Chairman of the Religious Zionism party Bezalel Smotrich on Tuesday morning told Reshet Bet radio that vaccinations can be forced on Israelis who resist them.
“Of course vaccines can be forced, even if not physically,” Smotrich said. “We can condition entry into public places [on vaccinations], for example. The economy would be returned to its normal routine exclusively for the vaccinated. Those who are not vaccinated would not get into school, the supermarket, the mall, the cinema, the theater, the bus.”
He added that an employee of his party who refuses to be vaccinated would be fired.
Needless to say, none of the measures suggested by Smotrich are legal, and in the case of firing an employee on the grounds of refusing vaccination, the fledgling Religious Zionism party would stand a good chance of losing its first case in Labor Court over this one.
Human and civil rights versus compliance with the state’s healthcare policy were also juggled on the same Reshet Bet show by Yavneh Mayor Zvi Gov-Arieh, who argued that because of the pandemic “somewhat unconventional steps are required.”
“An unvaccinated teacher cannot expose others, he can teach from a distance,” Gov-Arieh said, noting that he, unlike Smotrich, won’t be firing his employees illegally. “He will do this (teach) using the Zoom method and this is how he’ll work,” the mayor explained, insisting that “the minimum required from teachers is to make sure they are vaccinated or at least healthy before exposing students to the possibility of infection.”
The Yavneh Mayor admitted reactions to his move were mixed in his town. “Some of the residents are very supportive and others claim there’s no need for a vaccine.”
Yavneh is as red as they come, with more than 400 patients and close to 30 dead. Gov-Arieh said he would be open to testing unvaccinated teachers before the start of each workday, and letting them into the school building once the test comes out negative. It’s tedious, but also not very reliable since the teacher is liable to become infected moments after testing negative.
Attorney Rotem Bar On, who represents educators who challenge their obligation to get vaccinated, told Reshet Bet it was a “matter of human rights, I am the custodian of my body.”
Bar On said that she had approached the attorney general to “stop the harassment and the threats.” She reported that the aggressive attitudes were different depending on the workplace. “Some were told – if you don’t get vaccinated you will be fired, even without knowing if they had gotten vaccinated or not. Until now, no employee has ever been required to share his medical file. It is every person’s right to decide what procedure is done on his body.”