Shalva Zalfreund Image by facebook

JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli kindergarten teacher has died of the coronavirus, two weeks after she made an emotional appeal for parents to keep home children who had been exposed to the deadly virus.

After Shalva Zalfreund, 64, died Friday, the mayor of her city posted on Facebook the message that she had sent to parents of children in her class weeks earlier, back when she thought she was past the worst of the disease. In it, she said “official sources” had told her she had contracted the virus from a child in her classroom.

She also said she knew that some families had not followed the rule barring attendance for children with a family member at home under official quarantine.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“For me, it no longer matters who I contracted it from and who violated isolation,” Zalfreund had written. “I just beg and plead for the grandparents, neighbors, and older relatives who surround us and do not deserve to die, even if they have underlying illnesses.”

Zalfreund’s story adds to a pressing debate over how schools should operate this fall, one that has been informed already by the widespread outbreaks associated with schools in Israel after they reopened rapidly for all grades in May.

In the United States, where the disease is widespread in many places, some states and cities say classes will take place exclusively or mostly online, and teachers across the country say they are uncomfortable returning to the classroom right now.

A South Korean study published this weekend found that older children, like those associated with Israel’s largest school outbreaks, may spread the disease at a higher rate than adults. But the precise role that younger children play in transmitting the disease remains unclear.

In Israel, where restrictions have been reimposed amid a rise in cases, only children in fourth grade and younger will be allowed to attend daily classes this fall.

Petah Tikvah Mayor Rami Greenberg called Zalfreund “an amazing teacher who educated many children in the city.” Her death came the day before the country’s death toll reached 400.

The post Israeli kindergarten teacher who begged parents to follow quarantine rules dies of COVID-19 appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

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’re in the middle of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount