Showing posts with label vaccination. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vaccination. Show all posts

Sunday, July 16, 2023

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.., made headlines this weekend when he seemed to claim that COVID-19 could have been genetically engineered to target certain populations, and then mentioned there have been studies that suggested that Chinese people and Ashkenazic Jews are less susceptible to the virus.

"COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese," the Democratic presidential candidate said in a video that the New York Post published.

There is indeed such a study, from 2020, which he gets slightly wrong. The two groups that the study claimed were less likely to be susceptible to COVID-19, based on an analysis of two specific genes, were Ashkenazic Jews and the Amish. Latino, South and East Asian, and Finnish people were less susceptible than other groups as well. 

Kennedy later clarified, saying he “never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews. I do not believe and never implied that the ethnic effect was deliberately engineered.” 

Obviously, a large number (and percentage) of Ashkenazic Jews died of COVID-19, so the study did not predict anything accurately. 

But the cat is out of the bag, and conspiracy theorists now have more ammunition to attack Jews. 

And they are the most likely people to be antisemitic to begin with. 

A new study published in Nature shows that antisemitism is not so much associated with the political Right or Left as it is with extremist thinking and conspiracy theories.

The researchers checked the association between antisemitic attitudes and likelihood to believe in other theories. For example, they found a high correlation between antisemites that those who believed in totalitarianism:

•To bring about great changes for the benefit of mankind often requires cruelty and even ruthlessness.
•Soft and idealistic people can never be the doers of great events.
•Almost any unfairness or brutality may have to be justified when some great purpose is being carried out.
•The unhappiness of a few people simply doesn’t matter when it is a question of a step forward for the majority of the people.
•Sometimes when a new society is in its early stages, the masses have to be ruled with an iron hand for their own good
Similarly, antisemitic attitudes were correlated with belief in conspiracy theories, such as:

•The government permits or perpetrates acts of terrorism on its own soil, disguising its involvement.
•The power held by heads of state is second to that of small unknown groups who really control world politics
.•A small secret group of people is responsible for making all major world decisions such as going to war.
•Secret organizations communicate with extraterrestrials, but keep this fact from the public
•The spread of certain viruses and/or diseases is the result of the deliberate, concealed efforts of some organisations.
•Technology with mind-control capacities is used on people without their knowledge.
And they are also associated with support for authoritarianism, both associated with the Right:
•What our country needs most is discipline, with everyone following our leaders in unity.   
•An ideal society requires some groups to be on top and others to be on the bottom.

•Some groups of people are simply inferior to other groups

And the Left::
•Rich people should be forced to give up virtually all of their wealth.
•Most investment bankers need to be thrown in prison.
•Political violence can be constructive when it serves the cause of social justice.

 •Books that contain racism or racial language should be censored.

•I should have the right not to be exposed to views I find offensive.

While both the Right and the Left attack each other as antisemites, they usually remain blind to the antisemitism that is on their own side.  And too many on their own sides want to see an authoritarian government that supports their viewpoints - and violently represses others. 

Which indicates that antisemites are often some of the worst people on Earth.  And those who find antisemites on their own political side should be in the forefront of denouncing them, not accommodating them. 

Incidentally, the introduction to the study cited quite a few studies that showed a strong correlation between Judeoiphobic antisemitism and anti-Zionist antisemitism. And the people who would self-describe as anti-Zionists were just as likely to believe in the other noxious theories listed here as those who espouse the "old" antisemitism.


(h/t Irene)

our country needs most is discipline, with everyone following our leaders in unity.



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Monday, September 20, 2021


There are major differences between the American and the Israeli right. Never has this been more apparent to this author than during the pandemic. The vast majority of my acquaintances on the Israeli right support vaccination and even banning the non-vaccinated from events and shops. We see those who refuse vaccination and try to sneak into shul, for example, as endangering our lives. But tune into conservative American talk shows, and it is easy to see that the American right sees vaccinations and “passports” as an infringement of their civil liberties, and sometimes something even more nefarious.

It is not the only difference between the Israeli and American conservative right. One of the more obvious disparities between the two is seen in the way the American and Israeli view the two-state solution. A 2016 Pew report revealed that 43 percent of American Jews who identify as conservatives say that “A peaceful two-state solution is possible, compared with 70% of those who say they are liberal – a gap of 27 percentage points. Among Israeli Jews, 29% of those on the political right say a peaceful two-state solution is possible, compared with 86% on the left – a 57-point gulf.”

One might also suggest that our issues are different. In Israel, our health care system is socialist and it works. We offer all sorts of benefits to encourage immigration (albeit JEWISH immigration/Aliyah). On the Israeli right, among the main issues—not in any particular order—are sovereignty; settlement; access and freedom of worship at our holy sites; the preservation of Jewish identity and observance; security; and at least as far as this author is concerned: a fierce and stubborn desire to spurn the West on any matters on which we differ in relation to Israeli sovereignty and security.

With the arrival of the horrible, no-good pandemic, another difference between the American and the Israeli right became apparent. Israelis, on the right and on the left, trust the medical establishment, even when that medical establishment can only wager a guess as to the right decisions to take in battling COVID-19. In fact, while there are pockets of conspiracy theorists on both sides of the equation, most of us understand that the danger of coronavirus is very real, and we are willing to take risks and use heretofore unknown vaccines in an effort to protect the most vulnerable sectors of our population.

I can’t quote statistics on what I freely admit are observed phenomena. But thus far, over 3 million Israelis have received their third booster shot, with the FDA still unwilling to approve the third booster across the board but only for those over 65 or at high risk. The effort to administer that third jab, here in Israel, for all sectors, continues unabated.

Not long after the American presidential election, as I was leaving a doctor’s office, we struck up a conversation about the pandemic. Believing her to have similar political views, I ventured to say that it was Trump’s cavalier attitude to COVID-19 that lost him the election. How is it, I asked, that Israel managed to get all those Pfizer vaccines when in America, where those vaccines were produced, Americans wanting to vaccinate, couldn’t get vaccinated for love or money. Appointments were impossible to get, and my first cousin had to travel from Pennsylvania to Ohio in order to be vaccinated (twice).   

My doctor agreed, venturing the fact that her mother in New York was having a terrible time trying to secure an appointment to be vaccinated. So, I reiterated, in my opinion, that’s how Trump lost the election. At which point my doctor said, “And what a shame! He was good for Israel, and now look what we’ve got.”

We both shook our heads, commiserating. In our opinion, both of us on the Israeli right, it was the stubborn insistence on pooh-poohing COVID and vaccination that lost the election for the Conservatives. More’s the pity.

My family doctor, Dr. Chaim Judelman, in a thread on social media, at one point alluded to the fact that in America, Conservatives differed from us on the subject of vaccinations. I agreed. I had seen it myself, in online interactions, in listening to talk shows and American Conservative pundits. It was disturbing to me, seeming contrary to medical science, and dare I say it: selfish.

That thread occurred some months ago. Then yesterday, my husband alerted me to the fact that Dr. Judelman had contracted and recovered from COVID-19 though we are both well aware of his positive stance on vaccination. Dov told me to go see Dr. Judelman’s latest post on Facebook. It was long, said Dov, with many interesting points.

I received permission from Dr. Judelman to share his post here in full:

I want to quote here one point in this thoughtful commentary on the Israeli vaccination program that I found most striking and persuasive:
“Other than tweaking or finding a better vaccine that provides a longer lasting more diffuse immunity, it seems to me that currently the best immunity is a combination of vaccine and viral exposure. People get vaccinated and then recover from COVID and these who are recovered should get vaccinated. Hopefully a better tweaked vaccine will be available soon.”

It is only natural that Dr. Judelman’s post generated a lot of discussion. Which is why he debated sharing his experience and his thoughts in the first place. In my experience, he is a mensch who hates dissension. Also, he didn’t really want to get into it with the anti-vaxxers. But he braved the waters anyway, believing he had something important to say to the world, irrespective of politics. And I really liked this response Dr. Judelman made to a comment from a friend of his in Pittsburgh, no doubt on the right, and obviously on the other side of the vaccine equation (emphasis added):

“I have seen many young patients from the USA and here who had cardiac, pulmonary, stroke, embolic and other long term post-COVID problems despite "effective" treatments. I have a 25 year old who had encephalitis -a young family devastated and some patients died. YET - I did not vaccinate myself because I was fearful of COVID. I did not vaccinate my children because I was fearful of their risk - The absolute risk is low. I did it because in Israel, we are a family and we take daily personal risks to protect others.

In a nutshell, this is the difference between the American and the Israeli right, from my purview. Freedom of choice, individual liberties is what matters most on the American right. In Israel, on the other hand, in spite of our vigorous political and religious debate, we live in a world that hates us and tries to eradicate us as a nation and as a people. Perhaps it is this existential threat that has turned us into a family. And there isn’t anything we wouldn’t do for each other.

Including vaccination.







Sunday, June 20, 2021



The Pfizer vaccine fiasco reveals so much about the Palestinian leadership as well as about the "human rights" groups and activists who pretend to be "pro-Palestinian" but truly aren't.

The Palestinian Authority had agreed with Israel to obtain over 1 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine now, and not to have to wait until September to get them directly from Pfizer. The agreement was signed and the PA knew perfectly well that Israel would first transfer the vaccines that were closest to expiring, and the exact expiration dates of the first doses. 

An Israeli official, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said that the initial batch of doses would expire at the start of July and said that would give enough time for Palestinian health workers to administer them.

The official added that the authority had been aware of the vaccines’ expiry date before agreeing to their delivery, and said the authority had scrapped the deal only because it had been criticized by Palestinians for agreeing to receive vaccines perceived to be of poor quality.

The official also said that none of the remaining doses would have been delivered less than two weeks before their expiry date.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians could have received their first doses in the next two weeks. 

This should be considered a debacle by any civilized society. Thousands can get sick and scores could die because of this decision by the PA. 

But, incredibly, the only inquiry that Palestinians are demanding is one into how the PA almost bought vaccines that they claim were of "inferior" quality. Terrorist media is reporting about how the PA is incompetent - not for trying initially to fight COVID but for making a deal with Israel. The PA, naturally, has to defend its "honor" by canceling the deal. 

Keep in mind that the PA eagerly accepts Russia's Sputnik vaccine which did not have anywhere near the same quality trials as the Pfizer or Astra-Zeneca vaccines did. 

Unless you are hopelessly biased against Israel, this episode shows beyond any doubt that Palestinian leaders don't care about the lives of their own people, and are willing to sacrifice their people so as not to appear to be "normalizing" with Israel. They hate Israel more than they love their own citizens.

Even more telling are the reactions  - or non-reactions - from so called "human rights" groups and Palestinian activists.

As far as I can tell, none of the supposed Palestinian human rights groups are saying a negative word about a decision to delay vaccinating their own people for three or four more months. 

Not B'Tselem. Not PCHR. Not Al Mezan Center.

Their silence shows that they are not interested in the human rights of Palestinians - after all, what human right is more basic than the right to life and health? 

Ken Roth, of Human Rights Watch, took the absurd Palestinian excuse of "almost expired" vaccines at face value, and used this as another reason to bash Israel. 

As if any more evidence was needed, this episode shows that the "pro-Palestinian" community is nothing of the sort. These groups simply use the Palestinian issue as a means to bash the Jewish state.

People who really care about Palestinians would be up in arms over the PA putting their people at risk. Where are their voices?





Tuesday, May 13, 2014

UNRWA released a statement  to several Arabic newspapers warning of serious health crisis on the horizon in Gaza.

There is a severe shortage of vaccines in Gaza, and those for polio, the mumps, rubella and meningitis have been completely depleted, while those for tetanus and whooping cough are dangerously low.

UNRWA warned that polio is starting to spread again in the Middle East because of the Syrian war.

As of this writing, this statement is not found at UNRWA's website. Their Twitter account only links to an Al Jazeera Arabic version of the story - a story that implies that Israel is responsible for the shortage, as it reports this story together with the launch of a "Popular Committee Against the Siege on Gaza." Even that is only mentioned in Arabic.

Why is UNRWA so reluctant to publicize this story of an impending heath catastrophe in English?

Perhaps their statement to Ma'an sheds some light.

In that statement, the UNRWA spokesperson Abu Hasna says that the responsibility of purchasing vaccines rests with the Gaza Ministry of Health and that UNRWA has warned them about this looming crisis for months.

Israel does not, and never has, restricted vaccines into Gaza. The Al Jazeera story, and the reporting of other Arabic media outlets, imply that this is part of the "siege"  - but they are lying.

The looming health crisis is purely the result of Hamas either not caring about the health of people under its control, or a cynical purposeful creation of an epidemic by Hamas to make Israel look bad. That is not so far fetched, as Hamas has done exactly that by refusing imports of fuel to Gaza even when Israel was willing to provide it.

UNRWA, always eager to blame Israel for all problems, does not want to publicly say anything bad about Hamas. So instead of publicly shaming Hamas for refusing to allow life-saving vaccines to enter Gaza, UNRWA only discreetly planted stories about the issue in Arabic media and downplayed the reasons for the crisis, hoping that Hamas will take the hint without UNRWA having to go public to the West.

How much can UNRWA really care about the "refugees" when they are so reluctant to publicize how badly they are being treated by their Arab leaders?

Meanwhile, Israel has approved some 26 construction projects into Gaza, including 12 for UNRWA.

That isn't on their website either, because this is another story that doesn't fit UNRWA's anti-Israel agenda - and agenda that clearly trumps its mission.

(Similarly, I have not yet found this story on any of the usual "pro-Palestinian" websites.)

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

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