HaGaon HaRav Moshe Brandsdorfer, the renowned Yerushalmi Posek, the Av Beis Din of Heichel Horaah, published a sharply worded letter on Sunday, after four toddlers, all residents of the Mea Shearim/Beis Yisrael area, passed away from measles within a week.

The letter stated: “With a shattered heart over what happened yesterday on Shabbos Kodesh, that a precious baby was niftar from measles, the fourth baby who was niftar, r’l, from measles in the past five days in our neighborhoods of Mea Shearim and Beis Yisrael.”

“In the last two weeks, many parents have approached me, confused and very scared because people are dissuading them from vaccinating their children for measles. And this is against the instructions of the Badatz due to ‘ונשמרתם מאוד לנפשותכם.'”

“Therefore, all those who try to convince parents not to vaccinate their children against measles – this matter borders on murder and the spilling of blood and violates ‘לא תעמוד עך דם רעך.'”

“And it is possible that a time like this, when the virus is rampant in our area, that it’s permissible to vaccinate against measles even on Shabbos and Yom Tov, if the doctor says that delaying it could be life threatening.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)