The hypocrisy revealed: Avidar, Yulia Malinowski and other MKs from Yisrael Beiteinu, who are working against corona vaccines, have in the past initiated legislation designed to require vaccination against measles.
When we try for a moment to cleanse ourselves of the noise of the campaigns that jump on us from every corner and focus on the issue of vaccines, we can see that the party that leads the conspiracies around the successful Israeli operation is Yisrael Beiteinu.
Although party chairman Avigdor Lieberman was vaccinated, over the past year there have been repeated statements by party members in which they questioned the effectiveness of vaccines, underestimated the severity of the disease and especially sowed doubts and confusion among the Israeli public.
Above all, MK Eli Avidar, who has become the star of the demonstrations against Netanyahu in Balfour in the past year, stands out.
Unlike the chairman of his party, Avidar did not get vaccinated against the corona and is proud of it: “Only people in a risk group should be vaccinated, I am not in a risk population.
I'm not afraid, I'm feeling healthy, I'm keeping myself healthy, so why should I get vaccinated?
During a debate in the Knesset, he attacked the representative of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Sharon Elrai-Price: "If you do not know what this vaccine does as head of public health services, Darshani says.
Do not get vaccinated. "
MK Yulia Malinowski also takes a similar approach. After learning of the death of a 75-year-old man who had been vaccinated, and although no connection between his death and the vaccine had been proven, Malinowski wrote: "This is exactly what I warned him about."
With regard to the proposals to impose sanctions on those who refuse vaccines, the party's representatives express their firm opinion that this is an issue that should be left as a matter of choice and that the duty of immunization or sanctions against those who refuse should not be imposed.
This is, of course, a legitimate opinion, which can be accepted in one way or another.
But it is interesting to discover that the members of Yisrael Beiteinu actually thought on another occasion that imposing sanctions on vaccine opponents is a legitimate move.
Edelstein: Checking for a reserved option that will not be vaccinated - will be checked to Corona every 48 hours // Photo: GPO
Last summer, a bill was tabled in the Knesset on behalf of six MKs - Yulia Malinowski, Oded Forer, Eli Avidar, Yevgeny Soba, Hemed Amar and Alex Kushnir - all members of Yisrael Beiteinu, allowing the imposition of sanctions on those who have not been vaccinated. Filed as early as 2019.
According to the "Bill amending the Public Health Ordinance (National Immunization Policy and Incentives for Immunization)", section 64T (a), if "there is a concern about an outbreak of a disease against which routine vaccinations have been given, the Minister of Health may take these steps", then specify the steps: On a complete or partial cessation of the activity of an educational institution for a period of time ordered by the Minister "," to instruct an educational institution not to allow a person who is not immunized against the disease for which there is a risk of outbreak to participate in the educational institution until vaccinated or removed "and" contact any person in the institution. The educational and the parents of the children who were not vaccinated against the disease for which there is a fear of an outbreak and call on them to get vaccinated. "
The explanatory memorandum to the law reads: "It is proposed to authorize the Minister of Health to take exceptional measures when there is a risk of outbreaks of diseases against which routine vaccines are given, including cessation of educational institutions, including kindergartens and educational frameworks for toddlers. Immunized from an educational institution, except for a child who is not vaccinated for health reasons. "
True, this was not about corona vaccines but about routine vaccines, and it was stated that the sanctions would be applied only in the event of an abnormal outbreak of the disease - but how is it different from the coronary outbreak today, which everyone knows is more serious than measles outbreak in 2018?
So what has changed between this bill that is a step from forcing vaccines to opposing it today, you ask?
Politics of course.
At the end of 2019, when this bill first came up, we did not yet know that there was such a thing as a corona and what this epidemic might cause.
The bill, according to the explanatory memorandum, came to fight the measles outbreak that was in Israel due to several centers of vaccine refusers.
And where did the measles break out?
Especially in ultra-Orthodox cities and neighborhoods where parents have refrained from vaccinating their children.
Yisrael Beiteinu, which is always happy to join any struggle against the ultra-Orthodox, jumped at the chance and decided to demand the closure of educational institutions and the removal of children who are not vaccinated from them.
But when the corona vaccines arrived and Israel became a world leader in the number of vaccinated, the fear began to erode the people of Yisrael Beiteinu that if the operation was too successful, Netanyahu would be credited.
Since this is an election period, this concern has doubled.
It is important to emphasize again - the discussion of whether to force vaccines or not is legitimate and there are opinions here and there.
The struggle between preserving public health and preserving the rights of the individual and the freedom of man to decide on his body, is well deserved.
But all this does not interest the people of Yisrael Beiteinu at all, but only what will serve them politically.
