Rabbi Ariel
Rabbi ArielDavid Stein

Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, former chief rabbi of the city of Ramat Gan and one of the senior rabbis in religious Zionism, was asked on the Yeshiva website whether it is permissible to get infected with Covid-19 on purpose and forgo the vaccine.

The rabbi was asked: ''Hello, honorable rabbi. I am not interested in getting vaccinated against coronavirus, is it permissible to be intentionally infected in order to get natural immunity and thus not fail by infecting other people at risk? I'm a young and healthy guy. Thank you."

Rabbi Yaakov Ariel's answer: "I am a rabbi and not a doctor, please contact a doctor."

More than 3.5 million people have been vaccinated in Israel to date, of which about 2.1 million also received the second vaccine dose. Yesterday 122,000 people were vaccinated.