Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Minister of Regional Cooperation Issawi Freij visited the Arab-Israeli town of Taibe Aug. 19. During the visit, Bennett called on the Arab public to "Go get vaccinated!" Bennett had a very down-to-earth message: “Vaccination saves lives. It’s as simple as that. There is nothing more sacred than human life, in both Jewish and Muslim tradition.”
A day earlier, Minister of Social Equality Meirav Cohen stopped at Doha Stadium in the Arab-Israeli town of Sakhnin, as part of a joint initiative with the Sakhnin municipality and the Bnei Sakhnin soccer club to promote the vaccination drive among Arab Israelis.
Visits such as this and others — including Cohen’s visit to Baqa al-Gharbiyye and Freij’s visit to the Bedouin town of Rahat — were the result of reports of low vaccination rates in the Arab sector including both booster shots among senior citizens and first and second doses among children ages 12 to 17. According to the Ministry of Health, as of the first week of August, an estimated 547,000 Arab Israelis have yet to be vaccinated.
Like his predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu, Bennett has gone all out on massive vaccination drive targeting all of Israel, including the booster dose, which became available last week for everyone ages 40 and older.
AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.
