Events

Past Event

Concerning Measles: A Panel Discussion on the Outbreak and Jewish Community Responses in New York City

September 19, 2019
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
America/New_York
Earl Hall, 2980 Broadway, New York, NY 10027 Dodge Room
Over the past year, New York State has experienced the worst outbreak of measles since the 1980s, with the majority of cases appearing in ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities. The community centered aspect of the measles outbreak has been a focal point of the media coverage, yet much of this coverage glosses over how we should understand such a “religious” identification. In this panel event, we aim to get beyond the headlines to consider a range of questions. To what extent—and in what ways—is this an “ultra-Orthodox” issue? How are the affected communities responding or mobilizing at the local level? What does vaccine hesitancy, and, more broadly, anti-vaxx activism signal? Is it a rightful exercise of freedom of religion? Or suspicion of the state? Both, more, or something else altogether? And, finally, how does this outbreak speak to the longer history of the relationship between minority communities and the institutional infrastructure of public health?

Contact Information

Edwin Torres