With a measles outbreak in frum communities, there are 68 confirmed cases in Rockland County, 24 in Brooklyn, and 11 in Ocean County, NJ.
The Ocean County Health Department has highly encouraged the exclusion of non-vaccinated children from schools, preschools and daycares in the outbreak area.
Some parents are taking matters into their own hands, writing a letter that is being sent to major supporters of yeshivos, schools and Bais Yaakovs, encouraging these donors not to contribute any funds to institutions that allow unvaccinated children to attend.
“Please do not be complicit in this by supporting educational institutions that put some of their students at risk,” the letter reads. “With measles now spreading across our Torah communities, infectious disease experts are strongly urging parents to ensure their children receive all their recommended vaccinations. Measles can be fatal. But, most importantly, it is readily preventable with vaccination.
“We agree that most people who are anti-vaccination aren’t negligent or evil, but misinformed,” the parents continue. “Vaccines are their own worst enemy in that they have been so effective, so people forget that measles killed many people, but to ensure that parents immunize their children so that history does not repeat itself, we need to take a stand – and we need you, as a major supporter of mosdos hachinuch, to take a stand. Before writing out a check to the next mosad you want to help, ask the hanhala if they permit unvaccinated children to enter their school. If they do, let them know that you cannot have any part of placing children at risk.”
The letter goes on to state that no less a halachic authority than the gadol hador, Rav Ysoef Shalom Elyashiv ruled that it is incumbent to vaccinate their children, and that Rav Elyashiv stated that “mosdos should reject non-vaccinated children because they can infect other children.”
{CB Frommer-Matzav.com}
Uh oh. The wheels are coming off. I’m out. It’s been real. Seeeee yaaaah.
I am sorry, if the mossad is okay accepting these children, why should anyone external stop them?
If the other parents are unhappy, that is there issue, to be taken up internally. But at the end of the day, they are Yiddishe kinder, and need to be educated. There needs to be mosdos for them, as there are mosdos for children with other challenges.
“We agree that most people who are anti-vaccination aren’t negligent or evil, but misinformed”
I dont see how that position can still be maintained.
IT was a cute slogan, and perhaps we wanted to beelive it. But once a child died and more are in the ICU the idea that they are merely misinformed is no longer a believable one.
At this point they can no longer be labeeld “anti-vax” it is time to call the m for that they are namely: pro-disease
Where can the alleged psak from Rav Elyashiv be found in writing from him?
In the CDC office.
If you are asking, you are an alleged Ben Torah.
no where that I could get wind of when asking for real proof
This is outright stupidity already. Enough. Please. Just enough.
Rabbeim and teachers not coming to work????
Donors not supporting schools????
Legal action by Yidden vs Yidden being suggested????
This has got to stop. What exactly is going on here? It really makes no sense. It is clearly not about safety – it is is about pushing an agenda.
If it was about safety then the schools would be assuring that EVERYONE (not just the kids) is up to date on shots – principals, Rabbeim, teachers, cooks, janitors, subs, therapists and anyone who delivers anything to the school. After-all everyone is a potential carrier!
So now we will get letters that schools are in financial distress because donors are not donating??? Rabbeim and teachers won’t be paid because donors stopped giving???
If ANYONE has a child who has come in contact or CV has measles are they walking out on their own child? Yet Veshenantom Levonecha Aylu Talmedecha now all of a sudden doesnt apply because teachers and Rabbeim will not come in to teach?
We have people in touch with lawyers and a threat of prosecuting another yid?
This is just crazy already. Stop it. Just stop it. The web sites who keep posting these articles are causing untold danger on the foundation of Klal Yisroel for they create the forum for Loshon Hora, Rechelus, Motze Shem Ra, Onoas Devorim and everything else that brings tragedies to our camps.
We are using measles as a scapegoat. Polio is also an issue, the flu kills more people, texting and driving kills more people – it just has to really stop already.
> “If it was about safety then the schools would be assuring that EVERYONE (not just the kids) is up to date on shots”
Are you hoping we are really that stupid?
Part 1: Measles is transmitted through physical contact with body (or what excretes from the body) – not by simple “breathing”. Adults (in the modern age schools at least) do NOT physically handle the children and certainly not cough or sneeze on them. What happens is that children “handle” each other – coughing, spitting, touching etc etc etc (on or at) each other. (And yes, the caretakers of small-children who have to be “handled” have to be up-to-date on their vaccines – who ever told you they are not?)
Part 2: The anti-vaxer movement of any concern is relatively recent (before, say, the mid-1990’s there were not enough to even mention). Adults of the relevant age are (for good reason) assumed to have been vaccinated. Mexico for example, had a very high child vaccination rate in the past as it was forced upon them by circumstance and by the UN. Those children are today’s adults of relevant age.
Part 3: There is also a message the school has to send out. They will not be complicit in giving implicit approval to the dangerous trend that has been happening.
> “it is is about pushing an agenda”
Yep. The agenda of safety. As example, “texting and driving kills more people” – the bus driver caught doing that while driving school children is out of a job fast if not actually criminally charged (I know it is a violation here in Canada for any driver to text and drive).
> “Polio is also an issue”
The topic currently is the U.S. and the CDC states:
“Thanks to effective vaccine, the United States has been polio-free since 1979.”
> “We have people in touch with lawyers and a threat of prosecuting another yid?”
Yep. If a neighbour Jew has a vicious dog that he won’t control properly then it is required to go to the authorities to put a stop to that. But you can be frum enough to let your child be mauled instead of following the halacha that requires stopping it.
Regarding by previous reply, I should mention two more things.
First, the anti-Semites have now taken this up to spread anti-Semitism (Jews as an identifiable groups is becoming, or has become, the highest “rate” of this disease in the country). In other words, the anti-vaxers, especially being vocal as they are spreading this thing, are as good as telling the goyim to come-get-us-we-dare-you.
Second, there are no (Jewish) voices championing the mitzvah to text-while-driving, because those who don’t text while driving are an apikoros. Unfortunately, those epithets have been applied, and are being championed, by anti-vaxers against vaccination.
Just curious if all these parents had THEIR OWN TITERS checked to see if they are vaccinated. I would venture to say that most adults ARE NOT VACCINATED !!! This whole hysteria in my opinion is an organized campaign by all the frustrated pediatricians etc. There intentions might be good, but let’s call it for what it is. A hit job. Nothing more and nothing less. I for one raise the white flag. You win Docs! If chas veshalom anything happens to any kid, atleast be man enough to admit that it was a necessary damage and not a “coincidence”. And this last point is what irks me most.
Finally, i would also venture to say that the antivaxxers are more “informed” than writers of this letter who blindly follow the doctors. I understand your position to follow doctors etc, but to call the other side “misinformed” is truly laughable.
Signed,
Father of children who vaccinated many kids BEFORE i was informed…….
Yes, our titers were checked successfully. Many immigrants, myself included, need to get a physical checkup before getting permanent resident status. A certified doctor provides a document to Immigration Services confirming that the immigrant has required vaccinations or has immunity. Since many people lost their childhood vaccination papers, what you do is take a blood test for titers of common disease. And guess what? This worked for me, family and friends. Many years after we were vaccinated we still had sufficient antibodies and in most cases did not need booster shots. So immunizations work. Duh.
No, the anti-vaxxers are informed by pseudo-science, paranoia, and conspiracy theorists. You use an unreasonable suspicion of science to deny your children and other children the benefits of modern medicine, which are well established. Please tell me – why is this outbreak happening? Because of vaccinations, or because of the lack of vaccinations and dissapating herd protection? The answer is clear.
Maybe Matzav should pull up their own archives from the measles outbreak three years ago.
Then, Matzav was much more supportive of the anti-vaxxers and posted a letter stating that a doctor in Lakewood unsuccessfully to convince Reb Chaim shlita to say people need to vax. But Re Chaim stayed his ground and said ine does not need to vax, even in that outbreak, and schools still had to let their children come to school.
Informed by whom? As Abraham Lincoln once said, don’t believe everything you read on the internet. The idea that doctors are ‘doing a hit job’ are ‘frustrated’ and not dedicated to saving lives is a disgusting statement. I wish you good health that you should never need a doctor.
Excuse me? I invented the internet. Not that loser Abe Lincoln.
I happen to know some anti-vaxers personally. There is one common denominator. They all are, as they say in French: “Nisht Mit Alemin” to begin with. So why are we arguing with them? There’s no talking sense to…
The anti- vaxxers have caused all this backlash!!!
This whole episode just shows how conspiracy theories, and foolish beliefs are not just foolish- they are DANGEROUS.
SO YOU ACT FOOLISHLY, PUSH A DANGEROUS AGENDA THAT IS ANTI- TORAH,AND ENDANGERS THE COMMUNITY, AMD EXPECT NO BACKLASH!????????????
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt-CZN48rR8&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1M_gnlqD1F4bgX9lUHLsQNzWj9hmT5Nc4RIJvHbg9yJ85mWBsTvYtbJWM