"I Would Consult a Doctor, But What the Rabbi Says Goes": Ultra-Orthodox Jews' Relationships with Rabbis and Doctors in Israel

We examine relationships among ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews, their doctors, and rabbis when medical decisions are made. Analyzing excerpts from sixteen focus groups with 128 ultra-Orthodox Jews, we determine how their belief system affects their decisions about whom to trust and follow when the doctor's instructions contradict the rabbi's advice. We argue that the strict behaviors described here with regard to relations among doctors, rabbis, and patients, function as social capital that raises the status of ultra-Orthodox Jews as members of an exclusive club that balances health decisions with the social demand to obey their religious leaders.

Motives for Vaccination Against COVID-19 Among the Ultra-orthodox Jewish Community in Israel

According to official data, the ultra-Orthodox group in Israel had the highest COVID-19 infection rate yet the lowest vaccination rate compared to the general population. The present study aimed to explore the rate of vaccine uptake as well as reported reasons for vaccine avoidance. In addition, we examined whether several protection motivation theory (PMT) components are good predictors of vaccine uptake. The components we addressed were: perceived susceptibility to the threat of COVID-19, perceived severity of the virus, and perceived efficiency and safety of the vaccine (i.e., response efficacy). The sample included 623 individuals (337 men) aged 18 + who were drawn from a database of a survey company specializing in the ultra-Orthodox community. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey between June 22, 2021, and July 7, 2021, approximately six months after the beginning of vaccination distribution. Results revealed that 65.8% of the participants (versus 89% of the general population) were vaccinated. Women were vaccinated at lower rates than men, whereas those in the Misnagdim ultra-Orthodox subgroup were vaccinated at higher rates than other subgroups in that community. The most prominent reasons for vaccine avoidance were perceived immunity based on prior infection by the virus and lack of trust in the vaccine's safety. In support of the PMT model, the perceived severity of the virus and the vaccine high efficacy were significant predictors of vaccine uptake. The study results call for better outreach to this community and specific psycho-education interventions tailored for its women.

Subjective Nearness-to-Death and COVID-19 Worries Among Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel: The Moderating Role of Israeli Identity and Sense of Community

The Ultra-Orthodox community in Israel is characterized by close everyday contact and a strong sense of community. While the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in global uncertainty, fear, and fatalities, this group was particularly affected by the pandemic. Accordingly, the current study examines whether subjective nearness-to-death was associated with increased COVID-19 concerns, and whether Israeli identity and sense of community moderate this association. Data were gathered from 255 Israeli Ultra-Orthodox Jews, and results yielded a significant link between subjective nearness-to-death and COVID-19 worries, moderated by both moderators. Results are discussed in line with terror management theory, and theoretical/practical implications are suggested.

Do Ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews Suffer more than Secular Israeli Jews from Obesity? Gender, Cohort Effect and the Yule-Simpson Paradox

The Yule-Simpson paradox indicates contradicting statistical outcomes for the pooled sample and for each stratified group separately. The objective of the current study is to demonstrate this paradox. The sample is based on a 2015-2016 longitudinal survey carried out by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics. The sample includes 1194 individuals, where the responses of 1140 individuals were assessed twice (in 2015 and 2016) and the responses of 54 individuals were recorded only once. This gives a total sample of 2334 observations × years. The sample includes 609 females and 585 males. We use the limited dependent binary probit regression model. The dependent variable is a dummy variable that equals 1 if the individual is obese (BMI ≥ 30, where BMI = WEIGHT ÷ (HEIGHT²), WEIGHT is measured in kilograms and HEIGHT is measured in meters) and zero otherwise. The independent variables are the denomination (secular vs. ultra-Orthodox) and age in years. Findings suggest that on the one hand, for the pooled sample of 21-50-year-old females and males, results clearly support the conclusion that compared with secular Israeli Jews, projected probability of obesity (BMI ≥ 30) among ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews is higher (p = 0.0128). On the other hand, when stratified by gender, one cannot reject the opposite conclusion, according to which projected probability of obesity is equal for all cohorts among ultra-Orthodox and secular Israeli Jews. Research findings thus stress the importance of cautious and rigorous statistical analysis and robustness tests prior to statistical inference.

Sense of community, meaning in life, and satisfaction with life among Ultra-Orthodox Jews: A mediation model

The Ultra-Orthodox community in Israel, characterized by close-knit ties and strong community values, has been particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, both epidemiologically and socially. Accordingly, the current study examined whether the connection between the sense of community and life satisfaction in this population is mediated by meaning in life (MIL). Three hundred and fifty-eight Ultra-Orthodox participants (age range: 30-70; M = 49.50, SD = 10.24) filled out scales assessing MIL, sense of community, and satisfaction with life (SWL), as well as sociodemographic and COVID-19-related scales. Sense of community was linked with increased MIL and life satisfaction. Moreover, the connection between sense of community and life satisfaction was mediated by MIL. This study highlights the roles of sense of community and MIL for Ultra-Orthodox individuals and emphasizes the importance of both concepts for maintaining SWL during COVID-19. Practical implications for Ultra-Orthodox communities are suggested.

Effective Ways to Encourage Health-Care Practices among Cultural Minorities in Israel during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Following the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19, policymakers have been occupied with the questions of whether and how to specially address unique cultural groups coping with the pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate the potential for a culturally tailored approach to the transmission of health messages in a time of crisis among two minority populations within Israeli society: the Ultra-Orthodox population and the Arab population. To that end, 380 individuals from Israeli Ultra-Orthodox society and 360 individuals from Israeli Arab society completed a self-reported questionnaire in early April 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this study reveal differences between these groups in terms of the effectiveness of different channels for conveying messages and the channels that were preferred, as well as significant relationships between community sense of coherence and the study variables. We found that advocacy and motivation based on values, on the one hand, and recognition of the effectiveness of a culturally tailored approach, on the other, may be the best approach for persuading members of minority populations, who belong to collectivist societies, to comply with epidemic-control instructions.

Placing the Blame: What If "They" REALLY Are Responsible?

The new coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19, has resurrected a number of historical and sociological problems associated with naming and blaming collectives for the origin or transmission of infectious disease. The default example of the false accusation in 2020 has been the case of the charge of well poisoning against the Jews of Western Europe causing the pandemic of the Black Death during the fourteenth century. Equally apparent is the wide-spread accusation that Asians are collectively responsible for the spread of the present pandemic. Yet querying group actions in times of pandemics is not solely one of rebutting false attributions. What happens when a collective is at fault, and how does the collective respond to the simultaneous burden of both false, stereotypical accusations and appropriate charges of culpability? The case studies here are of Ultra-Orthodox Jewish (Haredi) communities and the PRC during the 2020 outbreak of COVID-19.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews and infertility diagnosis and treatment

BACKGROUND

'Be fruitful and multiply' is the first God's command in the Bible. Every aspect in life of the Orthodox Jewish population, including the strive for fertility, is tightly covered by a wide set of commands and rules ('Halacha') that span more than 3,000 years. This is a unique example of a population that continues to adhere to such time-honored rules.

OBJECTIVE

To describe rules that encourage fertility on one hand, but may hinder fertility and influence infertility diagnosis and treatment on the other.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Halacha rules that may affect fecundity.

RESULTS

Orthodox Jews obey a complex set of rules that influence fertility.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

This study provides fertility practitioners with background information that may help them when delivering professional care to Ultra-Orthodox Jewish infertile couples.

Profile and burden of care among caregivers of Ultra-Orthodox Frail Elders

OBJECTIVE

A paucity of research exists on burden of care (BoC) and factors associated with it among minority groups, such as Ultra-Orthodox Jews. The aims of this study were (1) to portray the profile of Ultra-Orthodox Jewish (UOJ) caregivers and their BoC; (2) to explore relations between care recipients' characteristics, care situations, characteristics of caregivers, and BoC.

METHODS

A total of 107 UOJ (66 women, 41 men) family caregivers were interviewed face to face in their homes, using valid and reliable measures.

RESULTS

Participants reported moderate BoC and high level of social support. Caregiver's self-rated health, caregiver's anxiety, and social support emerged as significant predictors of caregiver burden.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings might help social workers and other health professionals to better understand the unique characteristics of the UOJ community and to target caregivers with higher anxiety, lesser social support, and poorer self-rated health in order to reduce their caregiving burden.

The experience of stuttering among Ultra-Orthodox and Secular/Traditional Jews

PURPOSE

This groundbreaking research compares the experience of stuttering among adult male People Who Stutter (PWS) from the ultra-Orthodox (UO) Jewish community in Israel to those from Secular/Traditional (ST) backgrounds.

METHODS

Participants were 32 UO and 31 ST PWS, aged 18-67 years. Self-report questionnaires utilized: Perceived Stuttering Severity (PSS); Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES-A); Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS); Situation Avoidance Behavior Checklist (SABC). Demographic, religious, and stuttering information was collected. Groups were compared on scales, and correlations between scales and the PSS.

RESULTS

Subjective stuttering severity ratings were significantly higher among the UO. A significant group effect was found for the OASES-A quality of life subscale, but not other subscales. Significant positive correlations were found between: 1) PSS and OASES-A Total Impact; 2) PSS and 3 OASES subscales; and 3) PSS and SABC (indicating increased avoidance with increased stuttering severity rating). A significant negative correlation was found between the PSS and SLSS, indicating lower life satisfaction with higher rates of stuttering severity among the ST. Interestingly, when tested by group, significant correlations between the PSS and all other study measures were observed only among the ST.

CONCLUSION

UO participants showed higher subjective stuttering severity ratings, yet less impact on quality of life, and no correlation between subjective stuttering and other measures of stuttering experience. These novel findings may result from the combined protective effect of religiosity and socio-cultural characteristics on UO PWS' well-being, despite heightened concern about social consequences of stuttering within UO society.