Corona comments

Regarding “As many as 10,000 coronavirus test kits from China found faulty” (April 23), I wonder who ordered these tests that cost millions of shekels. Holland, Spain and Turkey have all complained about the faulty tests China supplied them.

There may be something suspect about China selling tests for a virus that originated from their shores, but it’s downright silly to purchase these tests without checking if they really work.

YAACOV PETERSEIL Jerusalem

About two weeks ago, the ultra-Orthodox Israeli town of Bnei Brak was erroneously reported to have a COVID19 infection rate of 38%. Subsequently, however, the Israeli HMO that originally released this figure recognized that there had been an error in calculations, and that the actual figure was only about 3% to 4%. Other media outlets issued corrections in response to the HMO’s reanalysis of the data, and it should be noted also by The Jerusalem Post.

Why is this important? In addition to the ethics of journalism rendering accuracy vital, there is an unfortunate antisemitic trope that scurrilously represents Jewish people as a source of contagion, disease, and as a threat to the health of non-Jews. An apotheosis of this trope was the 1940 German Nazi film, The Eternal Jew, which presented Jews inaccurately in this way, and helped pave the path to The Holocaust.

When a responsible media outlet finds that it has echoed an erroneous report like this one, which antisemites might use as ammunition, it is incumbent on that media outlet to issue corrections.

DANIEL H. TRIGOBOFF, PH.D.

Williamsville, New York

Regarding “Keeping eyes open won’t show us the virus but the beauty of Israel” (April 24), kol hakavod to Yaakov Katz for his inspirational and upbeat remarks in. Katz shares a poignant lesson from his grandfather, who survived the Holocaust (the story of the “benkl”), about the importance of facing challenges in life. This vital lesson was embraced by his eight grandchildren about “keeping their eyes open” on visiting a friend, on the bus or on the streets of Israel...

Numerous examples are given to illustrate how Israelis come together in the face of a crisis like the coronavirus: soldiers delivering food to B’nai Brak, Arab medical staff enabling Jewish hospital patients to observe their Jewish heritage and a staff member from the Defense Ministry who acts in a heroic fashion to help a family in need. In short, Katz focuses upon what unites us as Israelis, instead of “what divides us.”

These vignettes should be shared with the wider media. Israel’s “real story” is one that needs to be heard because it will offer hope and optimism to many people around the world who are experiencing despair. RICHARD CORMAN

Jerusalem

It seems that there are two sides to the COVID-19 coin, with mixed messages causing confusion.

Apparently, IKEA, essentially a mall, can open, but a person is prohibited from venturing (less than 500 meters) into the sea. The salt water is probably healthier than the inside of a huge mall (longer than 500 meters).

Also, hair salons and beauticians, etc., can “provide services under Health Ministry regulations.” What does that mean? Will there be some authority from that department checking on all these places – many of which are in the malls?

Everyone over seven years old must wear a mask (except when exercising?!) or could be at risk being fined? How much?

The constantly changing rules are all very contradictory and confusing. We hope that in the not-too-distant future, life will return to some semblance of normality. SALLY SHAW

Kfar Saba