Two Brooklyn moms whose kids all had measles blasted city officials for ordering mandatory vaccinations against the disease on Tuesday.
“I was glad that they got it the way God intended them to get it,” said Esther, 25, an Orthodox Jewish mother of three.
She also said she’d be willing to pay the $1,000 fine the city has threatened to impose on any Williamsburg residents who refuse to get vaccinated.
“My children are more important to me than any money in the world,” she said.
Her pal Gitty, 28, who’s also an Orthodox Jew, said, “I don’t think it’s up to the city to mandate such things.”
“God created all humans perfectly. My children are perfect and beautiful,” the mother of five said.
“It’s my religious belief. I will never put anything in my child to alter their immune system.”
Each woman was pushing a baby in a stroller when they showed up outside the Williamsburg branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, where Mayor Bill de Blasio and other officials announced the vaccination order.
They said they learned about the news conference from friends in the neighborhood who also oppose vaccinations.
Community leader Abe Friedman said he supported the city’s move.
“By not vaccinating, you’re endangering not only yourself, but your family, your neighbors, people that want to be safe,” he said.
Friedman also quoted a teaching from the Talmud, the book of Jewish law, that says “You must do everything to safeguard yourself.”
“So not only do you have a violation of the secular law, but you have a violation of principles of the Jewish law,” he said.
Officials said 285 Williamsburg residents, virtually all of who are Orthodox Jews, have been infected with measles since October.
The outbreak has been blamed on travelers from Israel, where more than 3,400 measles cases have been reported since March 2018.