Normally I would never post (pardon the pun) anything from scandal rag The New York Post. But, there’s always the exception when a story elaborates on how ridiculous it is when religious dogma impacts the safety of the population at large.
New York Post 4.14.2019
A computerized pamphlet that bears the names of leading rabbis — and warns of decidedly non-kosher vaccine ingredients like animal organs — is being circulated among ultra-Orthodox Jewish moms in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The 40-page “Vaccine Safety Handbook” bills itself as “An Informed Parent’s Guide” and says it was prepared by a group called Parents Educating & Advocating for Children’s Health, or P.E.A.C.H.
The pamphlet includes quotes attributed to Israeli Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky and Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky of Philadelphia that say schools shouldn’t turn away unvaccinated children.
It also claims that vaccines are made from ingredients that include “human cells from aborted fetuses,” “rabbit brain” and “monkey kidney” — all of which can’t be consumed under Jewish law.
A 25-year-old mother of four who gave her name as Breindy told The Post she decided not to vaccinate her kids after “a friend forwarded me a PDF of the handbook.”
“When I read through it, it confirmed a lot of things I’d been suspicious about,” she said. Breindy also said she was heavily influenced by the rabbis mentioned in the pamphlet, calling them “Gedolei HaDor,” Hebrew for “greatest of their generation.”
A pal with a baby who identified herself as Gitty, 28, also said all five of her kids had measles.
“God created all humans perfectly. My children are perfect and beautiful,” she said.
“It’s my religious belief. I will never put anything in my child to alter their immune system.”
But Menachem Genack, CEO of the Orthodox Union — which certifies kosher foods — said it’s “completely irrelevant” how vaccines get made.
“It’s not an edible substance. It’s not ingested through the mouth. So kashrut [kosher laws] doesn’t come into play,” he said.
Lee's Perspective 