Like lower income and minority communities around the world, Israel’s Arab sector has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Israel can be proud of its vaccination campaign which is proceeding more quickly per capita than any other country, but unfortunately, vaccination rates are currently lagging in Arab communities. This is likely due to mistrust of the Israeli government and misinformation being spread on social media.
Our youth movement decided to address this challenge, with life-saving potential. The members of the Arab branches of the youth movement were fortunate to be able to meet with the Coronavirus commissioner in Arab society - Mr. Ayman Saif. The meeting occurred on Zoom and was attended by about 1,000 movement participants, youth counselors and coordinators. During the meeting, Mr. Saif spoke about his experiences dealing with the epidemic and noted the great achievement of 75,000 COVID tests each week in Arab society in Israel.
At the end of the meeting, the members of the Arab branches of the youth movement decided to lead a national campaign to encourage their families and communities to get vaccinated. It is not every day that we meet those who are at the forefront of the national struggle against the Coronavirus, and it was an inspiring meeting to be sure! We are looking forward to our youth participants making this major difference in their communities, now that they are armed with the facts and motivated to save lives and help bring this pandemic to an end.