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Why One Normie Isn’t Rushing To Jab His 6-Year-Old

Vaxxing our kids

Why I’m not rushing to get my six-year-old the COVID-19 vaccine
by Leonard C. Goodman

Leonard C. Goodman is a Chicago criminal defense attorney and co-owner of the for-profit arm of the Reader.

As a father of a young child, I am pressured to get my daughter vaccinated for COVID-19. And like many Americans, I have concerns about giving my six-year-old a new vaccine that was not tested on humans until last year, and that has been approved only for “emergency use” in kids. The feverish hype by government officials, mainstream media outlets, and Big Pharma, and the systematic demonization and censorship of public figures who raise questions about the campaign, provide further cause for concern.

This year, Pfizer has banked on selling 115 million pediatric doses to the U.S. government and expects to earn $36 billion in vaccine revenue. Congress is so in the pocket of Big Pharma that it’s against the law for our government to negotiate bulk pricing for drugs, meaning taxpayers must pay retail. Corporate news and entertainment programs are routinely sponsored by Pfizer, which spent $55 million on social media advertising in 2020. Even late night comedians like Jimmy Kimmel, who has called for denying ICU beds to unvaccinated people, have been paid by Big Pharma to promote the COVID-19 vaccine.

It is thus not surprising that most of the information reported in the press about vaccine safety and efficacy appears to come directly from Pfizer press releases. This recent headline from NBC News is typical: “Pfizer says its Covid vaccine is safe and effective for children ages 5 to 11.” Moreover, by not advertising their vaccines by name, Pfizer-BioNTech and other drugmakers are not obliged, under current FDA regulations, to list the risks and side effects of the vaccine.

Most Americans are vaguely aware that COVID vaccines carry some potential risks, such as heart inflammation, known as myocarditis, seen most often in young males. But no actual data from the vaccine trials has been provided to the public. After promising “full transparency” with regard to COVID-19 vaccines, the FDA recently went to court to resist a FOIA request seeking the data it relied on to license the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, declaring that it would not release the data in full until the year 2076—not exactly a confidence-building measure.

Also troubling is a recent report in the British Medical Journal, a peer-reviewed medical publication, which found that the research company used by Pfizer falsified data, unblinded patients, employed inadequately trained vaccinators, and was slow to follow up on adverse events reported in Pfizer’s pivotal phase III trial. The whistleblower, Brook Jackson, repeatedly notified her bosses of these problems, then e-mailed a complaint to the FDA and was fired that same day. If this scandal was ever mentioned in the corporate press, it was with a headline like this from CBS News: “Report questioning Pfizer trial shouldn’t undermine confidence in vaccines.”

On the other hand, the initial rollout of the vaccine appeared to be a home run. Reported numbers of new infections went down, and oppressive lockdown rules were lifted. Our bars, restaurants, and gyms opened up. Plus, my own experience getting the vaccine was positive, as I wrote about in an earlier column for the Reader. Is it possible that this time, the corporate media and government got it right? Is the mass vaccination of everyone, including kids, really the solution to our long COVID nightmare? I have tried my best to look objectively at the available evidence in order to make the best decision for my daughter. In this column, I share my findings.

The first thing I discovered is that the risk of COVID to healthy kids is extremely low. Or as the New York Times’s David Leonhardt recently put it, unless your child has preexisting conditions or a compromised immune system, the danger of severe COVID is “so low as to be difficult to quantify.” This raises the question: If the risk for kids is so low, what is the emergency that justifies mass vaccination of children without waiting for proper testing trials of the vaccine?

The argument made most often is that we must vaccinate our kids to protect others. However, while most adults perceive children as little germ factories, the data suggests that kids are at low risk to spread COVID. Reports from Sweden, where schools and preschools were kept open, and kids and teachers went unmasked without social distancing, show a very low incidence of severe COVID-19 among schoolchildren or their teachers during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

I was also surprised to learn that there are reputable scientists opposed to mass vaccination, such as Dr. Robert Malone, an original inventor of the mRNA vaccine technology behind the COVID vaccines. As Malone explains, the mRNA vaccine contains a spike protein, similar to the virus, that stimulates your immune system to produce antibodies to fight COVID. He describes the vaccine as “leaky,” meaning it is only about 50 percent effective in preventing infection and spread.

Malone warns that overuse of a leaky vaccine during an outbreak risks generating mutant viruses that will overwhelm the vaccine, making it less effective for those who really need it. “The more people you vaccinate, the more vaccine-resistant mutations you get, and in the vaccine ‘arms race,’ the more need for ever more potent boosters.” Thus, Malone recommends vaccinating only the most vulnerable—primarily the elderly and individuals with significant comorbidities such as lung and heart disease or diabetes—and not healthy children.

If these views sound unfamiliar, it’s likely because Malone and other critics of mass vaccination have faced heavy suppression on social media and vicious attacks from corporate media outlets.

Meanwhile the U.S. mainstream press has ignored recent statements by Mexico’s health minister, Jorge Alcocer Varela, who recommends against vaccinating children, warning that COVID-19 vaccines could inhibit the development of children’s immune systems. “Children have a wonderful immune system compared to the later phases . . . of their life,” he explained, warning that “hindering” the “learning” of a child’s immune system—the “cells that defend us our whole lives”—with a “completely inorganic structure” such as a vaccine runs counter to public health.

A recent Harvard study provides further evidence that while vaccines protect us against serious COVID illness and deaths, they alone are not very good at stopping the spread of the disease. The study looked at COVID numbers in 68 countries and 2,947 counties in the United States during late August and early September. It found that the countries and counties with the highest vaccination rates had higher rates of new COVID-19 cases per one million people. And suggested other measures, like mask wearing and social distancing, in addition to vaccination.

In place of mass vaccination, Malone recommends early intervention with therapeutics shown to be effective against COVID, including ivermectin. In contrast, the corporate press has shamelessly attacked early treatments, and especially ivermectin, which it calls a veterinary drug, in reference to the fact that it is used to treat both animals and humans, along with many other drugs, including antibiotics and pain pills.

In October, popular podcaster Joe Rogan announced on his program that he had contracted the virus and took ivermectin, prescribed by a doctor, along with other therapeutics including monoclonal antibodies, and that he only had “one bad day” with the virus. CNN ridiculed Rogan for taking “horse dewormer.” On his show, Rogan grilled CNN medical expert Sanjay Gupta. “Why would they lie [at your network] and say that’s horse dewormer? I can afford people medicine.” Rogan pointed out that the developers of ivermectin won the Nobel Prize in 2015 for the drug’s use in human beings.

Why indeed is CNN and much of the mainstream press lying about ivermectin, a drug that has been used by literally billions of people to treat tropical diseases, and has been shown to be safe and effective in treating COVID in countries such as Mexico, India, Japan, and Peru? First, in order for there to be an emergency use authorization for the vaccines, there has to be no treatment for a disease. Thus, any potential treatments must be disparaged. That is, of course, until Pfizer releases its antiviral drug, PF-07321332.

Second, ivermectin is off patent, meaning Big Pharma can’t make a profit on it. It has been made available to poor people around the world at pennies a dose. In contrast, Pfizer’s COVID pill will be priced at more than $500 per course.

At this point, you can guess the end of the story. The final straw for me is the apparent lack of durability of the COVID vaccines. Recent data indicates that the limited protection from the vaccine lasts only four to six months. Since COVID is not going away, is it Pfizer’s plan to artificially boost my daughter’s immune system every four to six months for the rest of her life?

We have been kept in the dark about vaccine safety and efficacy by our government and its partners in Big Pharma, who tell us they have looked at the science and it supports vaccinating our children against a virus that presents them with only the most miniscule risk of serious illness. As a parent, I will demand more answers before simply taking their word.

From Chicago Reader, here.

Excellent Piece in Haaretz on the Current Wave of Torah-Observant Aliyah

Ultra-Orthodox Aliyah to Israel Is Breaking Records. Here’s Why

For decades, Haredim in the Diaspora rejected the notion of immigrating to Israel. No more. Now, ultra-Orthodox American Jews see themselves as ‘the next great frontier in aliyah’ and are moving to Israel in increasing numbers

Judy Maltz

Nov. 30, 2021 2:43 PM

Nesanel Cadle, an ultra-Orthodox rabbi from the suburbs of Philadelphia, will be moving to Israel this summer with his wife and five children. “B’ezras Hashem [with God’s help],” he makes sure to add.

They will be joined by 70 other East Coast families, all heading to a new English-speaking, Haredi neighborhood being built especially for them on the outskirts of Afula, northern Israel.

In a phone call from his home in Yardley, where he runs a small shul, Cadle explains what prompted the move: “Jews don’t feel as comfortable as they once did in America.”

Menachem Leibowitz, along with his wife and eight children, moved three months ago to Ramat Beit Shemesh, a popular destination for religious, English-speaking immigrants.

Since moving to Israel from Lakewood, N.J. – one of the largest Haredi hubs in North America – Leibowitz has been spearheading an initiative to bring over two large groups of ultra-Orthodox families from the East Coast in 2022. One group consists mainly of families from Lakewood and the other of families spread out across the East Coast.

They will be heading to two new neighborhoods being built especially for them: one in a town up north and the other in a town down south. “The mayors wanted to keep it quiet, so I agreed not to publish the names of these towns until the families started moving in,” Leibowitz says.

Within the next few months, the first group of about 20 families is expected to land in Israel, and the plan is to bring over another 100 families by the summer. Arrangements are being made, says Leibowitz, so that in those families where the men study full-time in kolels (yeshivas for married men) and the women are the main breadwinners, these women will be able to continue working remotely.

“In the past few years, there has been a major upsurge in the desire to move to Eretz Yisroel within the Haredi community in the U.S.,” says Leibowitz, who like many ultra-Orthodox Jews prefers to use the biblical name for Israel. “In fact, it’s been overwhelming, and we are already laying the groundwork for other locations.”

Rabbi Pesach Lerner is the founder and chairman of Eretz Hakodesh, the first Haredi slate ever to stand in World Zionist Congress elections. It did phenomenally well in the election held last year, emerging as the third largest party.

The decision to launch such a party was seen as a sign of the changing winds within a community that has traditionally distanced itself from Zionism and the modern Jewish state – often to the point of outright hostility. Indeed, most Haredim were vehemently opposed the establishment of the State of Israel, out of a belief that Jewish sovereignty must wait for the coming of the Messiah. As far as they were concerned, better no state at all than one run by a bunch of nonbelievers.

“In the past, there didn’t used to be any conversation at all about aliyah within the American Haredi community,” says Lerner. “Now that conversation is happening.”

That is why Eretz Hakodesh has made securing more funding and resources for Haredi aliyah one of its top priorities since venturing into the world of Zionist politics.

With his “encouragement,” as Lerner terms it, Nefesh B’Nefesh – the private organization that handles aliyah from North America on behalf of the Israeli government – recently created a designated Haredi desk to service this particular group.

“There needs to be someone who talks the talk and walks the walk and can guide these people,” Lerner says.

Within the Haredi community in Israel, it is common for men to study full-time in kolels and for families to live off of government stipends. By contrast, Lerner notes, the community he represents in the United States tends to consist mainly of businesspeople and professionals.

“For many of them, a big concern was how they would make a living if they ever moved to Israel – and one of the important things they learned during the pandemic is that it is possible to work remotely,” he says. “What has also become clear to them is that they can earn a lot less in Israel yet live better because they don’t have to pay tuition for private schools for their kids, which for this community is one of the biggest expenses.”

On average, about 3,000 North American Jews immigrate to Israel every year. According to figures made available by Nefesh B’Nefesh, about 40 percent of those who have come in recent years identify as either ultra-Orthodox, Chabad or Orthodox – in other words, more strictly observant than Modern Orthodox. As far as Lerner is concerned, that qualifies them as Haredi.

“I was shocked when I discovered it was that many,” he says. (Presumably, many of those who identify as plain “Orthodox” are what is known in the United States as “yeshivish” and in Israel as “Chardali” – an acronym for Haredi-Dati-Leumi, or “ultra-Orthodox religious Zionist.”)

Shattering the taboo

Avraham Shusteris, 36, grew up in Fairlawn, N.J., in what he describes as a “secular Russian-Jewish family.” While participating in a Birthright trip, he developed a strong connection to Israel and came back a few years later to study in a Haredi yeshiva. He had been considering aliyah for a while, but it was only after a conversation with Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky – a leading Haredi authority in Israel – that he finally decided to act. “He encouraged me to take my young family and move to Israel,” recounts Shusteris, who has been living in Beit Shemesh with his wife and four children for the past three years.

Aliyah, says Shusteris, was considered a “taboo” subject in Haredi society in the United States until very recently. But a combination of growing antisemitism, often directed against ultra-Orthodox Jews, and the rising cost of living had led many to rethink their future in America, he says. Indeed, notes Shusteris, several prominent Haredi rabbis in the United States have even issued public statements encouraging religious Jews to leave.

“While religious Jews have always known they are not at home in the Diaspora, they are really starting to feel it more acutely in the post-coronavirus world,” he says. “At the same time, the opportunities for remote work have expanded beyond anybody’s wildest dreams. That means living in Israel and working for an American company is more realistic than ever.”

A trained accountant, Shusteris notes that he himself worked remotely for a firm in Philadelphia while living in Israel for several years.

Earlier this year, he set up an organization called the Nachliel Project, which aims to boost Haredi aliyah from the United States. The organization produces videos about life in different English-speaking Haredi communities around Israel, organizes tours for potential immigrants and publishes articles in the U.S. Haredi press stressing the advantage of life in Israel for Torah-observant Jews.

Ultra-Orthodox Americans, he believes, are “the next great frontier in aliyah” and a “natural fit” for Israel.

“They have a natural affinity to the Land of Israel by virtue of the fact that they pray toward Israel three times a day, mention Israel countless times throughout the day in their Torah learning and in the blessings they make, visit Israel on their vacations, and send their children to Israel to study,” he explains.

Another factor behind this new wave of aliyah is the growing sense of political and social alienation among ultra-Orthodox Jews in the United States.

It began with the coronavirus crisis when, as Cadle notes, Haredi Jews were “singled out” for not conforming with the rules and blamed for the spread of the disease. It continued with Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election and the rise of the progressive left.

Indeed, Haredim in the United States were among Trump’s staunchest supporters, sharing many of same “family values” – i.e., opposition to abortion and LGBTQ rights – as his evangelical base. “Today, they are witnessing the rapid decline of morality and values in the U.S.,” says Shusteris.

Cadle puts it even more bluntly: “The move to the left in the United States, particularly the social values it represents, is very unsettling to many of us.”

Peripheral vision

While Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh remain popular destinations for Haredi immigrants from the United States, the high cost of real estate in these big cities is causing many to consider alternative locations in remote parts of the country, where housing is more affordable. But rather than come on their own, they prefer to move together in groups, which provides them with the benefits of a built-in support system of other English speakers.

Yoel Berman, who grew up in Los Angeles and lives in Sanhedria, a Haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem, is the brains behind a new initiative that aims to draw English-speaking Haredi immigrants to what he describes as “out-of-town communities.”

“My target audience includes both married yeshiva students who are here already and might continue staying for the long term if they knew about more affordable or suitable opportunities out of town, as well as people in the U.S. who might also consider aliyah if they knew about such opportunities,” says 40-year-old Berman, a scribe by profession, whose venture is called “Avira D’Eretz Yisroel” (“Land of Israel Atmosphere”).

Berman came to Israel on his own at age 19 to study at the prestigious Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and never left. When asked what prompted his aliyah, he responds: “As someone who is very much connected to Jewish history, the fulfillment of a 2,000-year-old national dream, shared with many of our nation’s great people whom I looked up to as role models – the Gaon of Vilna, for example, the Baal Shem Tov and the Chatam Sofer – very much appealed to me,” he says. “I specifically connected to those who not only saw Israel as a holy place where they could live out the remainder of their lives, but also a place where Jews would once again live and thrive as a nation. I see myself continuing in their footsteps.”

Chaim Ekstein, who grew up in the Hasidic Satmar community, moved to Jerusalem with his wife and seven children just over a year ago. They would have come earlier were it not for the pandemic, says Ekstein, 43, who owns an insurance and investment company.

Ekstein says he had wanted to make the move 12 years earlier, but it took that much time for his wife to come around and agree to leave their home in the Hasidic community of Monroe, N.Y.

“Many people in the Haredi world grow up with a sense of disconnect from Eretz Yisroel because they’ve lived so long in the galus [exile],” he says. “For me, fulfilling the mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisroel is a major part of my Judaism.”

Circumstances have changed dramatically since the early days of the state, notes Ekstein, when leading Haredi authorities denounced Zionism and discouraged religious Jews from moving to Israel.

“There were deep concerns then that because Israel was run by secular Jews, it would be hard to remain religious there,” he says. “But today, there is no place in the world that it is easier to be a religious Jew than Israel.”

When asked if the group of 70 families he is bringing to Israel this summer are Zionists, Cadle pauses for a moment. “That’s a good question,” he says. “Let’s put it this way: Every one of them loves the Land of Israel and the Jewish people, as well as the idea of living in a Jewish state. At the same time, I have to say that they have very little in common with secular Zionists.”

From Haaretz, here.

Rabbi Kook: Defusing the Opposition via Artful Co-option

Halacha is the red line.

But ideas are malleable and open to interpretation.

Chanukah: Flickering Lights in Dark Times

Suitable Wicks and Oils

The Mishnah (Shabbat, chapter two) discusses which wicks and oils are suitable for Sabbath lights. Certain materials may not be used for wicks since they make “the flame sputter” and fail to burn evenly; and certain oils may not be used because “they do not flow freely to the wick.” With regard to Chanukah, however, the Talmud (Shabbat 21b) rules that these restrictions do not apply. Even wicks and oil that do not burn smoothly may be used for Chanukah lights. Why are all oils permitted for use on Chanukah, even when lit on Friday evening? Why this distinction between Sabbath and Chanukah lights?

The Sages required that Sabbath lights be lit from high-quality oils and wicks in order to prevent situations where one might be tempted to relight or adjust sputtering lights (and thus desecrate the Sabbath). They were more lenient, however, regarding Chanukah, since Chanukah lights need not be re-lit should the flame go out. Also, since it is forbidden to use their light for reading or other purposes, the Sages were less concerned that one would attempt to relight a poorly-lit Chanukah light.

The Lights of Chanukah

Rav Kook explained that the special rules of Chanukah lights reflect the nature of the Maccabean struggle against Greek dominance, in both political and cultural spheres.

The authentic heritage of Israel is Torah. The Torah’s eternal wisdom is symbolized by the Sabbath lights – lights that require a pure oil that burns clearly and brightly.

However, there have been many times during their long history when the Jewish people have been attracted to the wisdom and beliefs of other nations. This phenomenon is particularly prevalent when the Jewish people are ruled by other nations or exiled from their land. During these times of national vulnerability, many are drawn to the ideologies of powerful and successful nations, even if these beliefs are not thoroughly considered and may be based only on theories and speculations.

The answer is obvious…

For such times, Divine providence provided the Jewish people with gifted scholars who were able to defend the Torah by utilizing these foreign ideas. One example is Maimonides, who attempted where possible to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy with the Torah.

The very project is a mixed bag in my humble opinion.

Short-Lived Flame

However, these foreign philosophies lack the eternal truth of Torah. They are like flickering flames that illuminate only for a short time. After a generation or two, the assumptions upon which these ideas are based are often refuted. Utilizing foreign philosophies to bolster the Torah may be compared to lighting Chanukah lights with oils that fail to produce a bright and even light.

Nonetheless, when these beliefs are popular and widely-held, the generation is strongly drawn to them. If it were not possible to find some measure of agreement with the Torah, many would be tempted to reject the Torah altogether. In order to protect the nation, Divine providence allowed the possibility of aligning these fashionable ideas with the Torah’s wisdom. They do not always match neatly with practical mitzvot and Halachic rulings – in the words of the Talmud, ‘they do not flow freely to the wick’ – but with a little effort, they can be made to at least partially correspond.

We should be aware that such philosophies are not eternal truths and we are not responsible for their accuracy. “When their light goes out, they need not be re-lit.” Certainly we should not make practical changes to Torah observance based on these ideas – “it is forbidden to make use of its light.” They are useful only to put troubled minds to rest, not as a true foundation with practical implications. Thus the special rules of Chanukah lights aptly parallel the Maccabean struggle against the Greeks, at a time when Hellenism and Greek wisdom dominated the world with its new ideas.

…

Rabbi Kook then applies this to politics, without, however, proving the neglect of restoring the Davidic dynasty was excusable (at least not in this English adaption.)

Kodesh Heim

Despite their shortcomings, these transient lights are holy – kodesh heim. We should recognize in them the hand of God, that God prepared a path so that those attracted to the prevalent culture should not be lost. And the very fact that foreign ideas may be accommodated within the Torah is an indication that these ideas contain a kernel of eternal truth – a small cruse of pure oil, sealed with the stamp of High Priest.

(Silver from the Land of Israel (now available in paperback), pp. 112-115. Adapted from Ein Eyah vol. III on Shabbat 21b (2:5).)

See the whole piece on Arutz Sheva…

This strategy of temporary, conditional, diplomatic, shallow religious “integration” can work for almost any new, competing idea, true or false:

  • Communism.
  • Evolution, etc. (as was done by Rabbi Kook himself!)
  • Libertarianism.
  • Anarchism.
  • Eugenics.
  • Zionism. (Rabbi Kook didn’t support Nes Tziona, etc.)
  • The Beauty of Shem.
  • Etc.

P. S., What would we do without Rabbi Jonathan Sacks?!

Want Shalom Bayis? Be a Tzaddik

I translate the Chida we once quoted on Hyehudi with source:

התלמיד חכם כפי מה שמתנהג הוא עם הקב”ה כן אשתו מתנהגת עמו. וזהו סוד מה שאמרו רז”ל זכה עזר לא זכה כנגדו, שמורדת בו כמו שהוא מורד בקונו.

וזה הסוד לא שייך אלא לצדיקים. ולזה, כל בן תורה שאין אשתו נשמעת לו אין ראוי להתרעם עליה כי איהו דאפסיד אנפשיה. אמנם אם אינו בן תורה, דרך טבע אשתו נשמעת לו מפני שהיא יראה ממנו.

The wife of a Torah scholar treats him the same way he treats God. This is the mystical meaning behind the saying of our sages, “If he merits, a ‘helpmate‘, if not, ‘against him‘. That is to say, a wife rebels against her husband as he rebels against his Maker.

But this mystical mode applies only to the righteous. Thus, a Torah student whose wife does not obey him ought not to be angry at her, since this is all his own doing. But if one isn’t a Torah student, his wife will typically obey him, due to fear.

(Of course, the Chida is based on the Ari, and no translation is perfect.)

See also the Netziv.

 

Propaganda Works Better on the Formally Educated – Noam Chomsky Explains Why

There are good studies of this that show, with only the most marginal statistical error, that among the more educated parts of the population the government propaganda system was accepted unquestioningly. On the other hand, after a long period of popular spontaneous opposition, dissent and organization, the general population got out of control. As recently as 1982, according to the latest polls I’ve seen, over 70 percent of the population still was saying that the war was, quoting the wording of the Gallup poll, “fundamentally wrong and immoral,” not “a mistake.” That is, the overwhelming majority of the population is neither hawks nor doves, but opposed to aggression. On the other hand, the educated part of the population, they’re in line. For them, it’s just the tactical question of hawk vs. dove.

This is, incidentally, not untypical. Propaganda very often works better for the educated than it does for the uneducated. This is true on many issues. There are a lot of reasons for this, one being that the educated receive more of the propaganda because they read more. Another thing is that they are the agents of propaganda. After all, their job is that of commissars; they’re supposed to be the agents of the propaganda system so they believe it. It’s very hard to say something unless you believe it. Other reasons are that, by and large, they are just part of the privileged elite so they share their interests and perceptions, whereas the general population is more marginalized. It, by and large, doesn’t participate in the democratic system, which is overwhelmingly an elite game. People learn from their own lives to be skeptical, and in fact most of them are. There’s a lot of skepticism and dissent and so on.

Source and additional context here.