A computerized pamphlet that bears the names of leading rabbis — and warns of decidedly non-kosher vaccine ingredients like animal organs — is being circulated among ultra-Orthodox Jewish moms in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The 40-page “Vaccine Safety Handbook” bills itself as “An Informed Parent’s Guide” and says it was prepared by a group called Parents Educating & Advocating for Children’s Health, or P.E.A.C.H.
The pamphlet includes quotes attributed to Israeli Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky and Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky of Philadelphia that say schools shouldn’t turn away unvaccinated children.
It also claims that vaccines are made from ingredients that include “human cells from aborted fetuses,” “rabbit brain” and “monkey kidney” — all of which can’t be consumed under Jewish law.
But Menachem Genack, CEO of the Orthodox Union — which certifies kosher foods — said it’s “completely irrelevant” how vaccines get made.
“It’s not an edible substance. It’s not ingested through the mouth. So kashrut [kosher laws] doesn’t come into play,” he said.
A 25-year-old mother of four who gave her name as Breindy told The Post she decided not to vaccinate her kids after “a friend forwarded me a PDF of the handbook.”
“When I read through it, it confirmed a lot of things I’d been suspicious about,” she said. Breindy also said she was heavily influenced by the rabbis mentioned in the pamphlet, calling them “Gedolei HaDor,” Hebrew for “greatest of their generation.”
“These aren’t just local no-name rabbis,” she said.
“As soon as I saw those names, I knew I wasn’t going to vaccinate my children.”
Another Williamsburg mom, who identified herself as Esther, 25, said her three kids all had measles and blasted city officials for ordering mandatory vaccinations against the disease. “I was glad that they got it the way God intended them to get it,” she said.
A pal with a baby who identified herself as Gitty, 28, also said all five of her kids had measles.
“God created all humans perfectly. My children are perfect and beautiful,” she said.
“It’s my religious belief. I will never put anything in my child to alter their immune system.”