Libelous Charges about Israel not having Inoculated Arab Israeli Citizens
There have been libelous charges about Israel not having inoculated Arab Israeli citizens, and so it’s important to set this issue straight. Every citizen is equally entitled to inoculation, and, in fact, Arab Israelis have been encouraged to take the vaccine, as numbers were high in their communities. Below, inoculations being administered in the Israeli Arab town of Baka al-Garbiyeh:
Additionally, we are encountering erroneous charges about Israel’s responsibility to provide inoculations for all Palestinian Arabs. Most recently we have heard from Bernie Sanders on this. But according to the Oslo accords, the PA is responsible for providing health care in the territories it administers.
For the record: Israel has shared some vaccine supplies with the PA, starting about six weeks ago. Arabs who are not citizens but residents of Jerusalem have been receiving inoculations. And Arabs from the PA-administered areas who have permits to work inside of Israel are about to start receiving the vaccine; this campaign would apply to some 130,000 Arabs.
Articles on this subject:
The COVID vaccine blood libel against Israel (Jewish News Syndicate January 5, 2021)
The media’s new anti-Israel slander (Jewish News Syndicate January 10, 2021)
Israel, the Palestinians, and the COVID-19 Vaccines: The New Blood-Libel (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs January 14, 2021)