Rabbis in Israel are launching a campaign against worshippers who refuse to be vaccinated for COVID and are enacting more stringent measures to protect congregations – including a recent rabbinical ruling that decrees that unvaccinated individuals may not enter synagogues, participate in a minyan, or be called to the Torah.

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Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan Yaakov Ariel, considered one of the leading halachic authorities in religious Zionism, has ruled that members of the community who decline to be vaccinated must face consequences for their actions, as they endanger others.

"A person who does not get vaccinated goes against Jewish law, which demands that people remain healthy. We need to demand that everyone be vaccinated," Ariel decreed.

"We must demand that unvaccinated people stay away from others. They should show respect by staying home and not infecting others. If someone like this arrives at a place where others are gathered, he [or she] must be asked to leave. Of course, not through violence, but he must not be allowed to remain [inside]," Ariel wrote.

"We must make the simple demand – do not cause us harm," the rabbi wrote.

Ariel underscored that individuals who refuse to be vaccinated "must not be allowed into synagogues, to participate in a minyan, or be called to the Torah." He said they could stay home or pray outside the synagogue.

Ariel joins a number of other leading rabbinical authorities in Israel who have adopted an almost unprecedented stance against vaccine refusal. This week, Rabbi Yitzhak Yehuda Yaroslavsky, a senior rabbi in the Chabad movement and head of the rabbinical court, also ruled that unvaccinated worshippers may not enter synagogues.

In related news, an unusual incident took place this week at a Torah lesson given by Rabbi Ben Zion Mutzafi. During the lesson, the rabbi argued with a student who claimed that "the Jewish people are not a laboratory" and said he believed in "the Creator."

Mutzafi was outraged and threw the student out. "More than 6,500 people have died," the rabbi told him. "Stop with your nonsense."

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Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has banned Iran from importing American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine produced with German BioNTech and Britain's Astrazeneca vaccine, a reflection of mistrust toward the West.

In a televised speech, Friday, he said the import of American and British vaccines was "forbidden."

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Referring to the surging death tolls from the virus in both countries, Khamenei said, "I really do not trust" them. "Sometimes they want to test" their vaccines on other countries. I am not optimistic [about] France either," he said.

Khamenei did, however, approve the import of vaccines from other "safe" places and said he remained supportive of Iran's efforts toward producing a vaccine. The county began testing its vaccines on humans in December. The product is expected to hit the local market in spring.

Hardliners in Iran have long opposed the US-made vaccines. Iran's Revolutionary Guard in December rejected the use of foreign-made vaccines altogether. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naghdi said the Guard "does not recommend the injection of any foreign vaccine" candidates based on genetic material known as messenger RNA, which carries the instructions for cells to make proteins.

Authorities said then that US-based benefactors plan to deploy tens of thousands of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines to Iran.

Iran retains routes to vaccines despite sanctions, including through its participation in COVAX, a group dedicated to assuring fair access to vaccines for low- and middle-income countries. International banks and financial institutions have been reluctant to deal with Iran for fear of American penalties.

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In attempt to persuade Israelis to get vaccinated against coronavirus, a number of public figures received the first dose of the COVID vaccine on Sunday, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, Chief Rabbi David Lau, and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi.

Lau was vaccinated at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, along with United Torah Judaism faction leader MK Yitzhak Pindrus.

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Shaare Zedek director Professor Ofer Merin said, "This is a very special day and a major milestone for us and our staff. I'm happy that you've realized what is obvious to us – that the vaccine is safe and wonderful news for us all."

Video: Gil Kramer

Beni Brak Mayor Rabbi Avraham Rubinstein is vaccinated for COVID

Lau responded: "With God's help, we have gotten here, after months of the coronavirus raging, there is a vaccine available that can help contain the virus. Everyone who can be vaccinated against the virus according to doctor's instructions needs to do so. COVID is a certain danger, compared to minor concerns about side effects … We will pray and hope the Lord stops the pandemic quickly, and we can go back to our regular lives, soon."

Pindrus said, "We have come to dispel doubt, and show there is no reason to be afraid to get the vaccine, and as the chief rabbi said, there is no doubt that side effects are less of a risk than the virus. I hope that the public will follow the opinion of the leaders and go get vaccinated as soon as possible."

Bnei Brak Mayor Rabbi Avraham Rubinstein was also vaccinated on Sunday, at the head branch of the Leumit healthcare provider. Rubinstein has participated in the rabbinical call to the Haredi public to get the vaccine.

Chief Sephardi Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef issued a letter on Sunday, calling on the public to get vaccinated: "I am calling on our brethren in the Holy Land to follow doctors' instructions. Allow them to heal us … Now that we have learned that a vaccine has been found that prevents COVID, and all the necessary trials were conducted and experts say that the vaccine is effective in stopping the pandemic and is not danger – each and every person must be vaccinated in accordance with doctors' orders."

Religious leaders weren't the only ones who chose to be vaccinated on camera. The head of the IDF also chose to be vaccinated publicly.

"This past year, the army has done everything it can to protect operational capability," Kochavi said.

"The vaccination campaign is a real development that will allow Israel and the IDF to get back to routine sooner. I am calling on all IDF soldiers and commanders to get vaccinated, and serve as a personal example on this important issue," Kochavi added.

The IDF will begin vaccinating its personnel next week at 17 vaccine centers deployed across the country. Logistical preparations are already underway. Vaccines will be administered by teams of medics, overseen by registered nurses and a team of medical staff.

Each soldier or officer who receives the first dose will be alerted by text message when it is time for the second jab to complete his or her vaccination.

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