Anti-Vaxxer Wore Yellow Star To Protest Of Measles Emergency In Rockland County
A vial of the MMR vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella. Image by Getty Images
By Ari Feldman March 29, 2019
A woman wearing a yellow star was seen at a rally Thursday opposing a state of emergency to fight the spread of measles in Rockland County, New York, Lohud.com reported.
The woman was part of a small protest in the Palisades Center mall in West Nyack, New York, only a few minutes’ drive from the Hasidic Jewish communities where measles has infected over 153 people since October, most of them children.
The woman, who identified herself as Stephanie Mahairas, had a yellow star that read “No Vax” affixied to her backpack.
“This is about religion, singling out the Jews,” Mahairas, who identified as a Christian, said. “This is about the state imposing itself on a person’s bodily integrity.”
“Who’s next? The Christians who don’t want to to partake in abortion?” Mahairas added.
A handful of people unhappy with Rockland County’s measles emergency order have gathered here at the Palisades Mall. Besides opposition to vaccines, they say there are civil rights issues @wcbs880 pic.twitter.com/LtMDkwR4JS
— Steve Burns (@StvBurns) March 28, 2019
The yellow star, often in felt or another fabric, is a universal symbol of the Holocaust. Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe were forced to wear the star, which often read “Jude” — “Jew” in German — to identify them in ghettoes.
The yellow star has shown in the anti-vaccine community before. In 2015, one woman posted pictures of herself wearing an anti-vaccine badge that she directly linked to the yellow stars of the Holocaust.
Other groups have appropriated the star as well. In 2018, one gun store sold yellow stars that read “Gun Owner.” The conservative social media provocateur Laura Loomer once wore a yellow star to protest being banned from Twitter. In 2017, a Miu Miu dress that featured an appliqued yellow star was the subject of criticism and confusion.
Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
2X match on all Passover gifts!
Dive In
-
Fast Forward From ‘October 8’ to ‘The Encampments,’ these new documentaries illuminate the post-Oct. 7 American experience
-
Fast Forward Jews at Tufts are furious over ICE seizing a pro-Palestinian grad student. But they’re wary of joining protests for her.
-
Fast Forward Federal spending cuts could affect aid for Holocaust survivors and kosher Meal on Wheels deliveries
-
Fast Forward Pennsylvania Jewish groups condemn ‘genocide’ slogan on Gisele Fetterman’s charity
Most Popular
- 1
News A Jewish Republican and Muslim Democrat are suddenly in a tight race for a special seat in Congress
- 2
Fast Forward The NCAA men’s Final Four has 3 Jewish coaches
- 3
Fast Forward Cory Booker proclaims, ‘Hineni’ — I am here — 19 hours into anti-Trump Senate speech
- 4
Film & TV What Gal Gadot has said about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion I co-wrote Biden’s antisemitism strategy. Trump is making the threat worse
-
Fast Forward From ‘October 8’ to ‘The Encampments,’ these new documentaries illuminate the post-Oct. 7 American experience
-
Fast Forward Jews at Tufts are furious over ICE seizing a pro-Palestinian grad student. But they’re wary of joining protests for her.
-
Film & TV How Marlene Dietrich saved me — or maybe my twin sister — and helped inspire me to become a lifelong activist
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.