more transportable world, a far more visible world than the one in 2000, the risks are so much higher for the measles to become something it isn’t. That is from both a scientific and philosophical perspective. An observant Jew who steps foot in a restaurant that is not kosher is supposed to take off his Kippa lest he be seen in an unkosher establishment. Yet he proudly wears his kippa when he tells his followers to avoid vaccinating their children? Clearly perspective was understood by the sages. Do those with a true and deeply held sense of love for Judaism really want to be the public face of the spread of the measles?
And what of the financial costs? So much of the ultra-Orthodox pro-measles advocating community is on Medicare, Medicaid and other forms of public assistance. The costs associated with vaccinating are small. Those associated with treating disease are much higher? Who is to be held accountable? And is that not yet another reason for an increase in hatred against Jews?
It might be time for the wisest sages within the ultra-Orthodox community to start looking “Two Tzaddim Kadima” (two steps ahead) and consider where this is going to lead. Getting vaccinated is no longer just about the measles. It is about whether or not the greater Jewish community is going to be viewed as a plague upon the world. The measles as an illness is sadly an allegory. Let the Tzadikim among you direct your children to vaccinate, to think about your individual community and the greater good for all Jews, lest we all Jews as a collective, be viewed as a plague.
Let those with true chesed understand, that the religious garb as a symbol of the spread of the Measles will become the moral of the story for why the world cannot rid itself of anti-Semitism. The measles has a vaccine. Anti-Semitism does not.
Playing with Human Life, Biological Warfare and the Ultra-Orthodox – Lawsuit for the Right Harm Others
Biological warfare: Williamsburg residents sue city for right to not vaccinate
Five Williamsburg residents are fighting for the right to not vaccinate themselves and their children amid a growing measles outbreak in Brooklyn, filing suit against the Department of Health in an effort to quash an emergency health declaration that slaps unvaccinated locals with stiff fines.
The plaintiffs, who filed a complaint in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Monday, argued that the roughly 300 known cases of the potentially fatal illness do not justify the city’s decision to override their religious objections to the MMR vaccine, according to their lawyer.
“We don’t think the so-called ‘outbreak’ has reached a level that requires the extreme response of forcing vaccinations,” said Robert Krakow, a Manhattan attorney specializing in vaccine injury lawsuits.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and city Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot announced on April 9 that unvaccinated residents of four Williamsburg zip codes — where some 250 of the total 285 measles cases had been identified — would be subject to fines of up to $1,000 in response to the outbreak, which has exclusively affected members of the borough’s Orthodox Jewish communities.
And while Krakow’s clients represent a mix of Jewish and Gentile Williamsburg residents, they all object to vaccination on religious grounds and claim the city’s latest move to stem the virus’ spread constitutes a gross overreaction, and that less drastic measures, such as quarantining infected individuals, should have been explored first.
“We don’t think the city should be in the business of forcing people to vaccinate,” said Krakow. “Quarantine can be imposed for the people with active infections.”
The measles virus can be contagious for weeks before symptoms show, and the attorney said he was not aware that several Williamsburg yeshiva’s had been cited by the city for admitting unvaccinated students amid an ongoing exclusion order, including one school where more than 20 students were infected, according to the Health Department.
The plaintiffs further allege that measles can be actually be contracted and spread by the inoculation, and that vaccinating “[enhances] the risk of harm to the public” through a process referred to as viral shedding.
“That’s something that happens, and we don’t know a lot about it,” Krakow said.
Viral shedding refers to the process by which viruses spread, but is a term used by members of the anti-vaccination movement to propagate the myth that vaccines cause outbreaks, according to a Science-Based Medicine report.
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The Satmar’s Uncharitable Wars of Attrition, Satmar v. Chabad – The Attack on a Chabad Synagogue, Not a Very Jewish Thing to do
SATMAR YESHIVA ATTACKING NY CHABAD SYNAGOGUE IN FIERCE LEGAL BATTLE
A Chabad synagogue in Seagate, New York is under attack by a yeshiva connected to the Satmar Hassidic group, which was renting a space in the synagogue, according to CrownHeights.info.
Rabbi Chaim and Rivky Brikman, two Chabad shluchim (emissaries), were hired as the rabbi and rebbetzin (Rabbi’s wife) of Congregation Kneses Israel of Seagate 28 years ago. The Brikmans founded a Hebrew school, adult education classes and programs for youths, teens and seniors.
Eleven years ago, they were approached by the United Talmudical Academy (UTA), a Satmar Yeshiva from Borough Park that wanted to rent space in the building next to the main synagogue.
Hurricane Sandy destroyed the lower level of the synagogue, and then an electrical fire caused even more damage and left the community without a building or a place to pray.
The Chabad congregation decided not to renew their tenant’s lease since their building had been destroyed. The Satmar Yeshiva verbally agreed to vacate the building at the end of the school year, but then reneged on the agreement and fabricated a lawsuit against the synagogue. This was only the first step in an alleged series of deceit trying to bankrupt the synagogue and to initiate a hostile takeover of the synagogue’s property.
“We have no space in our shul [synagogue]. We’re physically locked out of our building.” Rebbetzin Brikman said in a video published to collect donations for the synagogue. “We have a tenant there who is just playing the system and refuses to leave.”
The yeshiva allegedly fabricated serious accusations against the shluchim and local community members, according to CrownHeights.info. UTA hired armed guards to stand in front of the synagogue to prevent community members from entering.
The group even insisted that the judge order the arrest of Rabbi Chaim Brikman because he hosted a Shabbat Kiddush in the building.
The yeshiva is allegedly attempting to draw out the proceedings in order to exhaust the community’s resources.
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Israel and the Law of Return – a Haven for Sex Offenders – Why Does Israel Not Close its Borders to Jewish Criminals?
Mahmoud Illean/AP
There’s a Hole in the System. Israel Became a Haven for Suspected Jewish Sex Offenders’
The case of Malka Leifer, one of 65 suspected sexual offenders allegedly seeking refuge in Israel, has highlighted how Israeli law and the insular world of the ultra-Orthodox can at times shield them from justice, activists and prison officials tell Haaretz
Y. grew up the 13th of 14 children in a Hasidic family where money and parental attention were in short supply. He says that when he was 12, a rabbi who taught at his New York state yeshiva sexually abused him.
The trauma he still lives with began with the teacher buying him ice cream and later invitations home for lunch — seeming kindnesses that, Y. alleges, morphed into sexual abuse.
Years passed, but when he was 27, Y. (Haaretz is in possession of his real name) says he saw his alleged abuser again when he came to Y.’s father’s shivah. Something snapped inside. Y., now 38, recalls feeling a surge of rage and approaching the rabbi. “If I did not forget, you still remember,” he recalls telling him.
When Y. then started making his allegations known within the community, he says the rabbi moved to Israel. Activists say the man eventually got a job in Jerusalem, again teaching boys, until they made the accusations against him public.
Exploiting a law
One of Israel’s foundational laws is the Law of Return, which gives Jews the right to immigrate to Israel and become citizens — unless they are deemed a danger to Israeli society, security or the Jewish people. Israeli law, however, does not define what that means.
According to advocates for victims of child sex abuse, it is the exploitation of this law that has potentially made the country an unintentional haven for Jewish alleged sex offenders who flee here.
This issue of Israel becoming a haven, for those seeking citizenship or those who already have it, has taken center stage with the high-profile case of Malka Leifer. The headmistress of an ultra-Orthodox girls’ school in Melbourne fled to Israel in 2008 after allegations surfaced of her sexually abusing several of her female students. Leifer is facing possible extradition to Australia on 74 counts of suspected sexual abuse, including indecent assault of a minor and rape.
“The Law of Return is basically why it’s so easy for people to come here,” says Shana Aaronson, the chief operating officer of Jewish Community Watch — an advocacy group for victims of child sexual abuse everywhere in the Jewish world, with offices in the United States and Israel.
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A Mandatory Event, Yeshiva U’s Gay Conversion Therapist Speaks at Parent Ed. Night, Practice is Banned in Many States
Gay Conversion Therapy Provider Spoke At Parent Meeting At Prominent Orthodox School
Yeshiva University’s high school hosted a gay conversion therapist at a recent Parent Education Night, the Forward has learned.
Dr. Gavriel Fagin, who runs a Brooklyn-based counseling service, spoke to parents of students at the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy, stylized as MTA, at a mandatory event Monday.
The website for Fagin’s practice, Tikun Counseling, advertises that his services include “Individual therapy for a wide range of sexual issues… These issues include… same-sex attraction.” A page on the website also lists recommended reading for “Same-Sex Attraction” — listed between recommended reading pages for Anger Management and Sexual Abuse — which includes the title “A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality.”
In January, New York made it professional misconduct for mental health workers to try and change a minor’s sexual orientation or identity, sometimes referred to as “reparative therapy.”
“I don’t know if there was some nefarious agenda to expose all the parents to someone who does conversion therapy,” said Mordechai Levovitz, executive director of Jewish Queer Youth, a nonprofit that works with Jewish LGBTQ people, particularly high school and college students. “But I don’t know how you can look at his website and not see that he does conversion therapy.”
In an emailed statement, MTA wrote, “The discussion on Monday night for MTA parents focused on raising awareness about the challenges adolescents today face, learning to become better listeners, and opening barriers between parents and children to make children feel comfortable approaching their parents to discuss anything they may be experiencing. At YUHSB we strive to help provide a comfortable environment for all of our students — we do not endorse reparative therapy.”
Conversion therapy is based on the premise that sexual identity can be changed through therapeutic treatment, and that heterosexuality is the preferred outcome. Conversion therapy can often cause or exacerbate mental health issues in the people being treated, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Nearly 700,000 U.S. adults aged 18 to 59 have received conversion therapy, according to a study from the Williams Institute at the University of California-Los Angeles School of Law. Roughly half received treatments as adolescents. The practice is banned in 15 states.
Read more: https://forward.com/news/national/421966/gay-conversion-therapist-yeshiva-university-high-school/
Lakewood, New Jersey – Gate Unlocked for Sabbath Observant Jews, Settlement
Lakewood community unlocks gate for Orthodox Jews after Sabbath complaint
LAKEWOOD – An Orthodox Jewish man has struck a deal with his homeowners’ association to unlock a pedestrian gate key to Jewish observances at the 55-and-over community in Lakewood, ending a dispute that served as another cultural flash point in the fast-growing township.
Nathan Reiss filed a state discrimination complaint in December 2017 claiming The Enclave’s pedestrian gate prevented him from walking to a synagogue because the gate required the use of an electronic key card. During the Sabbath, those observing the Orthodox Jewish faith are forbidden from driving or using electricity.
More:Lakewood seniors ‘get out of Dodge’ as Orthodox Jewish home buyers move in
Tuesday, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office announced a deal between Reiss and The Enclave, in which the gate would be unlocked during Sabbath hours and on Jewish holidays.
“This settlement should serve as a reminder to housing associations, condo associations and co-ops across New Jersey that being sensitive to the religious beliefs and observances of their residents is not only the right thing to do, it is the law,” Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement.
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LOSTMESSIAH 