The number of confirmed believers of fake news about the coronavirus pandemic is rising quickly and threatening to surpass the number of infections from the Delta variant of the virus.
At this rate, the anti-vaxxers and COVID deniers may kill us all.
The human tendency to believe conspiracy theories is a malignancy that has descended into violence and threats against senior medical professionals who have devoted their lives to saving others.
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A social media post accuses senior public health chief Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis of spreading disease
"Kill yourself before you urge one more human being to get a shot," someone wrote on social media about Professor Gili Regev, director of the infectious disease unit at Sheba Medical Center, Israel's largest hospital.
"May you suffer from paralysis until your dying day," another wrote.
Public health chief Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis was branded "a daughter of a whore" at a Zoom meeting of the Knesset Constitution Law and Justice Committee that included some 70 people. The culprit was not identified.
As the number of COVID cases in Israel rises, so do the cries of virus deniers who are waging war on reality.
Approximately 1.1 million Israelis have yet to receive the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, but only a small percentage of them are hard core anti-vaxxers.
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A healthcare professional administers the coronavirus vaccine in the Arab city of Baqa al-Garbiyeh
(Photo: Ido Erez)
Some 400,000 of that number are members of Israel's Arab sector. Their decision not to receive the life-saving jab is linked to a mistrust of the government, especially among younger people.
A concerted effort by the government that includes easy access to vaccination sites, local leaders' intervention and the spread of medical information may help convince more to receive their vaccines. If successful, this effort would benefit the relationship between the state and its Arab citizenry.
In a recent ruling, Tel Aviv Labor Court found that there was no legal impediment to an employer either demanding that their employees are vaccinated before entering the premises or alternatively submit to two mandatory coronavirus tests each week. That ruling might also convince more people of the advantages of vaccines.
The renewal of the Green Pass regulations and restrictions on international travel could also contribute to more vaccinations.
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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accompanies his mother Myrna as she receives the third dose of the coronavirus vaccine
(Photo: Elad Gershgoren)
Israel has proven the advantages of the vaccines and must convince COVID deniers, anti-vaxxers and anyone else still refusing to accept the obvious facts that the vaccines prevent deaths and protect against serious illness from coronavirus.
Despite the spread of the Delta variant that put a premature end to the illusion that the pandemic was defeated, data collected in the UK shows 10 times fewer deaths now compared to earlier waves of the pandemic when the vaccines were not available.
The government's efforts should not be to shame, ban or frighten those still holding out. It should try to bring them into the fold and show them the error of their ways.