Israel’s ‘Kosher’ Swine Flu
Just in case you were worried that a terrible virus linked to pigs would whet people’s appetite for pork, Israel’s deputy health minister has renamed the swine flu. He’s calling it the Mexico flu.
Yakov Litzman announced the name change at a news conference April 27, after an Israeli was diagnosed with the disease at a hospital in Netanya.
Litzman implemented the kosher-friendly name to avoid offending Jews and Muslims who observe religious dietary laws, even though the respiratory disease is not contracted through digestion, but spreads from person to person — probably through coughing and sneezing.
Despite Litzman’s intent not to offend, he may have misplaced the blame.
According to an article published in The New York Times: “The debate is likely to continue as scientists and health authorities try to trace the disease. While all signs now point to Mexico as the epicenter, the genetic material in the virus there was a swine influenza virus of Eurasian origin. And influenza viruses tend to emerge from Asia.”
For now, Israelis can rest easy. Even if they are infected with the disease, they’ll be in accordance with the laws of kashrut.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.
If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.
Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO