Religious Freedom

Click the link below to peruse educational materials from highly qualified medical professionals.

Tanakh (The Jewish Bible), as well as the Talmud and other authoritative Jewish sources, teaches, among other things, that the purpose of the Exodus was to secure freedom for the Hebrews who had been enslaved in Egypt. The “freedom” to be secured was not, however, the freedom to do as one pleased, but rather, it was the freedom to serve the Creator of the Universe.

Through a very special, as well as famous, prayer that is recited on Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), and various other days during the year, Jews throughout the world acknowledge that the Creator of the Universe is our “Avinu Malkeinu” [אבינו מלכנו], “Our Father, Our King.” The Creator of the Universe is also referred to in Tanakh as "Our Father" (Yesha’yahu 63:16) and "Our King" (Yesha’yahu 33:22).

Thus, the freedom to serve “Our Father, Our King” is the freedom to serve none other than the King of the Universe; that is, to serve the King of Kings.

The commandments and laws given by the King of Kings are superior to the edicts of worldly kings and rulers. Thus, to the extent that the edicts of worldly kings and rulers conflict with the commands of the King of Kings, the edicts of worldly kings and rulers are necessarily preempted by the commandments and laws of the King of Kings.

The Code of Jewish Law, which interprets and applies the commandments and laws given by the King of the Universe, prohibits allowing oneself to be placed in, or exposed to, a situation which creates an unreasonable risk of injury or death. It is “a positive duty to remove and guard oneself [from] any life-threatening obstacle, as it is said ‘beware and guard your soul [e.g., your life].’” Shulhan Arukh, Hoshen Mishpat. 427:8, citing Debarim 22:8.

There is a large and growing body of scientific/medical evidence that gene therapy injections which governments are attempting to mandate, ostensibly in response to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (“SARS-CoV-2”), the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, pose an unreasonable risk of injury or death, especially considering the wide availability of safe and inexpensive treatment alternatives.

Having considered evidence regarding the safety of gene therapy injections, as well as having conducted a risk-benefit analysis of such injections within the framework of Halakha (Jewish Law), a New York/New Jersey-based Rabbinical Court which is composed of:

Harav Shlomo Alexander Halevi Pollak
Rav of Chelek Levi, Beis Hamedrash of Serentch, and head of the Kollel Vasikin & Rashbi
Lakewood, New Jersey

Harav Yoel Moshe Friedman
Rav of Toras Chaim, Beis Hamedrash of Rivnitz, and presiding over Yeshiva Divrei Menachem
Monsey, New York

Harav Doniel Yonoson Green
Rav, director of Keystone Jewish Center, communal guide and activist, Talmudic instructor
Crown Heights, New York

has ruled that, in accordance with Halakha (Jewish Law):

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1. “It is absolutely forbidden to administer or even to promote [COVID-19 gene therapy] injection[s] [for] children, adolescents, young men or women;”

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2. Based on the prohibitions against sterilization and the prevention of fertility, it is forbidden for “all healthy adults [men and women] who are of child‐bearing age” to receive COVID-19 gene therapy injections; and

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3. With regard to older and elderly adults, because of “efforts to obscure the data” and the fact “that there is no substantial [statistical] difference between those who received the mRNA [injection] and those who did not, . . . it is best to err on the side of caution and abstain from taking the injection, rather than endangering one’s life by performing an action that can engender immediate and direct harm[, e]specially since there are other medical treatments that work . . . and [which] are not harmful.”

In accordance with the decision of the Rabbinical Court, the Israel Foundation is issuing Certificates of Religious Exemption to qualified individuals who seek to safeguard their life and health, and thereby comply with the requirements of Jewish Law by resisting mandates to receive gene therapy injections.

The Israel Foundation acknowledges that there is voluminous information available on issues relating to SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, gene therapy injections, mandates to receive such injections, and methods which are being employed to enforce the various types of mandates (e.g., “vaccine passports,” etc.). A portion of such information has been deemed by governments, the media, and others to be “reliable” or “true;” while a different portion thereof has been deemed to be “false” or “misinformation.” Because the freedom to worship is not dependent upon the pronouncements of governments, corporations, or others, and because freedom to worship necessarily implies – and, indeed, requires – the freedom to explore, analyze, and question ideas, including those ideas that some have deemed to be “false,” The Israel Foundation strenuously opposes censorship and other efforts to control intellectual inquiry and expression.

To read the full opinion of the Rabbinical Court, click the appropriate link below

Rabbinical Court opinion – English

Rabbinical Court opinion – Hebrew

In accordance with the decision of the New York/New Jersey Rabbinical Court against COVID vaccines (Harav Shlomo Alexander Halevi Pollak, Harav Yoel Moshe Friedman, and Harav Doniel Yonoson Green), the Israel Foundation is issuing Certificates of Religious Exemption to qualified individuals who seek to safeguard their life and health, and thereby comply with the requirements of Jewish Law by resisting mandates to receive gene therapy injections.