Israel’s health minister announced today that the country would vaccinate Palestinian prisoners for covid-19. The president of Israel said that refusing to give the vaccines was against Israel's Jewish and democratic values. These prisoners are held in Israeli facilities, but they are debating whether they should also give vaccines to the Palestinian public that's in the Israeli west bank. There are about 4,700 prisoners in those Israeli facilities, all of which have been guilty of illegally entering Israel or attacking/killing Israelis. The public security minister, Amir Ohana, does not agree and thinks that only the prison staff should be vaccinated. I honestly am stuck in between these two sides. On one hand, I don't think that they even deserve to get this vaccine because there are criminals and there are other people in worse situations who need it more. On the other hand, I can see why they would want to vaccinate them and why they would feel wrong not to. As them being citizens of Israel, the country’s policy is to vaccinate them. I just see it as a little unfair, because if you are 65 or older it's harder for you to get the vaccine. There are many people younger than 65 that are in conditions where it would be good for them to get it but they can't. Seeing these prisoners just get it so easily might make people upset when they can't get it themselves. So far Israel has vaccinated a bigger share of its population than any other country. That includes Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel. Do you guys think they should or shouldn't be vaccinated?
Hi Maya!
ReplyDeleteI also wrote about Israel and the vaccine and I think that this is a very complicated problem. The number of vaccines are very limited and it is hard to also give to Palestinians let alone prisoners. In my opinion, if Palestinians refuse to recognize the state of Israel then they shouldn't reap the benefits of their Covid vaccine. Of course, Israel-Arab citizens of Israel will receive the vaccine alongside all other Israelis.
Hi Maya, I think that the Palestinian prisoners should be vaccinated because it can help open up peace discussions and make the rest of the world see what Israel really is. If we are to get peace between Israelis and Palestinians, it starts with both sides being able to acknowledge each other and their differences. This is one such step because the vaccinated Palestinian prisoners may start to have a different outlook on Israel. Of course, it is highly unlikely that they don't change the way they view Israel, but it still gives Israel good PR, which is always a good thing.
ReplyDeleteHi Maya, I think that they should be vaccinated. Like you said in your post, they are living in Israel and it would only reflect negatively on the government if they didn’t vaccinate them. I’m not saying that reputation is the only reason why they should be vaccinated, but prisons are very bad for the spread of covid. No matter what crime you have committed, nobody deserves to die from a virus before they get there chance to live their full life. I don’t know if it would help the Palestinian- Israeli relationship, but it definitely wouldn’t hurt it.
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