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Anti-vaccine protest planned for Orthodox health event in Brooklyn
(New York Jewish Week) — A conference for Orthodox medical professionals that aims to improve healthcare literacy in the community is drawing backlash from anti-vaccine activists, who are also planning a protest.
The conference, set to take place at a hotel in the heavily Hasidic Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg, will cover a broad range of topics — including vaccination, community healthcare, long COVID and the return of infectious diseases such as polio. The conference, with an expected attendance of some 100 to 150 people, is approved as a continuing education course for medical professionals and is sponsored by multiple medical providers and community organizations.
The gathering comes after years of low vaccination rates in the city’s haredi Orthodox community, driven in part by misinformation, a lack of resources and mistrust in a city government that some felt had targeted Orthodox Jews. Recent years have also seen a current of anti-vaccine activism by some haredi Jews, in partnership with other anti-vaccine activists, despite repeated calls by a range of leading haredi rabbis to get vaccinated.
“There is so much mistrust right now across the globe, but very heavily in the Orthodox community right now,” Blimi Marcus, an Orthodox nurse and president of the Emes Initiative, a co-sponsor of the event, told the New York Jewish Week. “COVID caused a lot of additional mistrust that existed beforehand. People had a hard time with changing guidelines, mixed messaging, and feeling targeted by policies that were directed at specific communities.”
Last year, polio resurfaced in the United States for the first time in nearly a decade when an Orthodox Jewish man from Rockland County was diagnosed with the disease. One month later, New York City and state health officials announced that polio was detected in New York City wastewater, and cautioned communities to get vaccinated.
At that time, Williamsburg, which is home to one of the largest Orthodox Jewish populations in the state, had the city’s lowest rate of polio vaccination, with 56.3% of children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years having had three doses of the vaccine, according to the New York Citywide Immunization Registry.
Some members of Orthodox communities campaigned against COVID vaccinations as well, despite the admonitions of community leaders, while others hesitated to get the shot due to fears that it would adversely affect fertility. At present, some Hasidic neighborhoods in Brooklyn, including Borough Park and Williamsburg, have among the lowest levels of COVID vaccination in the city.
And in 2019, haredi Orthodox communities in the state experienced a measles outbreak that was tied to low vaccination rates. That outbreak also saw the growth of a vocal anti-vaccination campaign among Orthodox Jews.
Anti-vax activists are raising their voices against Sunday’s event as well. A flier has surfaced over the past week that is calling the event a “terrible Chilul Hashem,” or desecration of God’s name.
Well that escalated.
There is nothing anti-Jewish about a health event to prevent polio and to support community pediatricians in their holy work caring for our children in challenging times.
This is nonsense.
On the flip side, registration went up exponentially today pic.twitter.com/40Q8Zu9Dlb
— Blimi Marcus DNP RN (@MarcusBlimi) May 17, 2023
“People who deny that [God] created the world are scheduled to speak to the frum community at The Williamsburg Hotel,” the flier said, using a Jewish term connoting Orthodoxy. “Please help avert this terrible Chilul Hashem. Rabbonim [rabbis] have requested that whoever can possibly come, should join to stand up for Kavod Shamiyim,” or the honor of heaven.
A leading voice against the protests has been a blogger who goes by the name of Boruch Weiss. Weiss has written multiple articles calling the event “an atheist convention,” and did not respond to a request for comment.
“It must be noted that the beliefs espoused at this convention are a lot closer to Nazi ideology than they are to Judaism,” Weiss wrote. “It would be remiss not to mention that it was precisely this sort of ideology that led to the atrocities.”
Despite the protests, Marcus told the New York Jewish Week over the phone that “most people are looking forward” to the event. She recalled that previous protests of similar events did not draw “much of a turnout,” though she said there will be security present.
“This is one of the first times we’re bringing together most of the ultra-Orthodox providers from different communities around the tristate area,” Marcus said.
At the height of the pandemic in 2020, many in the city’s Orthodox community felt unfairly targeted by COVID restrictions that closed schools, parks and houses of worship. Orthodox protesters in Brooklyn burned masks and, at one point, cornered, mobbed and threatened a Hasidic reporter.
“A lot of people have taken all of this and come away with the message that no one is to be trusted except ourselves,” Marcus said. “They don’t want to hear from anyone that has beliefs that are different from theirs.”
Marcus said that Sunday’s event is “open to people from the Jewish community and beyond.”
“We can always learn from each other,” Marcus said. “Vaccine hesitancy is not limited to the Orthodox community. By far, it’s a global public health problem.”
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The post Anti-vaccine protest planned for Orthodox health event in Brooklyn appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Contributor to Drop Site News Says Israelis Should ‘Be Removed From Our Planet’
Abubaker Abed reporting from Gaza. Photo: Screenshot
Abubaker Abed, a self-described Palestinian journalist and contributor to the far-left news outlet Drop Site News, has come under intense scrutiny following the circulation of social media posts in which he called for the “wiping out” of Israel and said that Israelis “mustn’t feel safe.”
The remarks, which quickly spread across multiple online platforms, have prompted widespread condemnation and renewed skepticism over the credibility and coverage of Drop Site News, a controversial publication fiercely critical of Israel and US foreign policy in the Middle East.
“Wiping out Israel off the planet is not enough revenge. Israelis mustn’t feel safe anymore. Haunt them and go after them where they go. These terrorist parasites must be removed from our planet,” Abed posted on an Instagram story.
Drop Site co-founder Ryan Grim responded to the incident by clarifying that Abed’s comments do not reflect the editorial position or institutional stance of his publication. Grim, a far-left investigative reporter who has repeatedly accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza, did not condemn the statements by Abed.
“We also are never going to police the language of anyone who survived a genocide,” Grim posted on X.
Abed, a social media influencer from Gaza who evacuated to Ireland during the Israel-Hamas war, has previously suggested that attacks on Jewish institutions might be justified if they signal support for Israel.
Following the recent attack on the Temple Beth Israel Synagogue in Michigan, Abed resurfaced a photo from the synagogue featuring an Israel soldier. Abed wrote that the attempted mass casualty event was justified because the assailant defended himself.
“A person is not criminally responsible if they act reasonably to defend themselves against an imminent and unlawful use of force,” Abed wrote in a since-deleted post on X. “Israel murdered his relatives and is illegally bombing and invading his country.”
The FBI said last week that the attack on the largest Jewish temple in Michigan was an “act of terrorism” inspired by Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group committed to Israel’s destruction.
Drop Site, a new media organization which debuted in July 2024, has found itself under immense criticism over its coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the broader Middle East. The outlet has consistently characterized Israel as a “genocidal” aggressor stoking chaos and violence throughout the region.
Meanwhile, Drop Site depicts internationally recognized terrorist groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis in a far more favorable light. Drop Site lead reporter Jeremy Scahill routinely refers to Hamas as “the resistance” and has given softball interviews to Hamas leaders.
Drop Site has also defended the Iranian regime from accusations of terrorism, asserting that Tehran’s goals “center on national sovereignty.” The site contends that Iran has “sought to project influence regionally through allied governments and forces (Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthi, Iraqi Militants, etc.) what’s often called the ‘Axis of Resistance.’”
Some observers have raised alarm bells over the outlet’s growing popularity among establishment mainstream liberals. Ben Rhodes, a former Obama administration official and co-host of the popular “Pod Save America” podcast, has praised the outlet on his social media profile and confirmed he is a subscriber.
Drop Site’s expanding influence does not seem to be confined to left-wing or liberal ideological circles. Right-wing media personality Mike Cernovich contended on X that young conservatives are increasingly reading Drop Site “for Israel news.” Joe Kent, the former director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, over the weekend reposted a Drop Site article pushing Iranian regime propaganda falsely claiming the US was actually trying to kill a downed American airman — just hours before he was dramatically rescued.
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Frankfurt cinema declines to participate in Jewish film festival, spurring backlash
(JTA) — A Frankfurt cinema’s decision not to participate in the local Jewish film festival is spurring allegations of antisemitism, even as its manager says the move was financial.
The Jewish Community of Frankfurt announced last week that the Astor Film Lounge did not wish to host movies during Jewish Film Days this year. The cinema, it said, had cited its workers’ reluctance to staff movies that are part of the biennial festival, as well as concerns about the security required to host Jewish events.
“The decision unequivocally signifies that Jewish life, Jewish people, and a Jewish media presence are no longer welcome at the Astor Film Lounge,” the community said in a statement.
“This line of reasoning is not only disappointing, but sends a devastating societal signal: If Jewish life and Jewish presence are suppressed out of fear of potential reactions, then this effectively amounts to a capitulation to antisemitic pressure,” the statement continued. “The fact that Jewish life can only take place under police protection is already shameful. That this necessity for police protection is now being used as a pretext to completely prevent Jewish events is a scandal.”
But the cinema’s managing director, Tom Flebbe, contested the Jewish Community of Frankfurt’s interpretation of events. In a statement cited in a leading local newspaper, he said the theater had withdrawn this year for economic reasons, as only 40 to 50 guests had come to screenings last year.
Flebbe said a lower-level manager had made unauthorized and inaccurate remarks about security concerns.
“Economic viability is a legitimate and necessary basis for business decisions — regardless of the thematic context of an event,” Flebbe said, adding that other joint projects with the Jewish community will continue as planned.
“The ASTOR Film Lounge MyZeil views Jewish life as a natural and welcome part of this society,” the statement concluded. “The decision against participating in the 2026 Jewish Film Days is not against Jewish people, Jewish culture, or Jewish presence. It is the result of a careful consideration of economic factors. We regret that our reasoning has been interpreted in this way and stand by our decision.”
During the 2024 festival, a half-dozen venues hosted screenings as part of Jewish Film Days. The Astor Film Lounge hosted one screening, of the film “March ’68,” a love story set during the Polish government’s antisemitic campaign following Israel’s Six-Day War.
Film festivals have emerged as a frontier for tensions over Israel and antisemitism. Germany’s largest film festival, the Berlinale, was roiled by tensions this year as its jury head fended off calls to criticize Israel. A major Toronto film festival, meanwhile, ruffled feathers last year by first canceling and then screening a documentary about the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. And a Jewish film festival was canceled in Malmo, Sweden, last year because too few cinemas would agree to show movies for it.
Flebbe’s explanation for why Astor Film Lounge would not participate in this year’s Jewish Film Days did not satisfy everyone who heard it. The Berlin-based German-Jewish Values Initiative, a non-partisan think tank, in an open letter called the economic justification a “mere pretext.”
“To the best of our knowledge, the Jewish Community of Frankfurt was prepared to guarantee a minimum revenue” for the film festival, the letter said. By apparently giving in to “threats and antisemitic pressure,” it added, the cinema has capitulated “to the very forces seeking to drive Jews out of the public sphere.”
The post Frankfurt cinema declines to participate in Jewish film festival, spurring backlash appeared first on The Forward.
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Israeli, Serbian leaders denounce antisemitic statements at Belgrade protest
(JTA) — Israeli and Serbian officials are denouncing antisemitic comments made by demonstrators during a clash between Serbian students and police at a protest last week.
“Death to Vučić and all the Jews around him,” one protester said in a televised interview, referring to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. “Long live Serbia.”
The protest last Tuesday marked the latest flashpoint in a series of anti-government protests that have erupted across the country over the past year after 16 people died in an accident at a railway station in November 2024. Hundreds of students participated in the protest, which came as Serbian police searched the offices of the University of Belgrade as part of an investigation into the death of a female student. The school’s leadership claimed that the investigation was an “attack on the university” for its support for the student-led protest movement.
Serbia and Israel first established diplomatic relations in 1948, and Vučić told the Jerusalem Post last year that the country “will always appreciate, respect, and like the Jewish people and Israel.”
Nemanja Starović, the Serbian minister of European integration and the chair of Serbia’s delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, called on the protest leaders to “unambiguously condemn these antisemitic incidents and to immediately remove all antisemitic messages and slogans from university premises.”
“On multiple occasions over the past months, we have warned about the widespread antisemitic ideology within the so-called blockade movement at universities in Serbia,” Starović wrote in a post on X. “Ignoring this dangerous threat has allowed it to escalate into open calls for murder, which now appear as a logical and inevitable outcome.”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry condemned the demonstrator’s comments in a post on X.
“Israel strongly condemns the reprehensible antisemitic calls made yesterday in Belgrade,” the post read. “Israel appreciates the Serbian government’s immediate condemnation of these calls and its firm and consistent stance in the fight against antisemitism.”
Efraim Zuroff, the director of the Israel Office and Eastern European Affairs for the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem, also condemned the antisemitic rhetoric in a Times of Israel op-ed.
“One gets the impression that this is a politically motivated to harm President Aleksandar Vučić, who has close ties with the State of Israel, key Jewish organizations such as AIPAC and the Serbian Jewish community,” Zuroff wrote. “That is completely unacceptable! If these things are not stopped, they will end up in dangerous violence, and therefore cannot be ignored.”
The controversy over the protest comes as antisemitism has surged in Europe in recent years. Last September, Serbia arrested 11 individuals accused of perpetrating hate-motivated acts in France and Germany, including throwing green paint on the Holocaust Museum, several synagogues and a Jewish restaurant in Paris.
The post Israeli, Serbian leaders denounce antisemitic statements at Belgrade protest appeared first on The Forward.