Another School in Williamsburg, BK Hit By Measles...

I am no parent. I do know what it means to raise my nephews and niece. I’d like for their parents though, to be the most informed parents they can be to raise their kids well. Native New Yorker or not, education is a right to be utilized by all. As a child of immigrants I am proud to be educated, but unfortunately, I am disillusioned with how some utilize their platform of education to dissuade others from making decisions that help the young thrive.

In an article from Metro News on June 12, 2019, it was written that Central UTA Boys Division in Williamsburg, BK was the 10th school to close due to noncompliance with the Health Commissioner’s emergency order. Simple facts, right? However, when I read over the article, I saw a trend here: the Hasidic Jewish community compose most of the cases in the Measles outbreak. This is the main purpose of my article: to seek an understanding about the Hasidic Jewish community in Williamsburg, how the information of MMR outbreak is used to inform parents decisions, and what parents and neighboring communities can learn to be less concerned and more informed.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, there resides a community of Hasidic Jewish people. Majority of the schools, including the Central UTA Boys Division, is within that circle of people. According to the article, the non-compliance order from the Health Commissioner, Dr. Oxiris Balbot, was violated due to multiple factors: failure to exclude staff and students who didn’t have documentation of the measles vaccine, not giving health inspectors attendance and vaccination records in time, etc. As of June 10, 2019 there have been over 588 cases of the measles outbreak but 437, or 74 percent of them have occurred in Williamsburg area. Let’s explore their faith.

The Hasidic Jews carry a set of beliefs and practices that are unique to them. Depending where they originated from in Eastern Europe, their community names differ. As well, they have their main Rabbinic authority, their Rebbe, depending on the community they came from. Their Rebbe and Torah are the main guiding lights of their faith. They are strictly forbidden to avoid mainstream media and technology, as it is vital to keep their faith whole. It is a mitzvah (commandment) for them to honor the body as a gift from God and protect it for their child’s safety.

Each Hasidic community has a different Rebbe opinion, as mentioned. Most of the Rebbe agree in the opinion that if there was an outbreak or an epidemic, it is best to flee the region for best interests of their children. However, on the basis of vaccinations’ effectiveness, Rabbi Schneerson gave an opinion on the implementation of the polio vaccine where there was an outbreak of Polio in Israel in Winter 1957… “ (paraphrasing) the faulty shots in the beginning of the polio vaccine were still in the implementation stage and the products that should be used are the ones with proven effectiveness for the majority.” It may not be the whole picture of truth, but as a Rabbi, they have an obligation to advocate what’s best for the whole of the community. In fact, most Rabbis believe that vaccinations are effective in increasing the immunity of children from MMR. Best believe though, there are those who use their beliefs and practices as a tool of dissuasion and misinformation to parents of unvaccinated children.

Spreading knowledge matters, HOW you do it matters too.

As previously mentioned, there are those that use their knowledge to misinform and mislead. An example of that is PEACH (Parents Educating & Advocating for Child’s Health). They are well known for their misuse of their platform. They play a role as anti-vaxxers to spread vaccination doubts. Their main audience are the few who have not vaccinated their child. They use the Rabbinic opinion on vaccinations and mainstream media to keep the minority within the Jewish Hasidic community insular. One must remember that most Rabbis believe in vaccination, but their basis of truth is based on a lack of strong information and resources to keep their platform solid.

As someone who cares about lifting others, it is one thing to help others make better choices, and another thing to keep people locked in a false narrative. There is a lack of a better narrative to help persuade the parents to do what’s best for the child. The disconnect between the parents of the vaccinated children, educators, and public health advocates lies heavily in how we spread our knowledge and understanding to others. We need to do a better job at spreading equity of social services, connections, and truth.

We are responsible for the choices that we make. Let’s make sure they are based on effectiveness and not on fear.