JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Hebrew University Professor Amiram Goldblum claimed in a Facebook post this week that Chareidi towns should be put under quarantine since they are “spreading the coronavirus around Israel.” Goldblum specified the cities of Elad, Bnei Brak, Modi’in Illit, Betar Illit, Netivot and Beit Shemesh, as well as large neighborhoods in Ashdod and Jerusalem, and stressed that some residents of these towns are “coronavirus carriers.”
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In the original post, which has since been removed, Goldblum wrote: “Warning! We have now learned that the South Korean tourists who traveled throughout Israel are sick with the coronavirus. They were carrying the virus when they visited the Tomb of the Patriarchs. From there, the virus spread, from the mezuzot to the synagogues and throughout the religious and ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods.
‘Until it becomes clear that the virus has been eliminated, it is advisable to stay away from synagogues, ultra-Orthodox community centers and wedding halls.”
The post caused a huge uproar in the religious community with many organizations calling for the dismissal of the professor for his incitement against an entire community. Yet on Tuesday Goldblum reiterated his statement and added that the Health Ministry under the auspices of Chareidi Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman is turning a blind eye to the problem.
In the past Goldblum, a professor of chemistry at the university and one of the founders of the ultra left-wing Peace Now organization, has been known for his radical and controversial statements about settlers in Judea and Samaria. On one occasion he stated that “every settler is by definition a terrorist” and on another occasion compared the flag parade organized by settlers in “Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem” to a neo-Nazi parade in Skokie which has many holocaust survivors among its residents.
In a letter to its religious students and the press, Hebrew University said: “Amiram Goldblum’s embarrassing and racist statements do not reflect the position of the Hebrew University management, nor do they reflect the position of the Hebrew University community, which works tirelessly to advance a heterogeneous society. Thanks to the Hebrew University’s commitment to haredi students, we have become the leading university institution in Israel with regards to the integration of haredim in BA, MA and doctorate programs.”
Goldblum said he defends his statements but that they were misinterpreted as racist when they were meant to be scientific.
Hitler Borden and the rest of the group spread their information as scientific evidence as well. Sir you are an anti Semite and should be removed from your position
Liberalism is a much more deadly disease than coronavirus.
Leftists should be permanently quarantined, as there is no cure for Liberalism.
Scientific my patootie.
Let’s understand the logic. South Korean tourists with the coronavirus visited Mearas ha Machpeilah, which are also visited by lots of religious people, so some might have contracted the virus, so entire religious communities should be quarantined.
Now was there anywhere else these South Korean tourists visited? How about Ben Gurion airport?
So by this logic, any community that has people who go to Ben Gurion Airport should now be quarantined.
Same for anywhere else they might have visited — the beach, a museum, whatever.
So now all of Israel has to be quarantined.
Yeah, scientific.
racist pretending to be ‘scientific’! which charadi towns have people quarantined?
It is the secular people who got infected
The may be a cure for the virus, but will there be a cure for of the one who “professes” lies ?