Atty. Daniel Ginat released a video in which he critiques the concept of the "vaccine-refuser": "I want to talk to you for a minute about 'vaccine-refusers'. Where did this concept even come from? How is it possible for there to be 'vaccine-refusers'? The law speaks explicitly of the right to autonomy on one's body. It speaks about the fact that every person is allowed to choose which medical test or treatment he wants to receive. What's the meaning of 'vaccine-refusers'?
"I want for a moment to coin a new concept: 'Vaccine-coercers'. This you're hearing from a person who never had a problem with vaccines, I have a proper vaccine booklet, I never worried, I never suspected, I never had any second thoughts that there's any problem with vaccines. But when I see a collective brain-washing in all the media outlets, city heads who want to deny rights, prime ministers who want to establish a green passport - insanity! Things that cannot happen in a democratic country - I oppose.
"You know why I oppose? Because it really doesn't concern me whether every one does get vaccinated or doesn't get vaccinated - even though I do think it's foolish to get a vaccine that nobody can explain to me what it solves and what it doesn't solve, if it does infect or doesn't infect, and how high are its percentages of efficacy and success. I'll tell you what bothers me - the coercion bothers me.
"The moment you force such a thing on an entire community, what will be the next act of coercion? Camps for vaccine-refusers? What other things can they force on us once the collective succeeds? The vaccine isn't the problem; the coercion is the problem.
"I want to say to you, there's no such thing as 'vaccine-refusers'. It is the natural right of a human to decide what medical treatment he will receive. It's not me who said it, it's the law in the State of Israel that's saying it, that's the greatest absurd. And everyone who hints at coercion or acts for coercion, he is breaking the law, not the vaccine-refuser - at first glance. The vaccine-coercers - they're our big problem, they're the ones who are negating."
OB/GYN Dr. Rotem Inbar responded to Ginat's message, writing: "As a staunch opponent of medical coercion in all its forms, I greatly appreciate and reinforce the words of the young man, and completely agree with him.
"We hear daily about attempts at indirect and direct coercion by a variety of means. This is the time to stand up and say: Until here. Your coercion is what keeps people from believing and trusting. This is how the opposite goal is achieved."
Health Communication Lecturer at IDC Herzliya International School Dr. Yaffa Shir Raz voiced similar concerns: "A few months before COVID-19, there was a discussion in the WHO on how to treat 'vaccine hesitancy' and resistance to vaccines. Senior World Health Organization anthropologist and immunization expert Dr. Heidi Larson explained that people who are afraid of vaccines should not be called 'anti-vaxxers', because this approach only leads to antagonism and the opposite result - of increasing the number of people who refuse or are afraid to get vaccinated. She literally called on them to stop with that.
"She said it was time to change direction - invest in new research, stop persecution, and get rid of inflammatory language. Then, she clarified, will it be possible to try to rebuild trust in the system. One of our biggest challenges is to get rid of the term 'anti-vaxxers'. Get rid of hostile language and start having more conversations. Be open to questions, make people feel they should not be judged when they ask questions."
Shir Raz concluded: "The data that Dr. Larson presents in her lecture is nothing short of amazing: The direct result of the intimidation and disqualification strategies taken by the authorities, encouraged and funded by vaccine manufacturers, is that within ten years, from 2008 to 2018, public trust in vaccine safety has plunged from 85% to about 75%, and the belief in the benefit of vaccines decreased from 75% to less than 60%.
"When parents were asked about the reasons for their hesitation to vaccinate, the leading reason - almost 3 times more any other argument - was fear for the safety of vaccines. 'Safety is the biggest fear,' Prof. Larson repeated. 'Fear of side effects'."
