We are living in complicated and difficult times. Our society is divided and in tension. As we prepare for Yom Hashoah, crucial lessons from the Holocaust are especially relevant for this pandemic and, in particular, vaccination efforts.
The success of the vaccine rollout is crucial for our ability to overcome this pandemic and the various societal inequities it has created or exacerbated. Distribution of vaccines has been unequal, unclear and frustrating. Even some with access to vaccines have opted not to take them. The attitude we take toward those who are hesitant may determine the success of distribution efforts and thus how smoothly we move beyond this pandemic.
Many people respond to those who express vaccine hesitancy with harsh judgment and condemnation. But I advocate a different approach: We should treat individuals who hold these views with respect and listen to their concerns. For many, especially in communities of color, there are legitimate fears and mistrust of the medical establishment as a result of past injustices, such as the unethical Tuskegee syphilis study, in which African American men were unknowingly injected with syphilis by government health officials and left untreated for decades despite the availability of effective treatments.
For many, especially in communities of color, there are legitimate fears and mistrust of the medical establishment as a result of past injustices.
Jews are no strangers to injustices in the medical field. We have also been mistreated by doctors and researchers at many points in our recent history, most notoriously in Nazi Germany, where Josef Mengele conducted inhumane — and deadly — experiments on concentration camp prisoners.
Here in the United States, Jews have been subjected to various non-lethal, but still injurious, forms of discrimination and prejudice — so much so that Jewish communities once found it necessary to establish their own hospitals, including Kaspare Cohn Hospital near downtown Los Angeles, the forerunner to today’s Cedars-Sinai.
In the American medical field of the early twentieth century, physicians routinely labeled Jewish patients as “subhuman,” “dirty,” “nervous” or “difficult,” and even created specific phrases and diagnoses for these unwelcome patients, such as “Hebraic Debility” and “Jew-Neurasthenia.” At this time, there was widespread missionizing of sick Jews in American hospitals, often including deathbed conversions and baptisms, while staff at some hospitals forced Jewish patients to listen to readings of Christian scriptures.
This sordid history helps explain why the Jewish community needs to express solidarity, understanding and respect toward those who are hesitant to get vaccinated, particularly toward communities of color, with whom we have historically shared so much in common.
Once we recognize the legitimate concerns stemming from the horrors of the past, the question becomes: Have we learned any lessons, and have we put in place appropriate safeguards to prevent a recurrence?
Thankfully, I’m confident that the answer is “yes.” While there is still more to be done and some skepticism is healthy, it’s clear that all of the currently-approved COVID-19 vaccines were developed with very high standards of oversight and safety, and they have proven to be both safe and effective.
I am thus a strong advocate of vaccination and encourage everyone to get vaccinated as soon as they are able to do so. But as Jews, we should move forward with understanding and empathy. We should embrace the ideals of the Torah that stress remembering what it was like to be mistreated and oppressed, and thus show empathy and inclusion (“welcome the stranger”). Hopefully, if the vaccination campaign gains momentum, we will be able to welcome and embrace each other in communal gatherings again very soon.
Rabbi Dr. Jason Weiner is the Senior Rabbi and Director of Spiritual Care at Cedars-Sinai and Rabbi of Knesset Israel Synagogue of Beverlywood.
Why Jewish Vaccine Advocates Shouldn’t be Condescending Towards Those Who Are Hesitant
Rabbi Jason Weiner
We are living in complicated and difficult times. Our society is divided and in tension. As we prepare for Yom Hashoah, crucial lessons from the Holocaust are especially relevant for this pandemic and, in particular, vaccination efforts.
The success of the vaccine rollout is crucial for our ability to overcome this pandemic and the various societal inequities it has created or exacerbated. Distribution of vaccines has been unequal, unclear and frustrating. Even some with access to vaccines have opted not to take them. The attitude we take toward those who are hesitant may determine the success of distribution efforts and thus how smoothly we move beyond this pandemic.
Many people respond to those who express vaccine hesitancy with harsh judgment and condemnation. But I advocate a different approach: We should treat individuals who hold these views with respect and listen to their concerns. For many, especially in communities of color, there are legitimate fears and mistrust of the medical establishment as a result of past injustices, such as the unethical Tuskegee syphilis study, in which African American men were unknowingly injected with syphilis by government health officials and left untreated for decades despite the availability of effective treatments.
Jews are no strangers to injustices in the medical field. We have also been mistreated by doctors and researchers at many points in our recent history, most notoriously in Nazi Germany, where Josef Mengele conducted inhumane — and deadly — experiments on concentration camp prisoners.
Here in the United States, Jews have been subjected to various non-lethal, but still injurious, forms of discrimination and prejudice — so much so that Jewish communities once found it necessary to establish their own hospitals, including Kaspare Cohn Hospital near downtown Los Angeles, the forerunner to today’s Cedars-Sinai.
In the American medical field of the early twentieth century, physicians routinely labeled Jewish patients as “subhuman,” “dirty,” “nervous” or “difficult,” and even created specific phrases and diagnoses for these unwelcome patients, such as “Hebraic Debility” and “Jew-Neurasthenia.” At this time, there was widespread missionizing of sick Jews in American hospitals, often including deathbed conversions and baptisms, while staff at some hospitals forced Jewish patients to listen to readings of Christian scriptures.
This sordid history helps explain why the Jewish community needs to express solidarity, understanding and respect toward those who are hesitant to get vaccinated, particularly toward communities of color, with whom we have historically shared so much in common.
Once we recognize the legitimate concerns stemming from the horrors of the past, the question becomes: Have we learned any lessons, and have we put in place appropriate safeguards to prevent a recurrence?
Thankfully, I’m confident that the answer is “yes.” While there is still more to be done and some skepticism is healthy, it’s clear that all of the currently-approved COVID-19 vaccines were developed with very high standards of oversight and safety, and they have proven to be both safe and effective.
I am thus a strong advocate of vaccination and encourage everyone to get vaccinated as soon as they are able to do so. But as Jews, we should move forward with understanding and empathy. We should embrace the ideals of the Torah that stress remembering what it was like to be mistreated and oppressed, and thus show empathy and inclusion (“welcome the stranger”). Hopefully, if the vaccination campaign gains momentum, we will be able to welcome and embrace each other in communal gatherings again very soon.
Rabbi Dr. Jason Weiner is the Senior Rabbi and Director of Spiritual Care at Cedars-Sinai and Rabbi of Knesset Israel Synagogue of Beverlywood.
Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.
Editor's Picks
Israel and the Internet Wars – A Professional Social Media Review
The Invisible Student: A Tale of Homelessness at UCLA and USC
What Ever Happened to the LA Times?
Who Are the Jews On Joe Biden’s Cabinet?
You’re Not a Bad Jewish Mom If Your Kid Wants Santa Claus to Come to Your House
No Labels: The Group Fighting for the Political Center
Latest Articles
Jewish Students Are Paying the Price of Columbia’s Failures
For This Yale Alumnus, My Alma Mater Is Forever Tarnished
Passover Goodies
Graduation Speeches are Going to Get Ugly, and Jews Need to Be Prepared
Sephardic Torah from the Holy Land | The Seventh Day…
The Middle Matza Passover 2024
Culture
Dr. Nicole Saphier Reflects on Motherhood and Jewish Advocacy
Make Felt Seder Plate Elements
Oct. 7 Events to Be Depicted in New Stage Show
Shani Seidman: Manischewitz, Passover Memories and Matzo Brei
The Jewish James Bond Already Knows His Villain
In the spirit of Passover, what will make this Bond different from all other Bonds is that Aaron Taylor-Johnson is . . . Jewish.
Now that the Masks are Off at Columbia, the Legal Gloves Must Come Off
The frenzy of Jew hatred spreading at Columbia reminds us that great principles are useless unless they’re enforced.
‘I’m Ready to Leave This Campus’: Jewish Students at Columbia Feel Discomfort and Isolation Following Thursday’s Unrest
In the months since Oct. 7, Columbia has at times felt like a battleground as pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students have faced off against each other and, often, the university administration.
Shabbat HaGadol – Redeeming Dibbur – Voice and Speech of God
Ha Lachma Anya
This is the bread of affliction our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt
Hollywood
Spielberg Says Antisemitism Is “No Longer Lurking, But Standing Proud” Like 1930s Germany
Young Actress Juju Brener on Her “Hocus Pocus 2” Role
Behind the Scenes of “Jeopardy!” with Mayim Bialik
Podcasts
Shani Seidman: Manischewitz, Passover Memories and Matzo Brei
Joan Nathan: “My Life in Recipes” and Pecan Lemon Torte
More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.