Chief rabbis reaffirm duty to vaccinate against measles after third child succumbs to disease in a week

Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber and Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef issue a joint statement reaffirming the obligation to vaccinate against measles after a third child in less than a week succumbed to the disease earlier today.

“The Torah of Israel commands us to do everything possible to protect ourselves and our health,” the rabbis write. “It is the duty of each and every one of us to try and prevent diseases from affecting our lives before they even occur. Vaccination is part of preventive medicine.”

“In recent times, there has been a measles outbreak, causing a danger to many,” they add. “According to the opinions of senior doctors in Israel and around the world, vaccination is the answer to this disease. We call on the Israeli public to cooperate with the health authorities in Israel.”

In the past months, outbreaks of measles have been registered in towns with large ultra-Orthodox communities, including Jerusalem, Bnei Brak and Modi’in Illit. Some parts of the Haredi population have been increasingly skeptical of vaccines in recent years.

All of the victims of the disease this week were younger than two, and all three died in Jerusalem, according to hospital officials and the Health Ministry. The first death was announced on Monday, another died on Wednesday night, and the third died Thursday morning.

In total, five children, all younger than two and a half years old, have died of measles since August.